Now that you have your job description nailed and you know exactly what you’re looking for...the real work starts!
The first thing to remember is that from here you start paying.
So before you get the cheque book out ensure you give your job the utmost exposure through any and all free means you have at your disposal.
A quick checklist here should include:
1) Communicate to the people in your business that you are in the market for new staff and be clear on what you are looking for. Be this through a staff meeting, a noticeboard or intranet – make sure you have your company on the lookout for you – you will be surprised how many of your employees know people who are looking, but unless prompted would not prompt their connections to apply.
2) Use any and all social media channels that your company employs to get the message out – put it out there on, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and any other network you engage in. Don’t forget that if you do use these channels to keep them updated as you progress – there is nothing worse for a candidate than applying for a job that has already been filled. Remember, if this happens then the next time you’re looking they might not apply and they just might be perfect!
3) Obviously (but often forgotten) use your own website and if appropriate any other external communications you have e.g. newsletters, expos etc.
Now you have these boxed off, you may if timescales permit, want to draw breath for a while and see what traffic comes through.
If you are not lucky enough to have relevant response from the above then the next step you need to take is to go “external”.
Before you do anything here it is key that you think about what your budget is to recruit as this is where simple mistakes can prove costly.
When you’re deciding on where to feature the advert, there are several factors that you can take into account to help you find the best medium through which to communicate the advert.
Firstly, look at the job description that you have written. Where is the ideal candidate most likely to look for a job? If you’re advertising for a marketing director, it’s probably not the best idea to advertise in your local newspaper. Likewise, if you want a part-time receptionist, advertising in The Guardian might be over-the-top!
Think also about job boards, take time to research them properly most will promise much and deliver little – this is not to say that there aren’t some really great job boards out there, but they are only going to be as good as the candidate traffic they deliver to you so do your homework.
By this I mean you are better off with ten well qualified responses than a hundred responses from people who “just liked the look of the job”. At this point I’d remind you again that the cost of advertising is only one component of your overall recruitment cost – you need to be set up to quickly and slickly deal with candidate traffic. As such, it is vital that you have proper channels set up for all respondents – this is simply common courtesy and the minimum you would expect yourself if you applied for a job.
It is also worth thinking about recruitment agencies – if you choose this route go for a specialist and look at track record. Again hidden costs hide down this route such as the time spent agreeing terms of business, educating them as to your needs etc. Unless you have experience of using an agency it’s all too easy to accept the first deal offered by them – NEGOTIATE, never accept their first offer on a fee and aim to pay on success only – the market is still very much in your favour.
Finally there are also recruitment marketplaces – the benefits of these services are numerous and include engaging with multiple agencies on a single TOB, you pay a fee your budget can afford and in general terms they are free to use and pay only ever pay on success. The downside is that even though you are paying a lower fee to an agency you are obviously still paying a fee to recruit someone.
On balance the most successful companies tend to take a blended approach from the above and remember the more organised you are in terms of your resource plans – then the more likely you are to find people at the lower price points!
To recap though be mindful of your company’s brand – it is all too easy to damage it through advertising in the wrong place, not being set up to effectively process applicants in a considerate manner and time is always of the essence – if a great candidate has applied to you then odds are their CV will also be with your competitors, be ready to move fast.
Finally, remember that you are the one who will be writing the cheque at the end of this - so which ever channel/s you use (be it the local paper or a boutique head hunter) you are entitled to demand satisfaction!
This is the second in a series of “common sense” recruitment tips. Next time we’ll be looking at the CV review and interview stage.
The first article was on making time to properly define your job role. If you missed it, please have a look.
Chris Smith is the founder of yourpeoplemarket.com a game changing, free to use, fixed fee recruitment marketplace – where you can engage with agencies at a fee you set or less and only ever pay on success.
Before this Chris was Joint Founder of ecrmpeople, which over a seven year period he took from being a start-up to a £12m company.