If you rely on all the usual career-building websites to fill the openings in your company, you aren’t alone. Most employers today use digital job boards to advertise positions ranging from entry-level assistants to high-ranking executives. The problem is that with thousands of other listings competing alongside your own, there’s no sure way to know that your ad is being seen by the people who fit your definition of the ideal employee profile. 

How do you bring quality control back to the table? As with everything in business, thinking outside the box is the key to getting ahead of the game. Whether you’re looking for fresh talent or want to attract experienced professionals who may already have full-time jobs, incorporating the creative solutions below into your recruitment plan can help you land the perfect candidate. 

1. Set up referrals. Chances are that your current employees already have excellent industry contacts. Take advantage of their connections by inviting them to participate in an office referral program. Depending on your budget, prizes can run the gamut from bonuses to free parking spots and other office perks. Internal recommendations from employees make the best leads. 

2. Do a little digging of your own. Instead of waiting for resumes to come to you, take matters into your own hands by targeting the kind of people you want to work with on social media and networking websites. 

3. Post a video. Much like employers find it difficult to sift through hundreds of standard resumes to find candidates who sound the most promising, job seekers have a tough time telling companies apart based on text ads alone. Sharing a short promotional video that showcases what your company is all about can instantly make your business stand out from the crowd. 

4. Keep it simple. When you do write text ads, make them easy to read for both human eyes and search engines. Because people search for broad industry terms, using too much slang or any kind of indirect language can work against you. 

5. Hold an open house. If you have a fairly small company, asking local candidates to come in and talk with you and your team in a more casual setting can help you save time on reading resumes and make it easier to spot people who perform better in person than on paper. 

6. Dip into other industry pools to fill positions that don’t require highly technical skills. For example, successful retail managers can transition to handling customer complaints for corporations, while servers in fast-paced restaurants may already have the multitasking background you’re looking for in your next administrative assistant. 

7. Hit the pavement. Industry conferences are usually the best places to mingle with potential employees, but you can find promising talent practically anywhere, from colleges to recreational clubs.

8. Take a second look at your rejection list. Contacting candidates who left your company on good terms or those who were almost hired in the past can put the hiring process on the fast track from the very beginning. 

9. Have a contest. If you work in a creative field, where strong talent often overrides extensive experience, looking at resumes first is a little like working backwards. To get right to the point, use your website and social media pages to ask for submissions that fit the job requirements. Winners can be rewarded with individual portfolio reviews, face-to-face interviews or open-ended apprenticeships.

10. Promote Nationally and promote the area. It's not easy to find talent locally, and oftentimes you live in an area with a very low unemployment area. Promote the job all over the country, but promote the area really well on top of that. Nu Skin does a great job with that.

11. Sell your brand. At the end of the day, the single best way to find and retain all-star employees is to convince them that you’re an all-star employer. In addition to promoting recruitment videos, use logos, positive language and podcasts to tell prospective employees what makes your business special.