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"Managing
your human resources," say many prominent CEO's, "is the most source
of our competitive advantage." However, what if you're having a hard time
bringing enough qualified candidates in the door to fill the open positions?
The Internet provides a valuable resource for increasing your qualified
applicants, but it is not a panacea. I know this from experience. Our company
has recruited and hired on the basis of Internet leads since 1996.
Here are 10 tips to increase your chances of success when using the Internet
in your hiring process.
- Think
of finding qualified leads as dragging a magnet through a bucket of
hardware. Your success rate depends a lot on the source you select and what
type of people you're hoping to attract.
2. Be sure to try several sources - use some that are general
purpose and some that are specialized by either geography or area of specialty.
The Yahoo Careers site is an example of a general purpose site, and International
Pharmajobs is an example of one for a specific industry segment.
- Be
familiar with the top five general-purpose resume matching services: Monster,
Career Path, Career Mosaic, Hot Jobs, Career Builder.
(Source: Media Metrix) Register on at lease one of the top five resume
matching services so that you can see resumes posted.
4. Online resume matching services
make money three ways: access (most allow job seekers to post for free and
charge employers to look), advertising (banner ads, with the classier sites
targeting ads to particular topic areas), and services (pre-screening, web
development, etc). View the fees in terms of how they add convenience and
efficiency. You've got to determine how much the next star performer for your
organization might be worth.
5. Be sensitive to the fact that
many workers post their resumes online while still employed. For obvious
reasons, these job seekers will want to protect their resumes from being viewed
by people from within their current company.
6. Know that you'll have to screen
the candidates in ways that differ from traditional techniques. One of the
downsides of the online resume services is that they rarely purge old or
inactive accounts.
7. Send an e-mail message to the
address listed for a candidate. Candidates that reply within 24 hours should be
flagged as very responsive. If e-mail is a critical communications tool in your
company, you should note those candidates who take longer than 2 business days
to respond.
8. Regardless of e-mail response,
highly attractive candidates are worth pursuing via follow-up phone calls. Allow
for weather conditions (floods, snow, etc), family emergencies, and illness.
9. Perhaps the most effective way
I've found to attract candidates for contract work is to ask contractors who are
doing similar work if they can recommend some additional associates to work with
us. Granted, this technique works best among people who are well connected with
e-mail. But, doesn't it say something today about professionals who do not
access e-mail regularly and their ability to function effectively within
organizations?
10. One of the best ways to attract candidates that will fit well in your
corporate culture is to have a great deal of information on your web site that
shares this perspective, such as success stories, product development insights,
and customer feedback. Make the "positions available" link a prominent
part of your navigation system, and people who are attracted by what they read
have a simple way to indicate their interest in your organization.
Bonus Tip: In today's tight labor market, hiring highly skilled contract
workers is a more attractive option than ever before. The range of freelancers
and boutique consulting firms handles a wider range of functional areas and are
more customer service oriented.
Web sites referenced in this article:
Career Builder www.CareerBuilder.com
Career Mosaic www.CareerMosaic.com
Career Path www.CareerPath.com
Hot Jobs www.HotJobs.com
International Pharmajobs www.Pharmajobs.com
Monster Jobs www.monster.com
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