Recruiting new talent for your company can take on many forms and shapes. There is no one sure way to attract the best talent, and more often than not, it is best not to put all of your eggs in one basket. The more avenues you seek in finding the best candidates, the better your chances are at actually landing one who will fulfill all of the requirements, and will remain in the position for the longest amount of time as well. So what are the most popular types of recruitment, and how do you use them to your advantage?

Internal Recruitment

A lot of companies may try to find a candidate within the organization before posting the role anywhere else. The role can be advertised through internal boards, emails and group chats. It can be talked about in meetings and offered as a promotion to existing employees. There are several ways a company can look for internal candidates:

• Ask employees for internal referrals.
• Promote part-time or freelance employees to a full-time role.
• Reach out to a former employee with a new opportunity.
• As mentioned – promote to a more senior role.

This method has many benefits, such as saving time, money, prior knowledge of the candidates, and most importantly, keeping employees motivated. If they know they have a clear career path leading to promotions, they are more likely to stay invested. However, in some cases, it may be difficult to locate the right person for the job inside the company, and you may not want to leave another position empty by promoting. In addition, bringing in new people may help refresh the company’s point of view, culture and work environment.

External Recruitment

If no internal candidate is found for a role, this is the most common route of recruitment. The company then starts a process of advertising for the position and receiving resumes from potential candidates. The first, most important step is drafting the job description. This will make sure that only relevant candidates will apply, so it must contain all of the job responsibilities, as well as the experience needed, education level, skills, certifications, company culture and anything else that is important for the employee to succeed in the role. After that, there are several popular ways of recruiting talent.

Job Boards

Many smaller job boards will let you post your position for free, as it helps them boost their rankings. This is a good place to start on a smaller budget. For the larger boards you will have to pay, but if you’re looking to fill a role in a specific niche, a specialized job board may be worth the investment.

Social Media

Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Instagram and definitely LinkedIn are places where your candidates are most likely to spend most of their time. Even if they are not there looking for a job, if they see one, they may click on it, and the good news is, it’s mostly free for you as well (unless you’re using paid ads).

Employee Referrals

This was mentioned in the internal recruiting section but as a means of referring people from within the company. In this case, you can ask your employees to refer their friends, family members and colleagues from past roles. This method is popular as it is super efficient. When your employee recommends someone, they take into account that this person will need to meet certain criteria, as they don’t want to disappoint you. In addition, people in the same friend group tend to share the same interests and values, ensuring you’ll receive a candidate who’s already in tune with the company culture. Finally, the referee will already have knowledge of your company from their friend, making sure they arrive with realistic expectations of the role.

Recruiting Firms

Many companies prefer outsourcing the recruiting process to an outside firm, in order to make sure that it is done in the most professional manner. Recruiting firms have years of experience with handling candidates, they know the best methods of screening, in addition to having many connections, ensuring they can provide the best talent in the shortest amount of time. Within the recruiting firms' world, there are two types of recruiters you can hire. The contingency recruiter’s work is dependent on their success. They basically only get paid if they manage to find you a placement. A retained recruitment firm will require some kind of fee upon signing. Each type has its own pros and cons, which may vary according to the specific role you’re looking to fill.