There are different types of external recruitment techniques used by recruiters to assess job candidates available in the market for possible recruitment. These techniques are basically used to search for the right candidates for the vacancies. However, each technique has its own merits and demerits to the employer and candidates ( Sullivan, 2009) . This paper compares different types of recruitment methods namely search firms, job fairs, and social media. The particular focus will be on the ease of use by candidates and employers, searching capability, impact on the public, and the associated costs. It will also compare the types of employers and employees likely to benefit from each of these methods and the nature of jobs likely to feature in the selected recruitment methods.
Comparing Recruitment Methods
Social media has become increasingly popular recruitment tool because it reaches out to a wide number of candidates from around the world. The social media recruiting generates buzz about the organization especially when potential candidates share the organization link with peers and family members. This approach has not only proved effective in attracting candidates in countries with low rates of unemployment but it is also in marketing the brand of the organizations to the public. It is hence utilized to generate double benefits for the recruiting organization.
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This tool is very crucial for employers seeking to have diversity in their workforce especially the youths. It is vital in recruiting fresh graduates for entry positions. This approach recruits candidates from all over the world and this hampers recruitment of candidates from the locality. However, this technique is inappropriate for senior positions that require adults with several years of experience. This is because unlike millennial who are internet savvy, the baby boomers, veterans, and generation Xs candidates are not internet savvy.
Social media is cost effective tool to both the candidates and employees than using search firms and job fairs. For example, Sodexo, Food services facility Management Company managed to save up to $300,000 between 2007 and 2010 after switching to social media recruitment methods (Sodexo, 2011). The company hiring managers shared updates about the culture of the company, successful employees and so forth on Twitter thereby driving traffic to its career page on the website from 52,000 to 180,000 over three years. Several firms are using social media sites including YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook to promote the brand of the company by providing a link within the videos and updates which direct them to career pages of their websites to apply for available positions (Black, 2011).
Search Firms
Search firms are popular techniques and appropriate for employers with limited time to carry out recruitment. This method saves employer the time and allows them to find the right candidates for the job. Search firms have experience in job markets and also understand the expectations of professionals. They can therefore offer appropriate advice on salary and other benefits to the employer and candidates. However, this method is expensive than social media because a fee is charged on candidates after employment or the employer. Usually, executive search firms that recruit executive positions charge as high as 10-20% of the salary. Nonetheless, even though this approach costly, search firms does much of the recruitment work to identify most qualified candidates for the positions ( Sullivan, 2009) .
Job fairs
Job fairs are not popular methods of external recruitment, but they enable hiring managers to meet candidates in person as opposed to reading their CVs. Unlike social media, this is offers hiring manager a great opportunity to understand behavioral skills of the candidate to determine whether they will be a good fit for the job ( Sullivan, 2009) . This tool is recommended for companies which are interested in the personality of candidates rather than their skills, and companies that require team players to match into their quirky, underdog culture.
Managers cannot have access to a large number of candidates like in social media recruitment. However, emerging online job fairs are offering the opportunity for managers to reach a broad range of candidates. Job fairs are critical methods for searching the candidates for senior positions such as middle and senior managerial positions. Regarding search capability, it is cumbersome for candidates to search for jobs using job fairs since they are not common ( Beam, 2016) . However, employers can easily search and recruit candidates using this approach.
Recommended Recruitment Method
In job searching, I will prefer to use search firms as opposed to social media and job fairs. This is because search firms have knowledge of several organizations with open vacancies and often have the ear of recruitment managers. This will enable them to market my candidacy to various employers thereby saving my time. They will also provide me with an opportunity to work for organizations I would not have contacted. Search firms will provide me with a great opportunity for to find the right job. Since candidates are not expected to pay for the services until after being hired, I will have a chance to engage with many search firms as I want to increase my chances of getting the right job. Furthermore, search firms perform some filtering for me before they can send me for an interview. This will minimize the chances going for interviews that am less qualified thus saving my time and possible embarrassment.
Conclusion
It is clear that each recruitment methods has pros and cons which vary in terms of costs, ease of use, search capability, suitability to employees and employers, and benefits to the public. Therefore, selecting the method of recruiting depends on different needs of the firm and the position the candidate is seeking. These may include using search firms to save the company time or social media to save on the cost of recruitment or even job fairs to recruit candidates based on their personality.
References
Beam, E. A. (2016). Do job fairs matter? Experimental evidence on the impact of job-fair attendance. Journal of Development Economics , 120 , 32-40.
Black, T. (2010, April 22). How to Use Social Media as a Recruiting Tool. Retrieved from http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/04/social-media-recruiting.html .
Sodexo. (2009). Sodexo Earns SNCR Excellent Award for Innovative Use of Social Media,” news release. Retrieved from http://www.sodexousa.com/usen/newsroom/press/press09/sncrexcellenceaward.asp .
Sullivan, J. (2009). Amazing Practices in Recruiting—ERE Award Winners 2009. Retrieved from http://www.ere.net/2009/04/13/amazing-practices-in-recruiting-ere-award-winners-2009-part-1-of-2 .
