With the rise in internet use, it makes more and more sense to do your recruitment online. There is a bigger pool of applicants, and you can find specific types of candidates. Also, by recruiting online, you can utilize a wide range of online solutions, like job portals and social media ads or posts.
Convinced online recruitment is your best option but you don’t know where to get started? Don’t worry. In this blog post, you’ll learn what online recruitment is, why it’s important, and how to do it.
What Is Online Recruitment?
Online recruitment is the process of finding, assessing, interviewing, and onboarding qualified candidates using the internet. The online recruitment process utilizes:
- Applicant tracking
- Social media outreach
- Website outreach
- Online visuals
- Online job portals
- Online tests and screening
Do you have to do your own online recruiting?
The answer is that you can, but you don’t have to.
You can do your online recruitment in-house using third-party software. That’s what we do a Prohibition, to hire specialist for our Retail PR agency. Alternatively, you can hire agencies and online recruiters to do the job for you as part of your online recruitment strategy. The option you choose depends on what is right for your company.
There are many advantages to using online recruitment. The first major advantage is a reduction in time to hire.
Online recruitment allows you to see resumes within seconds of submission. Also, you can set particular requirements, so you only see relevant resumes. For example, you can automatically screen for experience level and relevant skills.
Here’s an example of a job posting screening:
You can have single or multiple questions, drop-down menus, and text boxes. It all depends on what’s right for your business. You can also ensure only qualified candidates from specific locations or industries see your job postings, so you get a better selection of candidates while also saving time and money.
Reaching a targeted, wider audience is another plus, especially for remote work. A Pew Research Center study found over 79% of US job searchers were finding jobs online within a two-year time frame, and 34% found it was their most important resource.
Recruitment is expensive, so you need to save costs wherever you can. Another major advantage is that online recruitment is cost-effective. Traditional advertisement is costly, and using a job board, for example, costs next to nothing.
Also, methods like automated screening mean you only engage the qualified candidates and don’t waste time engaging unsuitable candidates.
4 Tips for Effective Online Recruitment
Now you know what online recruitment is and why it’s important, let’s look at the four key methods to do it successfully. Try using one of these online recruitment methods first if you have limited manpower. But if you have the resources, I suggest combining all four for effective online recruitment.
1. Use Online Job Portals
According to Indeed, their job board has over 250 million unique visitors every month. Other popular job boards like Glassdoor, Monster, and Job.com also see many monthly visitors. With this many visitors, your job posting is far more likely to be seen compared to traditional recruitment methods.
Online job portals also allow employees to rate their current or previous employer. These benefits make this style of recruitment more popular with users, so it makes sense to capitalize on a technology that can adapt to the user.
A good example of an online job portal can be found below.
A London-based company posted their job opening on a popular job portal and included the salary, job type, and full job description. There are also reviews of the company, so applicants can get a feel for the company culture and values. The best online job portals also make attaining important applicant information like CVs and cover letters easy, as it is part of the application process.
Make sure you use plain language that’s easily understandable in your job opening announcements. Complex vocabulary can put people off or cause confusion, so keep it simple! You can use plain language software for this.
It’s easy to see that there are many benefits to using online job portals. But to reap those benefits, there are other things to watch out for. For example, you need to consider the placement of your announcement on the job feed. Some portals will allow you to pay for a premium placement, or you can just apply basic SEO principles for your announcement to be found.
2. Include Visual Content
Online recruitment can often feel impersonal, but video can help establish a connection with applicants. So, other online methods you can use in recruitment include embedding videos in your social media posts and adverts, job descriptions, and on your company website. The content can include video interviews with current employees or instructional content from hiring managers about the role.
The example below was posted to YouTube and shared on other social media platforms (more on this later). The role is for an intern at Google.
The video follows five interns in their first week. They are asked casual interview questions like what inspires them and what they have enjoyed most about the experience.
Content like this gives applicants knowledge and encouragement, so more of the right amount of people apply.
3. Leverage Company Website
Your company website is integral to the hiring process, so you need an eye-catching and effective website to draw in applicants. This is one of the most effective recruitment methods. A LinkedIn study found that 69% of talent acquisition leaders believed the company’s website was the best place to build an employer brand.
The website can be used to host job listings, video testimonials from employees, and promotional material to stimulate recruitment.
Check out this page from the recruitment section of Wendy’s website.
The testimonials give the potential recruits an insight into what it’s like to work at the company. Visually, the website works well; the user hovers over the image of the employee to reveal the testimonial. A slick website like this is more likely to be used and, therefore, more likely to aid in recruitment.
Blog posts from prominent leaders also help with recruitment, as they serve to further educate potential candidates about the company. But you should also include pages on the company’s core values, diversity, equity, and inclusion policy, and sustainability and community work.
You need to ensure the content is not only high-quality but well presented. Consider the user experience. Remember its SEO impact is significant.
4. Tap into Social Media
Pew Research Center found over 79% of job seekers have used social media in their job search and 73% of millennials found their position directly through social media. Also, social media is useful for attracting passive candidates and widening your applicant pool.
When people think of recruitment and social media, the professional social network LinkedIn seems like the obvious choice. Don’t overlook social media sites like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, though, particularly if you are targeting a younger demographic.
Ultimately, the type of social media platform you choose depends upon your demographic. LinkedIn is better for leadership and certain other professional roles. But for more casual roles aimed at younger demographics like fast food and retail, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are better.
A great example of a social media recruitment campaign can be found below.
The social media post reflects the company’s personality and values. It also shares why it’s a great place to work. The visuals are eye-catching and professional, which are important if you want to stand out in a busy feed.
Even though you should be able to handle all of your online recruitment online, you may want to set up a telephone line so promising candidates can be contacted more directly. Or, if they have an urgent question, it can be answered by a customer service team.
In Closing
Online recruitment done right improves the candidates’ experience and image of the brand, helps speed up the process and helps you find more suitable, high-quality candidates at higher volume.
Remember to utilize online job portals and visual content to get the most out of your online recruitment. The company website should be used to host job postings, but you should also use the website to highlight your brand’s personality and values to potential recruits.
Social media is important as well. Posts or ads on social media can be used to reach younger demographics and applicants for more casual jobs.
Take advantage of the huge pool of candidates looking for work online and find high-quality employees fast. But you do need to be wary of the fact candidates can leave negative reviews on job portals, for example. So make sure you also treat all candidates with respect.
The bottom line is that you should utilize online recruitment, as online recruitment is cost-effective and gets results.
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