Discuss the external sources of recruitment

In this post, we will discuss the external sources of recruitment. External sources of recruitment are the external sources from which companies hire people for various positions.

Companies are focusing more than ever on recruiting the right employees. Having the right employees in the right positions is essential to strengthening the firm’s competitive advantage and improving growth rate. Businesses compete for human resources too. In the digital era, hiring online has become common. Companies recruit from both internal and external sources. There are several external sources of hiring that companies can hire from. Here are the leading external sources of recruitment:

Suggested Reading: External factors that affect organizational culture.

Leading external sources of recruitment:

Media advertisement:

Media advertisements have been a common external source of recruitment for employers since long. Before digital technology became common across the industry, employers relied on media advertisements mainly for hiring. However, media advertisements are still a preferred source of recruitment for employers across various industry sectors and in various industrial regions. Employers place ads in newspapers and journals offering a comprehensive detail about the organization, position, skills, qualification and other details to attract potential recruits.

Employment exchange:

Employment exchanges are run by the government. They store detailed data of job seekers like name, age, skills, qualification, and experience. The employment exchange provides this data to the employers needing to hire people. In case of certain job vacancies, it is mandatory for the employers to provide all the details to the employment exchange. Employment exchange is among the most common external sources of recruitment offering jobs to skilled, semiskilled and unskilled workers.

Factory gate or direct recruitment:

Factory gate recruitment is also known as direct recruitment and is also among one of the commonly used recruitment channels across several industry sectors. Especially, when it comes to hiring the unskilled or temporary workers, direct recruitment is considered an important source. In case of factory gate recruitment, the company posts a notice at the factory gate with information about available jobs. Applicants can check out the information and directly apply for the job.

Casual callers:

Casual callers are among the less used but still a popular externa source of recruitment. Casual callers are also called unsolicited applicants. They may casually come to some well-known organization and wither drop a mail or visit the recruitment function directly seeking a job opportunity. Many companies maintain file of such unsolicited applicants so that whenever a vacancy arises, they can inform them, especially the ones who match the job profile.

Campus placement or hiring from educational institutions:

Campus placements are among the most common and most popular external sources of recruitment. In several industry sectors and especially the technology sector where the competition for hiring highly skilled individuals in very high, the companies form close relationships with educational institutions to hire graduates seeking employment.

Companies annually visit the college campus to hire fresh graduates to various job positions, and hire students directly. It is the most popular among external source of hiring among a large number of leading organizations. The ivy league colleges especially experience a high number of brands visiting their college campuses each year for hiring.

Suggested Reading: Internal Factors that affect organizational culture

Labor contractors:

Labor contractors help firms acquire semi-skilled and unskilled workers mainly. They are also among the most common external sources of recruitment used by businesses worldwide. Many businesses employ labor contractors for recruitment and some of them have agreements with labor contractors to supply workers who can fulfil particular roles and complete specific tasks. The contractor remains in touch with the workers and helps them find work. He also maintains contact with several companies and informs workers when there is a vacancy. The labor contractor receives a commission for supplying workers to various businesses.

Walk ins:

Walk-ins are also among the popular sources of external recruitment channels. Companies invite candidates through advertisements for particular job positions. The candidates can apply for the vacancy and then directly walk in for an interview at the mentioned time and venue. Candidates do not need to fill applications in advance when called for a walk in interview. They can instead fill the application at the venue when they arrive for the interview with their resume and other necessary documents.

Suggested Reading: The process of recruitment at Amazon – How Amazon Hires?

E-recruitment:

E-recruitment means searching for candidates digitally or electronically. It has become a common form of external source of recruitment across the industry. During the pandemic, people started working remotely. Companies are now using digital channels mainly for hiring and engaging workers. They use online portals like Monster and Indeed or LinkedIn to acquire candidates for specific positions. There are various tools on these websites to enable both companies and candidates find the right fit. Candidates can search for the companies they want to work with and companies can search for the candidates that fit in the positions.

Management consultants:

Management consulting firms or consultancies are also among the most common external sources of recruitment across the world. These consultancies are like middlemen that help candidates find the right job positions at the right companies and the companies find the right candidates for various job positions. Several of these firms that have achieved a strong position in this sector are considered experts when it comes to hiring talent for mid-level and top-level positions. Businesses use them to hire technical, managerial or human resources staff.

The management consultancies keep detailed records of candidates including qualification, experience, and education related details and offer it to companies that need to hire personnel.

A few last words:

In the modern era, human resource management has become an important strategic focus for businesses since they are the leading source of competitive advantage for businesses. Companies are investing in hiring and training the right employees. