Internet Recruitment

Firms can’t always get all the employees they need from their current staff, and sometimes they just don’t want to. We’ll look at the sources firms use to find outside candidates next.

Recruiting via the Internet:

Most people today go online to look for jobs. One survey found that on typical day, more than 4 million people turn to the Web looking for jobs. Surveys how that for most employers and for most jobs, Internet based ad and recruiting is far and away the recruiting source of choice. The Cheese cake Factory gets about a third of its management applicants via the Web.

Rather than place their own Internet ads on their own sites or sites like monster.com, many managers do keyword searches on sites like Hot Jobs’ resume database. For example when the HR manager for one hydraulic products company placed a Sunday ad in his local newspaper, it cost $3,000 and produced about 30 resumes, 10% of which were relevant By comparison he found that keyword search of the Hot Job database produced 52 resumes many of which included the necessary industry experience I find more qualified candidates by searching for resumes than posting ads, he says New sites are capitalizing on the popularity of social networking tom provide recruiting assistance. For example users register by supplying their name, location and the kind of work they do on sites like monster networking and LinkIn.com. These sites facilitate developing personal relationships for networking hiring and employee referrals.

Advantages: In general, the Web is a cost effective way to publicize opening; it generates more responses quicker and for a longer time at less cost, than just about any other method. Foe example, Marsha Wheatley, human resource director or the Washington DC based American Crop Protection association no longer runs $ 4000 ads in the Washington Post when she’s looking for professionals. Instead ads on WashingtonPost.com cost only $ 200. Instead of a tiny ad that says, ACPA needs an accountant they get a whole page to describe the job, give information about the association and include a link to one website. She estimates that she averages nine times as many applicants via the online ad. A newspaper ad might have a life span of perhaps 10 days, whereas the Internet as may keep attracting applications or 30 days or more.

Disadvantages:

Internet recruiting has two potential problems that employers must address:

First, fewer older people and certain minorities use the Internet, so automated online application gathering and screening may inadvertently exclude higher numbers of older applicants and certain minorities. To prove they’ve complied with EEOC laws, employers should keep track of each applicant’s track of each applicant’s race, sex, and ethnic group. However, it’s so easy to submit resumes online that many applications are unsolicited and not job specific. Therefore, many applicants may not applicants for EEOC purposes. The inter-agency uniform guidelines on employee selection procedures define an Internet applicant as follows:

1) The employer has acted to fill a particular position.
2) The individual has followed the employer’s standard procedures for submitting an application.
3) The individual has indicated an interest in the particular position.

Note that under this definition the employer probably need not keep track of non applicant race, sex, or ethnic group.

The second challenge is that Internet recruiting is often too much of a good thing: employers end up deluged within resumes. There are several ways to handle this. The Cheesecake factory, as noted earlier, posts detailed job duties listings, so those not interested need not apply. Another approach is to have job seekers complete short online prescreening questionnaire and then use these responses to identify those that that may proceed in the hiring process. (This carries legal risks, particularly if the device disproportionately screens out minority or women applicants) Most employers also use applicant tracking systems, to which we now turn.