This is a guest post written for us by Oliver Adderley of Director Appointments.
As many business owners will probably be aware, to find the right staff for their company they have to look as hard as they can.
This means doing more than just hoping someone with an impressive CV will approach them whenever there’s a vacancy. They have to go to recruitment agencies, professional publications and newspapers to advertise.
Something more and more businesses are using to get the right staff is the internet. It’s one of the greatest resources that any company can have at its disposal. However, can recruiting someone online work as well as more traditional methods of hiring new members of staff?
It can be difficult to find the right people for the job no matter what tools you may have to use. To make the most of recruiting the right staff online, you should ensure you avoid a number of pitfalls which many firms encounter when they have a role or several roles to fill. Here are some of the most common:
Avoid confusion
Hiring someone online is difficult; but if you know what you want, head to specialist recruitment sites. There, you will find it easier to hire the person you need. Research with the help of a search engine will make it a little less challenging, especially if you know which keywords to include in your query.
Before you do something about your vacancy, try to think clearly. Don’t let other things cloud your thoughts and be prepared to take your time when making a big decision.
Don’t hire someone on a long-term contract
This can be a big mistake. No matter what their role may be, when taking on someone new you need to know if they’re right for the job. A probation period of a few months will help you decide whether they merit a long-term deal or not.
No matter how impressive a candidate’s CV is, you should make sure they’re not locked in. A few months should be ample time to find out whether the person you’ve hired is good enough to stay for the long term.
Get the job specification right
Before advertising your vacancy, make sure you know what you want from your new worker. Make your job specification clear, concise and mention all the responsibilities they will have – also consider the use of keywords, as this will help to boost your chances of attracting the right candidate.
In your advertisement, list the key skills the candidate should have in bullet points. This will make your ad easier to read, plus the prospective employee can tick off what they can and can’t do.
Don’t get lost in your candidate pool
Attracting the right candidates is essential. This means working with the tools you have available – keywords for search engines and a candidate management system customised for your needs are the best ones. Also, prepare for a huge volume of applications, especially in the current climate where attractive job vacancies seem thin on the ground to jobseekers.
Make use of social media
Sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook can help point you in the right direction for good candidates. The director jobs recruitment specialists, Director Appointments, suggest making use of these channels in the right ways. LinkedIn has CVs as well as recommendations and lists of qualifications relevant to the role.
Advertising on other social sites including Twitter and Google Plus can help too, as they’re being used by recruitment agencies and job sites to flag up vacancies which they feel might attract a lot of interest. Basically, you should be open to social media, as you can never be too sure of who might apply for your role.
Oliver Adderley, the Director of Director Appointments stresses the need for combining resources for online recruitment: “The key to online recruitment is balance. Although social is important, it is vital that it is combined with the right media! Employers need to understand the job board and social market place before making a decision.”
Look at the advert’s effectiveness
If your advert is on a website, check how many views it’s had. If it’s on your site, this will be easier to do. Also, you shouldn’t go it alone when recruiting online – get some experts or look at outsourcing it to another firm.
In outsourcing the advertising of your vacancy, this will save you a lot of work in designing and writing the copy for the ad. The end result (assuming you hire a company/agency with a proven track record) will be a professional-looking ad which attracts the right candidates for the job.
