Recruitment methods are ways in which the employers conduct the recruitment process and ultimately select the most appropriate candidate(s) for the job.

Methods of recruitment

Internal: candidates are selected from a pool of existing applicants or staff

  • The advantages to this method is that the applicants do not need to go through initial trainings or adapt to the organizational culture. For these reasons, it is also cheaper and easier to organize. Furthermore, the possibility of promotion is an ongoing stimulus for the staff and it may increase their performance over the years.
  • On the other hand, this method is limiting, not allowing to explore the market and recruit young talent, which also means there is less potential for innovation. In the same time, by appointing someone who already has a position in the organization, it still leaves a blank place that needs filling and may create resentment among staff.

External: when the position is filled by a person from outside the organization

  • As an advantage, it represents an opportunity from an outsider to become part of the team and demonstrate their skills and potential.
  • As an inconvenient, it requires more resources to organize a recruitment and selection process, and then for the initial trainings and adaptation period.

Popular ways of recruitment

Job centres: part of the government, they are usually agencies specialized in bringing together offer and demand in the job market. They are usually free for the applicant and they present the advantage of containing a structured database in different sectors and industries.

Job advertisements: the most popular way of external recruitment, they are spread by the employer in the relevant media (nowadays mostly social networks such as LinkedIn, Facebook etc.) and contain minimum information regarding the job description, location, pay-package, inviting suitable candidates to apply in a certain timeframe. The coverage is limited by the extent to which the organization would like to look for candidates.

Recruitment agency: also known as “head-hunters”, there are people specialized in helping people find a relevant job in their field for a commission. It has become more wide-spread in some fields such as financial services or teaching.

Personal recommendation: also known as “word of mouth”, it is an unofficial method of recruitment that presents the advantage of a personal reference, however it is not highly dependable. A full assessment will still be needed from the part of the employer, but it saves on the recruitment costs.