What are the 2 main types of recruitment?

From job board postings to employee referrals, texting to talent pools, twitter announcements, LinkedIn messaging and scouring lists of conference attendees, these are just a sample of how recruiters try to attract candidates.

As varied and creative as these tactics are, for our purposes we’ll sort them into three broad, yet basic types of recruiting:

These may appear to be distinct methods of recruiting workers, and they can be. More often employers use all three, announcing openings on company intranets to encourage internal applicants and employee referrals while simultaneously posting to job boards and reaching out to previous candidates and others sourced from business and social networks.

Let’s take a deeper look into each of these categories.

Inbound recruiting

In its simplest and most basic form, recruiters post openings to job boards and then review, rank and select candidates from the resumes and applications they receive. 

Referred to as “post and pray,” this type of reactive recruiting – reactive because recruiters react to the incoming applications – now is part of a broader and sophisticated recruitment marketing program.

Inbound recruitment today is a year-round strategy that begins with building a strong employer brand. It’s a program of continuous attraction and awareness that encourages the best talent to want to come to work for you. As they apply – even without a specific opening – they become part of a pool of talented people already interested in working for you. Then as jobs come open, recruiters tap the pool inviting candidates with the right combination of skills and background to take the next step.

A solid inbound recruitment strategy includes showing what it’s like to work for the company, demonstrating the organization’s sense of social responsibility and providing an objective perspective on employer review sites.

Posting jobs, participating in job fairs and college recruiting and similar recruitment tactics are all part of a comprehensive inbound effort.

Outbound recruiting

This type of recruiting is sometimes called sourcing, even if sourcing specialists insist the term should only be applied to them. It involves searching for people with special skills and unique backgrounds for jobs that are particularly hard to fill simply by posting a job ad.

When the inbound effort fails to produce the right kind of talent, or the job is especially unique or senior, a recruiter will go hunting. They are looking for passive candidates, the people who aren’t job searching and might not even be considering a job change. 

More than a few studies tell us that 75% to 85% of professionals fall into the passive category. These are the candidates most coveted by employers for reasons both understandable – no one else is competing for them, and if they are working for a competitor, all the better – and less realistic – they must be good otherwise they’d be looking. 

Finding these passive candidates may be as simple as searching LinkedIn and texting them a compelling message. (Texting gets a much better and quicker response than email or voicemail.) 

Or, as is true in more cases, sourcing for especially challenging positions – the most difficult are called a “purple squirrel” hunt – may take weeks and involve scouring conference attendance and speaker lists, academic paper authorships, association directories and dozens and dozens of contacts. 

Once potential candidates are identified, the second step is to convince them to become applicants. That involves skills closer to sales than to recruiting. Though the statistics on converting a sourced candidate to an actual applicant run as high as only 1 in 30, the ratio of hire to sourced applicant at 1 in 43 is much better than for inbound candidates.

Internal Recruiting

Of all sources of hire, internal recruiting has historically been the weakest. That’s changing as employers recognize the value of promoting workers already familiar with the company culture and procedures and who have a verifiable work record.

Many years ago, the tech company Cisco surveyed its entire workforce to inventory the skills and talents of each employee. Not only did Cisco want to know about the talents they use on the job, but what other skills and abilities did they have. The company then used this information to recruit first from its existing workforce.

More commonly, recruiters will simply post job opening notices internally. A majority of companies, including many SMBs, have referral programs that pay a bonus to employees for recommending people who are later hired. Other companies leverage their alumni networks for this same purpose.

The biggest challenge to internal recruiting is the reluctance of managers to part with their best talent and their eagerness to suggest the less able. To get around that problem, smart employers provide incentives to managers for mentoring and nominating employees for promotion.

A combination of all three

As we said earlier, at all but the smallest companies, recruiters employ all three methods in their efforts to find and hire talent. Building a positive employer brand and showcasing it on the company website and social media not only helps attract quality active jobseekers, but helps convince the passive workers your source to join the company.

And no recruiter should overlook the top talent that may be working right down the hall.

Recruitment is key for any business. The best staff will typically be more efficient and motivated, leading to better business. To find the right candidate, you need to tailor your recruitment methods to fit your needs.

Employers need to leverage the environment and appeal to candidates. By doing so, they’ll remain competitive and get the most talented people on their team.

Why should you use a recruitment strategy?

Recruitment is a fundamental part of HR and an important factor in the success of any organisation. It is a process that involves screening, interviewing, and selecting suitable candidates to fill vacant positions. Recruitment strategies vary from organisation to organisation and depending on the type of industry.

For example, a small business may want to use social media as a way to recruit employees. While an educational institution might want to advertise through their alumni network.

Below we will go over many of the different recruitment strategies;

1. Recruitment planning

The 180 model

Put simply, 180 recruiters will dedicate their time to candidate generation because it is an easier task than entry-level recruiters. Account managers, on the other hand, are tasked with business development and reaching out to candidates.

The 360 model

A 360 recruitment strategy is used to take on all aspects of recruitment. Recruitment consultants often assign the job to specialized sectors. However, by doing this they're not dedicating enough time & resources to one particular stage. 360 recruiters are usually with their clients from the start to the finish of the process.

