A (Fairly) Exhaustive List of Where To Source Candidates
Sometimes outsourcing your talent acquisition efforts just isn’t a viable option. For times like those, we’ve put together an exhaustive list of places to source candidates for your open positions.
Network Referrals
Referrals from colleagues in your network often lead to quality candidates, as there’s already a trusted source to comment on the individual’s past experience, personality, and work ethic.
Widely regarded as the most-used professional networking site on the internet, LinkedIn can be a goldmine for connecting with high-quality candidates. A downside: you won't be the only organization recruiting on the platform, and the sheer number of people on LinkedIn can be daunting.
Facebook might seem best utilized for sharing pet photos and connecting with family, but don’t discount the platform for recruiting. Facebook is the most popular social media platform in the world, with almost a third of the world’s population being members. That said, that's an awful lot of people to weed through.
Indeed/Job Boards
Posting your open position to Indeed or similar popular job boards can net you hundreds of candidates, but often the quantity is much higher than the quality. It’ll give you tons of resumes to go through, and will provide you with a highly shareable job link that’s accessible to nearly everyone on the internet. Because these sites are so widely used, you risk your posting getting lost within days, if not a day.
Niche Job Boards
There are hundreds of career websites on the internet that cater to more specific positions or groups. Ladders (executive searches), American Anthro (anthropology jobs), your state’s Workforce Development job site, and Engineering.com (engineering) are just a few. These may lead to fewer, but more targeted, candidates.
Cultural Groups
An often-untapped source of qualified and diverse candidates are ethnic and cultural groups: your local NAACP chapter, women-led groups, ALPFA (Association of Latino Professionals for America), or AbilityJobs are some great places to start. You can also use apps like Meetup to search for groups in your local area that you might be unaware of.
Market Your Company
Employer-branding is a long-term play, but one of the most effective. If you show the world that your company is a positive, employee-focused place to work with a great culture, the candidates will come right to you. Proceed with caution, though: any flaws in your culture, past OR present, may come to light and present a difficult situation.
Mobile Apps
According to one source, 86% of people with a smartphone would use it to find a new job. This has led to a rise in mobile-first job boards and career search apps. Take advantage of these by optimizing your job posts for a mobile audience: short, with an eye to format, and mobile-friendly links.
Area Papers/Publications
I know, I know; print is dead, right? Not quite. Depending on the demographic, many people still turn to print to find news and opportunities. Plus, as hard as it is to imagine, not everyone has access to a computer or internet connection, and publishing a job add in a local periodical can reach those harder-to-access candidates.
With a little outside-the-box thinking and ingenuity, there are a myriad of places to search for qualified, diverse, active or passive candidates, even without outside assistance.
When you are ready to seek outside help to streamline your talent acquisition strategy, Skywalk Group will be there with experienced recruiting teams available by the hour!
By Jessica Palmer