As a web design company owner, I am biased toward career information being on the website. I feel that having your career page helps qualify your employees more than any other channel. If you are hiring for a critical position (e.g., CEO/CFO/Sales), I believe using an assessment test to qualify those positions further is key to long-term success.
We've all heard of ZipRecripter, Indeed, and Monster, to name a few. They are excellent sources for finding new employees fast. You can hire talent management/leader development companies to assist in job hiring your candidates. You can even go through a headhunter/recruiter to fill positions. I want to cover the pros and cons of these services and why it's better to put a career page on your website. If the position is a high-visibility position or a core piece of your operations, incorporate a talent management organization.
National Job Boards
Quick and dirty to add heads to your staff is what I like to consider these sources. With a national job board, you will receive:
- Pro
- You will receive leads based on the criteria you set in the job posting. These can be competencies, previous experience, etc.
- You will receive many candidates as the purpose of these job boards is to get as many resumes in your hand as possible.
- Many will have basic job assessment tests to qualify the job candidates.
- Con
- Expensive (after their initial first-time job posting promotion).
- Spend a lot of time finding the best candidate(s) for the position you posted as you will have a lot of candidates to field.
- Too many companies and job candidates that you are all fighting to fill positions.
- You often will have a quantity over quality of candidates.
- The qualification tests given are less robust than those of talent management agencies.
- Neutral
- Your candidates can be either long or short term. You won't know until they eventually decide to leave.
Talent Management/Leader Development Companies
Talent Management or Lead Management companies are the highest cost option when hiring candidates. It would help to use these talent management companies to vet your core team members, leaders, and front-facing leaders to keep your company running on all cylinders. With a talent management/leader development organization, you will receive:
- Pro
- Those you interview are the crème of the crop when it comes to candidates.
- Have proven assessment tests that candidates must go through.
- Provide a non-biased analysis of who is the most qualified based on the information you've provided to them.
- All of the jobs listed are for you. You're not fighting over job candidates with other companies.
- You will need to find a candidate that has a proven track record in your industry.
- Con
- Talent vetting companies typically do not offer a list of candidates.
- Talent vetting companies use the candidates from your national or website job campaigns.
- Being these are the crème of the crop, and well-vetted career candidates expect to pay a premium.
- The agency gets paid for candidates. They will look for ways to upsell you further or stay in your good graces to keep their cash flow.
- Neutral
- Can extend the hiring by a week or more. If you're in a hurry, this could be a con, but also a pro in that you will get qualified employees.
Headhunters/Recruiters
Having been hired by companies going through recruiters in the past, I do know their value. Some positions they brought to the table I was qualified for, others required me to move, and I didn't want to, and in the end, I think they helped me secure higher-paying jobs. With a headhunter/recruiter, you will receive:
- Pro
- They do all of the searching for candidates for you.
- They will vet many bad candidates out for you.
- Con
- They are quota-driven, so they may try to give you someone that looks good but may not be the best for you.
- You often will be paying them a percentage of their annual pay as part of the fee.
- Many change monthly payments even if you are not hiring.
- Neutral
- The jobs are typically higher-paying for the employee.
Social Media
We would be amiss if we left off social media. Reaching a large audience for low cost is definitely what social media brings to the table. With social media, you will receive:
- Pro
- You hit a lot of potential candidates.
- For Facebook jobs, it is free to post.
- Can post in groups you have access to for a larger audience.
- Con
- Candidates may be "looking" (aka window browsing).
- To reach a larger audience, you can boost your job posting.
- Neutral
- Communication with candidates can be hit or miss.
Your Website
Your website is a great place to look for job candidates. You will receive fewer results than you will from using a national job hunting service. Here is what putting the career page on your website will achieve for you:
- Pro
- Candidates will more typically be familiar with your products and services.
- Generally have read what your business offers and believe in what they've read from your website and any social media channels you are on.
- Con
- You will receive fewer candidates than national job boards.
- The candidates you receive may not be qualified for the position.
- Neutral
- You might not be getting the crème of the crop as you would going through other sources.
Conclusion
You have many options available to you. Only you know your business and what is best for you. You have many options, and many will use a combination of options. We can say my personal preference is the website. I feel this is because the person applying is routinely already familiar with your business, understands your core values, and is more vested in staying longer.
{{BLOGDETAILVIDEO}}