2. Internal vs external recruitment

Internal recruitment

Recruiting internally is, by far, the most economical way of recruiting staff. It also provides a more satisfying work environment for employees. If they feel more committed to their company, they will be more invested in the company’s success. It can come about in the form of promotions or even a transfer horizontally across the business.

External recruitment

The most common strategy is external recruitment which entails hiring people from outside the company or firm. This strategy has many benefits such as:

• attracting more talent
• improving employee morale
• reducing staff turnover rates
• increasing productivity rates

3. Direct advertising

One of the most popular recruitment strategies is direct advertising. It is a strategy where you advertise the jobs on a website or newspaper.

The purpose of direct advertising is to attract as many people as possible to take an action. In this case, it’s filling out a job application. What’s good about this strategy is that it helps you find potential candidates who are actively looking for jobs. The downside is, there is no filtering and only helps you find people who are actively looking for jobs.

4. Refining your employer brand

Employer branding is the process of fine-tuning a brand that attracts and retains employees. Which goes beyond traditional employer advertising and marketing.

Employers should be strategic in how they communicate their brands across platforms. For example, posting content on LinkedIn can help attract passive candidates. Who otherwise, may not have been actively looking for a job.

Employers should also look to connect with professionals through innovative strategies. Things like interviewing job seekers at events, conferences, workshops, open houses or trade shows.

The recruitment process is often complex and not without challenges. Employers must be articulate in their messaging to ensure they are attracting the right talent that meets their needs.

5. Social media

Employers can reach out to potential candidates through their social media channels, thereby reducing costs incurred on advertising. Candidates also stay connected with the company through social media channels. This creates transparency among both parties which leads to higher retention rates in organisations.

6. Employee referrals

Employee referrals are one of the best ways to recruit new employees. They are both cost-effective and efficient.

Referrals are predictive of success for a number of reasons. These include the following:

1) they have a close connection with the organisation

2) they have more insight into what makes the organisation special, and

3) they feel more passionate about the job because they know it will be meaningful for them.

Referrals are easier to qualify for positions. This is because the qualifications and ability is known beforehand, which saves time in the recruiting process.

7. Boomerang employees

Boomerang employees are when companies rehire past employees. This is ideal for companies who want to have stable and high-quality talent. -Without the hassle of a long and costly recruitment process.

8. Recruitment agencies

Therefore, many companies turn to recruitment agencies who specialise in the field of recruitment, to hire qualified candidates for their vacancies.

A recruitment agency can help you out in different ways. They can advertise your vacancy to the right candidates and they know how to find the perfect candidate for you. They also do all the background checks on your behalf, saving you precious time and money

9.  Internship or apprenticeship

An internship or apprenticeship is an excellent way for a company to get to know potential employees. It also helps the company find out if the individual is a good fit for their company culture. While allowing the employer to see how well the applicant can work on their own and with others.

10. College / University recruiting

College recruiting is one strategy that organisations can use to get qualified candidates for vacant positions. This strategy takes advantage of the large number of students looking for internships, jobs, or even just experience.

11. Job boards

Job boards provide a variety of benefits and opportunities for both employers and candidates. One of the most popular and well-known job boards is Indeed.

Job boards give a diverse range of companies, vacancies, and candidates. There is also an increased profile for your company as a desirable employer.

However, companies that use job boards will have a high number of applications. (Which can slow down the recruitment process). With many of these candidates being unqualified for the role.

12. Applicant tracking system

Applicant tracking systems were created as a tool to help with the hiring process. They were designed with the goal of making it easier for companies to find relevant candidates and streamline the application process.

It can be used by the company to find the best matching candidates for their job openings. It also helps in scheduling interviews and other related tasks involved in the recruitment process.

An applicant tracking system is one of the most efficient forms of recruitment strategies. It not only saves time but also costs much less than advertising or attending trade fairs for hiring talent.

However, they can be a double-edged sword. There are many cons of using ATS as a recruitment strategy.

They have been criticized for their strict metrics and lack of personality. Which can often push away qualified applicants and create an unprofessional impression on those that do apply.

13. Conduct high-quality job interviews

High-quality recruitment strategies are crucial for every organisation. An important step of an effective recruitment strategy is conducting a high-quality job interview.

A high-quality job interview is a recruitment strategy that can be very beneficial for both the employer and the interviewee. It allows employers to get to know the applicant on a more personal level. While at the same time giving them an opportunity to show their personality.

Which recruitment strategy would suit your business?

Firstly, there isn’t a single job selection process that’s the only way to attract applicants. Most importantly, though, these options demonstrate that recruiters must be creative.

Hiring shouldn't be set in stone. Recruiters need to explore multiple manners of recruitment before finding the best person for the role.

Conclusion

Some companies have a set of best practices that they follow to assure a successful strategy. However, this is not always the case and the business environment changes fast. Therefore, innovation and adaptability are essential skills needed in order to be able to adapt quickly to changing environments.

There are many different types of recruitment methods available to you. You can use strategic and innovative methods to make your recruitment process stand out. As a result, being the employer of choice will make your company all the more desirable.

If you liked this post on the different types of recruitment strategies, check out another of ours here: What are the 7 functions of HR?