This is Critical stage of the recruitment process and it is one that is often overlooked or simply delegated to human resources department without much thought. The best candidate are not always looking for a new job and so a proactive or creative approach will often yield the best results. The main sources of attracting candidates are below.
Internal :
In many organization it is regarded as best practice to sources potential candidates internally. This can be before any external sourcing occurs or in parallel with external sourcing. As additional and important consideration here is encouraging existing employees to recommend potential recruits and providing them with incentive for doing so. Diligent employees will normally try to refer only good quality candidates.
Advertising:
Probably the most common source of attracting job applicants. Care should be taken to advertise in the right medium for the type of candidate and expertise being sought. Options include local press, national press, national press, trade press, and more recently online recruitment websites.
Recruitment Agencies :
On the surface recruitment agencies are a much more expensive option than direct advertising. However, used in the right way they provide some important benefits over and above direct advertising. Firstly, they might be able to source candidates that will not be actively reading the advertising media above. This is particularly true of candidates who are successful in their current role but have registered with an agency to be kept informed of interesting openings.
If you are using an agency, should manage them assertively and proactively. Provide them with an overview of your person specification and make it clear that any candidate they put forward must meet the key criteria you have specified.
Educational Establishment :
Universities, colleges and even schools can provide a useful opportunity for sourcing candidates where raw material rather than experience is preferred.
Armed Forces :
This is often an overlooked area but one where you can find some excellent candidates. People tend to leave the armed forces with high skill levels, particularly technical skills. Most of them also have an excellent work ethic. And to make life easier many armed forces have redeployment departments, i.e a free service for helping you find the right candidates.
Online enquiry on Company website : Some candidates find the good company websites online and search for career option. They submit their details with resume and express their willingness to join the company. the good HR system do not miss this opportunity.
Expo and Seminars : Expo and exhibitions can be a rich sources for recruiting people within an industry sector, particularly sales people and technical specialist. You should consider networking at such events even if you are not recruiting at the time you attend. Building up a bank of contacts might help you when you are recruiting.
Now till we are aware about the potential sources of manpower availability for recruiting and ask yourself that your current serch is enough. In all cases care should be taken only to provide limited details of the person specification when sourcing candidates in case individual try to make themselves fir the criteria.
