External recruitment methods

External recruitment lets you assess a deeper pool of talented candidates for the job you need to fill.

But is there a best external recruitment method?

Well, here at BrightHR we believe that the best recruitment methods are as follows:

• Using a recruitment agency.
• Online recruitment methods.
• Printed publications.
• Careers events.
• Internal recruitment methods.

Let us walk you through them one by one and you can see which ones you think would work best for you.

Using a recruitment agency

Recruitment is a flourishing market, with agencies competing in every industry you can think of, including HR.

These agencies exist to do your sourcing for you. This is why they have large databases of skilled candidates.

They have daily experience of finding workers for your market.

They trained to know how to find the best talent.

And, don’t forget, recruiters earn a commission. It’s in their best interests to do a great job.

Using an agency costs money. But it means that you can get on with running your business while experts find your next recruit.

Online recruitment methods

Job boards

Many employers and recruitment agencies pay job boards such as Indeed or Totaljobs to host their job adverts.

Thousands of job seekers have signed up to these vast online platforms.

The platform will match skilled candidates to your job post based on factors such as location, job type, and salary. They use keywords to alert them by email.

Just sit back and wait for people to apply.

You can also use a job board to ‘headhunt’ candidates by searching the job board’s CV database for a match.

Social media

One in four companies in the UK uses social networks like LinkedIn or Twitter as part of their recruitment strategy (CIPD 2015). In a short space of time, social media has become one of the best recruitment methods.

In using social media, you can do the following:

• Post updates about your business.
• Attract jobseekers or show off your brand by sharing what your office culture is like.
• Engage with the online community about news topics in your industry.
• Screen job hunters by viewing their online posts, too.

The printed word

Remember newspapers and industry journals? As mystical and ancient as they might sound, both still exist. And what’s more, people still read them—so it’s time for you to take advantage.

With newspaper adverts, you can be sure to hit a large network of job searchers. Newspapers are cheap and available everywhere.

Some of them are free, too. We’ve all read The Metro at least once during our commute.

On the other hand, a sector-specific magazine or journal will reach a smaller but enthusiastic crowd.

An ad in one of these could reach people with skills and knowledge who aren’t using mainstream methods to find their next job.

Whichever you think would be best for trying to hire your next recruit, you can be sure that there’s a print publication out there for you to use.

It’s also worth remembering that they’ve got websites. Their sites could have job sections, too.

Attend careers events

Universities and sixth forms are great for this.

Try hiring a stall at a careers event and engaging in offline conversation with students and other people in attendance. Tell them about your company and why it’s a great place to work.

For bonus points, design branded accessories and stationery. Pens, keyrings, mugs, and USB sticks are all great to give away when they have your name on them.

If you’re really on the ball with events, look into giving a talk about your industry and where your business makes its impact.

What better way to show you’re proud of your company’s work?

Try everything

All recruitment and selection methods have pros and cons. Some cost a lot of money, like using an agency. Some might require lots of time on your part, such as growing a social media channel.

But one of them might lead to your next big hire.

The trick is to keep up to date with all methods and engage with the thousands of people who are involved in your industry in every possible way.

But sometimes, your next big hire is already on your staff, so don't forget about internal recruitment methods.