Recruitment Sources

Prerecruitment Considerations
1. Recruitment Budget (how much money is
available)

Display ads and search firms can cost several thousand

dollars with no guarantee of attracting a substantial number
of qualified applicants.

2. Quick Results Recruitment Sources (how

quickly the opening must be filled)
Openings can occur suddenly & unexpectedly
Employee data bank must be up-to-date.
Employee referral program

3. Broad-Based Recruiting (whether a wide

audience must be reached)
Some positions are highly specialized and more difficult to
fill.
Employment agencies and search firms may be helpful in
these instances.
Ads in newspapers and journals can be effective also.

4. Exemption Status (exemption level of the

available position)

Direct mail recruitment, search firms, campus

recruiting, job fairs, search firms, and professional
associations could conceivably produce qualified exempt
applicants
Government agencies, adverting in the classified section
of newspapers, and employment agencies, produce
nonexempt applicants.

Proactive and Reactive Recruitment

If immediacy is a primary factor, search out
proactive recruitment sources.
In reactive recruitment, you wait for applicants to
apply, hoping that the right person is among them.
Being proactive means more than avoiding a lengthy
gap between the time an incumbent vacates a
position and someone new is hired.

Traditional Recruitment Sources

1. Advertising:

One of the most popular and effective means for soliciting

applications.
Advantages: Reaches a wide audience
Disadvantages: Costly

2. Campus Recruiting:
Some organizations are conducting online, interactive chat
sessions, or webinars, with students who are majoring in
subjects that are of particular interest to the hiring company,
Advantages:

Can select top students opportunity to groom

future management.
Disadvantages: Hard to assess potential

3. Contingency workers:
Companies generally hire contingency workers when theyre
pressed to fill an opening in a hurry or need to provide a
service for a specified period of time.
Advantages:
Can fill jobs in a hurry.
Disadvantages: Possible legal ramifications.

4. Direct Mail:
Companies use direct mail campaigns to target specific
individuals
Advantages:
Personalized/Selective
Disadvantages: Time-intensive/Risk that mail may not be
opened

5. Employee Referrals:

One of the most expeditious, cost-effective, and moraleboosting recruitment sources is a companys own employee
referral program.
Advantages:

Employee morale booster if referrals are

hired; Expeditious; Inexpensive.
Disadvantages: Employee demotivator if referrals are not
hired.

6. Employment agencies and search firms:

These are popular with employers primarily for two reasons:
1. Access to a large labor pool and can readily scout the
market for qualified applicants.
2. Often fill a position more quickly than a company could on
its own.
Advantages:
Access to large labor pool
Disadvantages: Costly

7. Former Applicants:
Previously rejected applicants may very well become
excellent future employees.

Advantages:
Good public relations
Disadvantages: Outdated records

8. Government Agencies:
These are valuable recruitment sources for entry-level and
other non-exempt openings.
There is no cost to employers for any of these services.

Advantages:
Disadvantages:

Cost-effective
Nonexempt only

9. Job fairs:
It allow recruiters to interview several applicants over a short
period of time, usually one to two days.

Advantages:
Disadvantages:

May fill several openings in a short period

of time
May not be able to hire anyone

10. Job Posting:

It is a process of internal recruitment whereby available
positions are offered to existing staff before exploring outside
sources.
Advantages:
Disadvantages:

Creates openings at lower levels

Managers feel lack of control

11. Military:
Military recruitment is the act of requesting people, usually
male adults, to join a military voluntarily.
Physical fitness requirements
Advantages: Can find applicants with hands-on experience
Strong work ethic
Experience in teaming and managing
Disadvantages: Applicants may lack general business skills

12. Newspaper Inserts :

Newspaper inserts may use multiple colors and are generally
larger than standard newspaper or magazine ads, making
them stand out visually.
Advantages:
Disadvantages:

Ad may stand out and can be easily

removed
Easily lost
Easily overlooked

13. Open Houses :

Open houses get qualified and interested candidates to come
to the company, rather than the other way around.
Advantages:
Disadvantages:

Good Public relations

May fill several openings at once
Costly
Time-consuming

14. Outplacement Firms :

the efforts made by a downsizing company to help former
employees through the transition to new jobs and help them
re-orient to the job market.
Advantages:
Disadvantages:

Large number of applicants

Incomplete picture of applicants
intangible qualities

15. Professional Associations :

Advantages:
Disadvantages:

Personal referrals
Someone elses rejected applicants

16. Radio and Television :

Advantages:

Disadvantages:

Reaches a wide audience

Reaches prospects not actively looking for
a job
Can be cost-effective
Can be costly

17. Research Firms :

To provide organizations with information about potential
high-level professional employees
Advantages:
Disadvantages:

Allows for greater involvement in the

interviewing process
Services end upon contracting applicants

18. Voice Ads (Proceeded Phone Messages):

Advantages:
Disadvantages:

Easy to produce
Time-consuming