If you’re one of the lucky business owners looking to hire today, do you know the best place to look for find new staff?
Well, more and more entrepreneurs like you are turning to the Web and online job boards. So says a new study by the Inavero Institute for Service Research.
The survey of 1,000-plus companies found that many are shifting more of their recruiting efforts to the Internet. Local newspapers are still important, with 47 percent using them to hire in the past year. However, newspapers are more often used to advertise for hourly, blue-collar workers, while white-collar workers at higher salary levels were usually found via online job boards and referrals.
If you’ve ever had to fill a job, you’ll likely agree that it makes great sense to turn online for help in the hiring process. For one thing, the study found online job boards generated more applicants on average than any other method. And perhaps most important in tough economic times like these, job boards were the least expensive way to advertise.
You might also consider using the popular online networks as a recruiting tool. My cousin who owns Rockwood Search Associates, a recruiting firm in New York City, says his staff is now often turning to Facebook and LinkedIn to find qualified job candidates.
But one of the best ways to find candidates, according to the study, didn’t require laying out any cash — it simply requires tapping into your network. Respondents said they got the best candidates via referrals, which were used to fill almost 45 percent of white-collar jobs.
Finding qualified and reliable employees is more important than ever in today’s business environment, so referrals are more valuable than ever.
What methods do you use to find job candidates? I’d love to hear what’s worked for you.
Rieva Lesonsky