Effective techniques for filling open positions
By Marc Belaiche, CPA, CA & Joseph Thomas
A major challenge for many companies is trying to find suitable candidates to fill open positions. There are many options available and there is no right or wrong answer as to which technique is best. Depending on the organization, one method may yield better results than another. Although there are many options available, this article discusses some of the more prevalent techniques used in today’s market.
Referrals
A widely-held belief is that candidates referred by existing company employees are generally more reliable, perform better, and stay with a company longer than someone unknown. This unique method of recruitment might not be the most comprehensive way to generate a highly-qualified pool of candidates, but it may offer some cost/time saving benefits.
Resume Database Searches
Most resume databases through job boards contain resumes from a wide number of industries and also candidates from various locations. Such databases can give companies instant access to talent, as and when needed. A great advantage with reputable resume databases is that they are constantly receiving new resumes.
Job and Career Fairs
At such events, employers and recruiters get a chance to meet with prospective job seekers. These events are generally composed of individual company booths where employers get to meet people face-to-face, collect resumes and exchange business cards. One big advantage of a job/career fair is that employers have a chance to perform preliminary interviews very quickly with many candidates.
Recruitment Firms
Recruitment firms are able to offer employers a wide choice of pre-screened candidates from various industries. In this option, most of the time and expense is borne by the recruitment firm. As part of their screening process, they carry out reference/background checks with a candidate’s previous employers. Recruitment firms are also able to provide companies with current salary trends based on market conditions. Another major advantage that recruiters offer is the ability to tap into a number of passive candidates (i.e., job seekers who are not actively looking for a position) that are registered with them.
Job Boards
Employers that use job boards are able to fully manage their advertising and recruitment from start to finish. Employers are able to advertise positions and see how many views their postings generate. Job boards allow employers to check applicant resumes and contact the best candidates for interviews.
Social Media
Over the past few years social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter have helped companies find a lot of successful candidates. Some of these platforms allow companies to advertise available jobs, create groups and connect with virtually thousands of people. The main advantages to using social media sites are that postings can be put up at little to no cost, and are available for world-wide viewing almost instantly, although results may be inconsistent.
Website
The ‘Careers’ area of your company’s website would be an ideal place to advertise current positions. This approach would draw interest from people that are already familiar with your brand or company.
Conclusion
Some key considerations prior to seeking out candidates for your open positions would be to ensure that an accurate job description, organization chart and salary range have been defined. Employers also need to allow enough time to find candidates, interview them and fill vacant positions. With such a large number of recruitment techniques available, employers can go with many or just one, or a combination of methods depending on their needs, budget and time available.
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Marc Belaiche is a CPA, CA and is President of TorontoJobs.ca, an Internet recruitment business and recruiting firm located in the Greater Toronto Area in Canada. Marc has been in the recruitment industry since 1995. TorontoJobs.ca allows companies to post their positions online, search a resume database to find candidates, provides outplacement services and full temporary and permanent recruitment services. TorontoJobs.ca also allows candidates to search and apply to positions directly online and get career, interviewing and resume tips all at no charge. Marc is also President of TorontoEntrepreneurs.ca, an organization geared towards business owners (see www.TorontoEntrepreneurs.ca) and has the annual Toronto Entrepreneurs Conference (see www.TorontoEntrepreneurs.ca/conference). You can reach Marc at marc.belaiche@torontojobs.ca and check out TorontoJobs.ca at www.TorontoJobs.ca.
Joseph Thomas is an HR/Recruitment Professional who works at www.TorontoJobs.ca, and can be reached at joseph@torontojobs.ca