In today’s war for talent its more important than ever for companies to take initiative. Former employees would have applied directly to a company, these days the trend is heading in the reverse direction. The win over a generation of digital natives more creative solutions are needed, hence the use of e-recruiting. Unfortunately with so many different forms it can get a bit complicated. Today we’re going to take a closer look at the main instruments of e-recruiting and their specific uses.

1. Online Job Boards

For anyone who wants their job ad to get spotted, online job boards are a must. They’re the first stop for most young professionals looking for work, and they have plenty of boards to choose from – there are now over 1,500 online job boards worldwide. Which platform is best suited to a company however, is generally a matter of budget and target audience. Well known premium providers such a Monster and StepStone certainly get the most exposure, but also charge the highest fees. For those looking for most specific professionals, niche job boards might be the better option.

2. Personal Website

A company’s presence on the web is their calling card as an employer and a website should deliver what candidates expect i.e. Information on career prospects, quick access to vacancies and easy application possibilities. If your site has a separate career page then all the better. Additional services such as a newsletter sign-ups for new visitors are useful for establishing contact with candidates, and to begin building a pipeline of potential talent.

3. Social Recruiting

Social recruiting is becoming more attractive for entrepreneurs, and not without good reason. Posting to social networks, as opposed to job boards, is free. Job ads can quickly be made, posted and shared by other users. Thus, the scope of exposure is rapidly increased in a relatively short period of time. Active sourcing refers to the active search for potential candidates ahead of time via for example, talent communities. The key in both cases is to target focus groups with the appropriate speech, on Facebook for example, the tone is usually a little more casual than on career platforms such as XING or LinkedIn.

4. Mobile Recruiting

Mobile recruiting refers to the ability to communicate with and recruit candidates via mobile devices. This includes tools such as career apps, mobile career sites and mobile tagging i.e. the use of bar codes on print ads or billboards. A key advantage of mobile recruiting is the speed of communication and the nomadic accessibility to your target groups. However, exactly how effective it is remains to be seen. According to a softgarden survey very few applicants would choose mobile recruiting as their preferred method of application, however this may well be due to the fact that it’s not yet widely available as an option.

5. Virtual Career Fairs

The career fair is essentially dead. However, in the virtual world, the classic format of professional networking events are experiencing a revival. In contrast to the physical variant, online career fairs can reach to a much wider market including much sought-after passive candidates i.e those who are currently employed but open to new opportunities. Plus virtual career fairs save a great deal of time, money and resources in comparison to the classic version.

6. Online Assessments

From mathematical skills, fluency to teamwork: Online assessments provide businesses with a simple time saving way to assess potential candidates with online surveys. Even before a phone or face-to-face interview you can begin to build a comprehensive picture of the technical and social skills of your candidate, thus increasing your chances of finding the most suitable candidates for the job and avoiding emotionally-led rash decisions.

7. Delayed Video Interviews

An equally resource saving strategy is the integration of internet video interviews in the selection process. However, in contrast to the current popular method of live video interview, candidates are able to answer pre-recorded questions in their own time. For companies this is time saving as they don’t need to be present, plus they’re able to compare candidate interviews side by side for more accurate decision making.

8. Application Management Systems

In order to coordinate complex e-recruitment processes the use of a professional candidate management system can play a major role for companies. The possibilities range from implementing a job market on the company website and Facebook page to providing online application forms and creating mobile or social job application opportunities. The appropriate software can act as a powerful channel for companies to successfully apply the various tools of e-recruiting to their hiring processes.

Image Reference – Flickr Eva Galesloot