The core of any company is fixed with the employees, and every small business owner needs to be attentive to their employee search process. Utilizing different tools and strategies provide different results, and depending on your type of business, some strategies may be more applicable than others. Examine the following list with the structure of your organization in mind.
The Blanket method: Classified Advertisements, Job Postings, and “Help Wanted” signs
Placing an advertisement in the local newspaper, or placing fliers in specific types of businesses or areas of the community can generate interest. Be advised that you will get a wide range of different types of applicants, and the applicant pool will be limited to locals who may or may not have the expertise you’re looking for. This is a good tactic for retail, or anyone seeking “generalists.” There is always the tried and true method of putting a sign out in your window.
Internships or Temporary Employment Agencies
Universities and Colleges have programs that require students to work in the field while still studying for their degree. They come to you unskilled and green, but with a good amount of data stored and ready to implement with proper facilitation. Make sure you have an idea of how the intern might benefit from you as much as you might benefit from them, and contact you local university or college for information. Interns can become great long-term employees if you recruit them; they come fresh from their studies with a general idea of how the company functions already internalized.
Temp Agencies can provide a wide array of different types of employees, from accountants to secretaries. Temporary employee shortages can be difficult for small businesses. The benefit is that the temp agency has a screening process in place for all the applicants, and the agency also handles all the employee benefits and payroll. Workers are available quickly and if they perform well during their service you can request them as a permanent employee, with some cost involved.
Job Banks, Recruiters, and Employment Agencies
Job Banks like Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com provide national exposure to classified listings. Businesses advertising on these sites are often inundated with applicants, and there is no internal screening process.
Recruiters work on their own or through an agency, and are good sources for executive-level candidates. This is sometimes referred to as headhunting or sourcing. Be prepared to pay a significant fee upon hiring a candidate found through a recruiter. These individuals typically have a massive network and a detailed knowledge of the area. In a sense, you pay for their discernment and expertise. Recruiters are typically more involved in the hiring process, even interviewing. Recruiters tend to have long lasting relationships with their client companies and rely on their reputation, so this may be an option to consider if you have the extra capital, or if an exhaustive search on your own part has yielded few results.
Employment Agencies can supply job candidates for a fee. They will have many resumes to choose from, and as with Temporary Employment Agencies, they have an internal screening process as well, typically background checks and aptitude tests. They specialize in finding industry- or skill-specific workers.
Internal Candidates
If your business has already been established, look to your own workers and consider promoting from within for more skilled positions. You already know the background and work habits of this candidate, and the candidate would require minimal training. Promoting from within is also great for employee morale.
Your Web Site
General job seekers, but more specifically those who use your website and are familiar with it, will respond to advertisements posted on your website. Anyone who applies to a job posted on your website will likely already be associated in some way with the company. This could be a benefit, or a major drawback. The screening process should be designed to account for this. Your website is a built-in wealth of information about your company, so you can be assured you are receiving applications from informed candidates.
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