In any business, the workforce is the lifeblood of the organization. Without a skilled, devoted and creative team working for you, your business may falter and even fail over time. If you are running a startup and are preparing to build a fabulous team, you understandably may be focused on developing recruiting strategies that work. While you could throw a classified ad online and see what happens, there are some better strategies to consider that may provide you with more beneficial results and that could even decrease the amount of time and effort that is required to find the right talent to join your firm..

Work With a Staffing Firm

A staffing firm will take time to learn more about your needs and about the position, and they will screen applicants on your behavior. Whether you work with an information technology staffing company, a financial services staffing firm or another specialized firm, you can reasonably expect your staffing agency representative to only send you resumes of the most qualified candidates. These may be individuals that the staffing firm has already prescreened on your behalf. There is a cost for this service, but it may be one of the most efficient ways to find quality candidates.

Use the Power of Social Media

Many companies are now successfully using social media platforms for recruiting purposes. For example, LinkedIn is a great resource to use if you want to browse online resumes. You can also post a link to your online job listing on Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms that your business uses. Your followers and contacts may be interested in the position themselves, or they could pass the link onto others who they feel may be well-qualified and interested. This is a free option to consider that could potentially yield immediate interest your job opportunity.

Ask Existing Team Members for Referrals

If you have already hired a few individuals to work for your startup, you can use your team’s connections to potentially find great applicants to consider. Remember that these referrals may be highly recommended by your team members, and this can take some of the pressure off of you to vet the applicants based on personality, work ethic and other important factors that could affect your business in the long run. If you are planning to hire for a more advanced position, you may even consider promoting from within. With some training or certifications, you may be able to move one of your team members up the career leader to fill your needs.

Target Local Colleges and Universities

If you are interested in finding a well-educated professional who may have limited real-life work experience, hiring a recent college graduate is a great idea. These individuals may be eager to work for an up-and-coming company and may have minimal salary expectations because of their lack of experience in the field. You can contact the recruiting departments for colleges and universities in your area to learn more about this possibility. An alternative is to start an internship program in your company so that you can take advantage of free or affordable labor.

View Resumes Online

Many qualified job seekers post their resume online with the hope of a business owner or hiring manager finding it. Searching through online resumes can be time-consuming, but it also can be fruitful. Remember that many resume posting websites have search features that could help you to quickly narrow down the number of resumes that you need to sort through. While this is usually a free option to consider, it may be considered as a last resort when the other options listed here are not fruitful. This is because it can take time and energy to find the right professional through this effort even when you use search functions to eliminate many resumes from consideration.

Hiring the right individuals to help your startup grow is important, and you do not want to leave any stone unturned. Each of these creative ideas can help you to locate exceptional individuals who may be well-qualified and eager to join your team.