Recruitment methods – what are they?

As a company grows, the need to hire additional people for the job arises. There are many ways to find the right specialist. If you want to receive applications from candidates who are a good fit for the job, various recruitment methods come to your aid.

From this article you will learn:

• What are employee recruitment methods?
• What are the most popular employee recruitment methods?
• What is the difference between active and passive recruitment?
• What are the methods of external recruitment?
• What are internal recruitment methods?

Employee recruitment methods – definition

Finding the right employee is an extremely responsible task. This is because the selection of a specific specialist will have a significant impact on the day-to-day functioning of the organisation and its long-term development. When searching for employees, it is therefore necessary to use recruitment methods which are correctly matched to the company’s goals and specifics.

Recruitment methods are the various strategies and techniques used by organisations to attract, assess and select suitable candidates for specific jobs.

Definition of recruitment methods

Some professionals are actively looking for a new job, while others are waiting until an offer is made to them. Before you choose how to search for potential candidates, familiarise yourself with the different methods of employee recruitment.

The most common employee recruitment methods

The staff recruitment process may look slightly different in every company. The choice of the right method in this regard must depend primarily on the specifics of the industry and the organisation’s needs. The most popular recruitment methods include:

• Job advertisement – this method of recruitment is used most often. It is the creation and publication of announcements, informing about the demand for a given position, terms of cooperation and required qualifications.
• Direct search – this is the recruitment of passive candidates, i.e. people who are not currently looking for a job because they already have a permanent position.
• Recommendations – current employees recommend people who would be suitable for the position.
• Outsourcing recruitment – an external company with knowledge, resources and often connections helps with the recruitment process.
• Recruitment campaigns – advertising campaigns (e.g. search engine adverts or LinkedIn Ads) targeting individuals, job seekers.
• Industry forums – search for employees specialising in a particular field who are active in expert forums.

Active versus passive recruitment

Recruitment methods can be divided into passive and active. They differ in their approach to attracting candidates. In active recruitment, the company takes the initiative by placing job advertisements or making them known through various communication channels. Candidates themselves decide to apply for a specific position, but active recruitment is based on actively seeking and encouraging potential candidates to apply.

Passive recruitment, on the other hand, is based on the activities of recruiters representing the company, who look for candidates even if they are not actively looking for a job. A popular method is the use of headhunters, who specialise in identifying and convincing potential candidates, often working for competitors or not actively seeking new career opportunities. This allows companies to reach more experienced or highly qualified professionals who may not be available through traditional recruitment channels.

External recruitment methods

Without doubt, one of the most common divisions of recruitment methods is between external and internal recruitment. In external, only applications from candidates who are in no way connected to the company are considered. They found the job advertisement on the Internet or heard about it from friends. External methods of employee recruitment include:

• job advertisements,
• job fairs,
• posting advertisements on social media.

Advantages of external employee recruitment

The advantages of external employee recruitment certainly include bringing a new person into the company who has an open mind. An outsider can (not only during the employee onboarding process, but also throughout the workflow) bring a completely different vision, practice and ideas. In addition, it carries a huge opportunity to bring in new changes.

Disadvantages of external employee recruitment

Of course, external sourcing of candidates also has its disadvantages. One of the most daunting is introducing an employee from the ground up, i.e. having to introduce them to the mission, vision and values of the company. The potential candidate is faced with many hours of introductions, also unrelated to his or her position, but linked to the entire brand and its structure. Disadvantages also include the risk of a mismatch, leading to higher costs and a longer recruitment process.

Internal recruitment methods

Internal recruitment and selection methods are often practised in large corporations. In this case, all recruitment activities take place within the structure of the organisation concerned. Internal recruitment methods include:

• promotion,
• rotation of employees between structures,
• internal referrals.

Advantages of internal recruitment

One of the biggest advantages of internal recruitment is certainly the fact that it involves much lower costs. There is no need to publish job advertisements on portals or use external companies. Another advantage is, of course, that recruiters have access to all information about the employee in question, so you know in advance how they approach the job and whether they can be counted on. You also don’t have to ask candidates to provide references from previous jobs, and employee promotions motivate the whole team and encourage them to apply for a better job.

Disadvantages of internal recruitment

Unfortunately, internal recruitment will not work well for small and often medium-sized businesses where there is too small a pool of candidates. It also has disadvantages, such as a lack of new insights or fresh ideas. In addition, internal employee recruitment raises many problems, such as the need to hire a new person for a previous position.

When recruiting employees, therefore, remember to carefully analyse your needs and choose the method that best suits your resources and the specifics of your organisation. By doing so, you will increase the chances of finding the right candidate who will be a great fit for the position.