12 Effective Recruitment Methods to Help You Find Your Next Best Hire
Welcome to Recruiter Q&A, where we pose employment-related questions to the experts and share their answers!
Today’s Question: Out of the many effective ones that exist, what’s your favorite recruitment method and why?
These answers are provided by Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization composed of the world’s most successful young entrepreneurs. YEC members represent nearly every industry, generate billions of dollars in revenue each year, and have created tens of thousands of jobs.
The best time to figure out whether a person would be a good fit for your team is when you are not actively looking for a new team member and the prospect has a job. You get to observe the prospect’s performance and impact before your opportunity arises. Keep a running list of awesome people you’d love to work with in the future (should the stars align).
— Eric Mathews, Start Co.
Through my eLearning programs and content marketing, I’ve built a substantial network of talented, like-minded individuals on social media. When I need to recruit a new team member, I head to my Facebook groups and Twitter feed. Not only do I get talented people applying, but I also get talented people tagging other talented prospects, amplifying my targeted recruitment message exponentially.
— Matt Diggity, Diggity Marketing
From a personal perspective, studying a worker’s values, teamwork, ability to work under pressure, and flexibility is very effective in predicting their job performance. This method has allowed me to learn about talents that are valuable to my team and keep the team creative, energetic, and willing to participate.
— Kevin Leyes, Leyes Media & Team Leyes, by Leyes Enterprises
I find that having very detailed job descriptions and expectations helps improve the overall recruiting process. Every job description should be clear and avoid hype to attract the right applicants. We would never use the terms “rock star,” “wizard,” or “superhero” in any job post.
— Kristin Kimberly Marquet, Marquet Media, LLC
The lessons we gain from past experiences and the problems we wish to tackle in the future can say a lot about our present. I usually pose these questions to potential hires, and I am looking for transparency, courage, signs of brilliance, decent skills, and a generally positive outlook on life. You can easily polish decent skills, but not a bad attitude.
— Samuel Thimothy, OneIMS
If your former star players have left your company on good terms, periodically reach out to ask if they’re looking for new opportunities. Rehiring former employees helps streamline onboarding processes and reduces the costs associated with hiring. Plus, you know off the bat whether they make a good fit for your company culture.
— Tyler Gallagher, Regal Assets
Working with an area technical school, I’m able to offer opportunities for internships. In turn, this allows me the opportunity to work alongside talented individuals and show them the ways of the business. If I can see that they would make a good candidate for the team, I already have a personal connection with them, and they have experience working in the business.
— Joe Morgan, Joe’s Datacenter, LLC
We recruit a significant percentage of our employees from freelance job boards. There are plenty of sites available where you can find writers, developers, social media specialists, and more. Recruiting through these channels is helpful because there are plenty of qualified candidates. Also, there are a ton of cool options that let potential hires reach our business first, which saves us time.
— John Turner, SeedProd LLC
While it’s not a new idea, my favorite recruitment method is using social media to find my next hires. Before, I was against it and preferred the traditional method of finding and hiring candidates. While that’s still important, it’s also crucial to look in unexpected places. I’ve found experienced candidates on social media, and they continue to provide value to this day.
— Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms
Referrals through team members are always a good but underrated bet. Your team members know your culture, so they likely understand the company’s needs, and they probably have people in their networks who could be good fits. What better than to bring in somebody who already has a good relationship with one of your people? However, don’t hire a whole group of friends, as it could backfire.
— Andy Karuza, LitPic
It really depends on the job. However, if you have a seasonal position with a high turnover rate, going with a temp agency is ideal. Not only will the agency streamline the whole process for you, but you will also end up with a pool of people you have seen in action, which you can pull from for higher-level positions.
— Reuben Yonatan, SaasList
We hire and train regularly because we have really talented graduates coming out of the University of Miami. Attending job fairs can be really fun for our team, and getting to know the talent exiting academia is inspiring. There is so much enthusiasm at these job fairs that we turn them into events we prepare for actively.
— Matthew Capala, Alphametic