Recruiting Through Your Firm's Website
Employee recruitment continues to be a major concern to many employers. More and more firms are now using their own web site as a recruiting tool.
First, a point of perspective-- in todays tight labor market, recruiting efforts must be diversified to reach a wide candidate pool and to promote a maximum response. Your local newspaper help wanted section as well as promotion from with-in, employee referrals, help wanted signs, and contacts at local colleges or trade schools should all be part of your recruitment process.
This point is demonstrated by a recent survey. According to a study published in a recent issue of Industry Standard, a publication devoted to the internet economy, 79% of job seekers checked the help wanted classifieds, while 75% reported searching the internet for jobs. Of the "internet surfers" conducting on line job searches, four percent found jobs on-line. The Survey reported that when net surfers were asked how they found their jobs, 40% said that job contacts came from referrals and 23% found their jobs through the newspaper, while only the four percent noted above actually found jobs on the internet.
Human resources recruiters report that the easiest jobs to fill on-line are technical and computer related jobs. Other leading positions filled on-line include sales and marketing and middle management. If your firm is hiring these kinds of candidates, then a recruitment section on your firm's web site may pay off.
Since many job seekers access the internet for research about potential employers, it is likely that candidates applying for work at your firm are already checking your firm's web site for a preliminary evaluation of the organization. Human Resources experts offer the following tips for design of an effective recruitment section on your web site.
First, take a look at your firm's web site from the point of view of a job candidate. What kind of impression does the site give to individuals who are likely job candidates? Consider if design or content changes will make your site more candidate friendly.
Be sure to include an "employment opportunities" section on your web site home page. This can follow the tab, button or other design feature which prompts site visitors to different sections of the web site.
The employment opportunities section can include open job listings, benefits information, and company information. If the firm has just a few openings, these can be summarized on a page permitting the job candidate to scroll down reading the job information. If there are several jobs open at one time, it may be wise to list the open jobs at the top of the page.
Organizations that have a larger number of jobs may group job information by job categories such as management, computer systems, administrative, or production. Another grouping alternative is by geographical region if the firm has operations in various areas. Firms with a large number of job openings or a more sophisticated web site may include a search feature or job lists with links to the job summaries.
Job openings should be described giving an indication of duties, responsibilities and desired qualifications. Remember that if you write a very specific job requirement, it tends to limit the candidate pool while a broadly written job summary tends to widen the pool. As with other forms of recruitment, it may be necessary to experiment with different job titles and job summary definitions to promote a good response.
Provide application instructions. Job candidates searching the web are likely to have a resume in an e-mail format. E-mail submission of resumes is becoming a more widely accepted practice. There is even software available to help sort and evaluate e-mailed resumes.
Combine your web site recruiting with other efforts. For example, run a help wanted ad in your local newspaper in conjunction with your web site. In the ad, instruct applicant to apply, or call or write as you would usually do. Also, invite the candidate to check your web site for more information or on-line resume submission.
Remember that use of traditional as well as internet sources will be needed to generate a greater number of suitable candidates from which to select.
William S. Hubbartt is president of Hubbartt & Associates, a St. Charles, IL consulting firm specializing in employee compensation, employee handbooks, personnel policies and supervisory training. (www.Hubbartt.com) Mr. Hubbartt is author of The New Battle Over Workplace Privacy, published by AMACOM Books.
