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3 Tips for Finding New Talent through Online Recruiting

3 Tips for Finding New Talent through Online Recruiting

When you’re on the hunt for your next star employee, the Internet can be your most powerful recruiting tool. You’re able to reach people from all over, and can advertise your postings to those who might not see them if you simply put them in trade magazines or the local newspaper. When you’re looking to hire new talent, consider using these online recruiting strategies:

Post in non-traditional places

Everyone knows about posting job opportunities on LinkedIn and on Twitter, for example, but don’t limit yourself by only using two or three platforms. Why not post an ad on Craigslist? If there are groups in your area that pertain to your profession, see if they’ll post an ad about your job opening on their website. When you spread the word about the availability in as many places as possible, you’re increasing the likelihood that the perfect candidate will see it.

Make contact with industry influencers

In order to find the most desirable talent within your industry, you’ll need to do more than just post job openings and hope for the best. Instead, get deeply involved within your field. Find out who the influencers are within your business, and start conversations with them on Twitter. Are there are any industry-related bloggers you can connect with? These people will advocate for your company, and when you have job openings they can help to spread the word. This is a much more effective way to publicize your business.

Make your hiring process digital

With online recruiting, you’ll want to make sure that your hiring process is fully digital too. If you’re finding candidates via Twitter chats, you can’t then ask them to come into your office to fill out an application. Interested candidates should be able to fill out all relevant documents easily online or have the option to record a video interview for consideration. You may also want to look into building a portal on your company’s website so that you can store all of the applications you receive. Even if an individual isn’t exactly right for the current opening you have, you might find that they’re perfect for a position that opens up down the road. When it’s easy to recover their materials again later on, you’re able to move the hiring process along much more quickly.

Even if your company isn’t currently hiring, you should always be aware of what’s going on in your industry. What are the trends? Who’s shaping the conversation? When you’re an active contributor to industry discussions, people are going to be much more interested in your business when jobs do open up.

Image: dolgachov/BigStock.com

Lauren Levine

Lauren Levine is a copywriter/blogger who contributes to a number of magazines and websites including The Frisky, USA Today, and others. She also authors her own blog called Life with Lauren. She loves cooking, anything on the E! network, and is trying to convince herself that running isn't so bad.