- Anticipate staffing needs.
- Target messages to a specific type of candidate.
- Understand the needs of targeted candidates, and appeal to their needs.
- Investigate the possibility of employing older workers.
- Workers with disabilities may be a target market segment that will help meet your staffing needs.
- Analyze the ways that moonlighters might meet staffing needs for nights and weekends.
- Look at career shifters as a group to enter your industry.
- “Back-to-work-moms” are looking for employment opportunities that offer training as well as flexibility.
- Target disadvantaged youth as a market segment to meet recruiting needs.
- Exiting military are looking for career opportunities in the civilian world.
- Prison release programs have job candidates that are looking for a second chance.
- Work with government funded employment and training programs that will assist you in the recruitment process.
- Look carefully at internal issues before employing non-traditional workers; see if diversity training is appropriate for supervisors and managers of these new workers.
- Put yourself in the candidate’s place—where would they hear about you?
- Investigate high school and post-secondary vocational education programs—DECA, VICA, FHA, FFA, etc. (and if you don’t know what these acronyms stand for—call a local high school to find out!)
- Participate in Junior Achievement and other youth business education programs—it helps establish your company and the career choice in that student’s mind.
- Discover if your city has a business-education partnership for youth.
- Consider your image as an employer, and develop strategies to enhance that image as an Employer of ChoiceSM.
- Advertise in alternate sections of the newspaper.
- Use different newspapers to advertise your recruitment message—don’t overlook the local and community papers.
- Place testimonial advertisements.
- Investigate the use of the papers sold in convenience stores such as the Thrifty Nickel or the Bargain Mart.
- Use compelling graphics and ad copy.
- Stress your benefits—sell the opportunity!
- Use recruiting advertising agencies for more effective advertising.
- Limit the number of recruiting messages used in one medium—you don’t want to appear desperate (even though you may be!).
- Use the media to promote the benefits of working at your organization.
- Offer coupons in your newspaper ads for candidates to complete and mail in.
- Staff your telephones on Sunday, so that candidates can call in for information.
- Use an 800 number, so that out-of-town candidates can more easily contact you.
- Institute a recruitment hot line, so that interested individuals can call to get information on the kinds of positions that are open.
- Use the Internet to publicize your organization and specific job vacancies.
- Try a product advertising agency for a fresh approach.
- Tap into your company’s resources and work with your marketing/advertising departments for recruitment ideas.
- Investigate the use of cable television.
- Use radio with print advertising for best results.
- Look into prime time television to deliver your messages.
- Hold an open house to attract career shifters or to fill multiple positions.
- Try a call-in open house by asking candidates to call a number for more information.
- Join with other employers and participate in career fairs and job fairs.
- Set up your own career fair with your local mall.
- Buy a recruiting booth when participating in career fairs.
- Develop recruitment videos to play at career fairs and open houses.
- Create recruitment literature for use in all recruiting activities.
- Plan give-aways for candidates who identify your organization (include contact information).
- Offer free career planning workshops to the public—and at the end, sell them on careers with your organization.
- Use posters and signs with tear-off application forms in grocery stores, banks, community centers, laundromats, and churches.
- Try telemarketing—reaching your prospective candidate by phone.
- Use traditional employment agencies to find candidates.
- Investigate the use of agencies that conduct research for you.
- Work with agencies to conduct telemarketing campaigns.
- Use vendors to establish a computerized database resume retrieval system.
- Investigate the use of temp workers with temporary placement agencies.
- Use leased employees.
- Try part-time employees and job sharing as flexible means to attract a wider range of candidates.
- Investigate the use of telecommuting to attract more job candidates.
- Offer flextime as a staffing alternative.
- Don’t give up—persistence pays!
- Direct mail can be an excellent way to target the candidates you need.
- Mail audio tapes or CD’s instead of letters to targeted candidates.
- Door hangers are another method to use when you want to attract candidates from a specific geographic area.
- Use point of sale recruiting messages.
- Enhance your employee referral program by reminding employees of bonuses and benefits through payroll stuffers, posters, and announcements at staff meetings.
- Revamp your employee referral program, and use it only during peak need periods.
- Recruit in locations where you have a competitive advantage.
- Use a mobile recruiting van.
- Advertise on mass transit.
- Lease a van to transport employees.
- Work with realtors on career assistance for relocating spouses.
- Connect with Welcome Wagon in your community to provide career assistance for relocating spouses.
- Offer employee housing when you are in a remote location, or when housing costs are not affordable by job candidates.
- Develop methods to effectively handle “walk-in” candidates.
- Create a data bank for unsolicited resumes.
- Advertise in trade journals and professional publications.
- Work with professional organizations and their placement services.
- Network with other professionals to find top applicants.
- Check on business closings for laid-off employees and team up with outplacement firms.
- Use airplane banners to send messages at the beach or at sports events.
- Use highway billboards to display recruitment messages.
- Highlight your message on electronic billboards at sporting events.
- Display your message on kiosks located in malls and airports.
- Try cinema billboards to send your message.
- Use magazine advertising to build image.
- Recruit your customers by placing recruitment messages into customer billings.
- Involve your customers in recruitment by implementing a customer referral program.
- Get your recruiting messages to the churches in your area.
- Collaborate with other businesses in your area for locating potential employees.
- Contact other divisions of your organization for locating potential job candidates.
- Send recruiting messages on videotape or DVD to prospective candidates.
- Look at recruitment as an on-going effort not just a response to a job vacancy.
- Build college recruiting by concentrating efforts on a fewer number of schools.
- Build relationships with colleges through internship programs, scholarships, and donations.
- Get involved with local high schools to build your image.
- Use an outside management consultant to assist you in developing creative, non-traditional strategies.
- Push top management for recruiting dollars.
- Don’t rely on any one method for recruiting.
- Be creative—take risks!
- Dare to be different from your competitors.
- Attend seminars and conferences on recruitment.
- Involve the entire management team in the recruitment process.
- Look to employee retention as the long term recruitment solution.
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Catherine D. Fyock, CSP, SPHR, is president of Innovative Management Concepts and a fellow of The Institute. She is also the author of Get the Best and Unretirement. For more information about Fyock or her services, call The Institute at (336) 282-1480.
4057 Battleground Avenue, Suite R • Greensboro, NC 27410-8410 • Tel: (336) 282-9370 • Fax: (336) 282-2003 • E-mail: info@employee.org • Copyright © 1998-2005 The Workforce Stability Institute
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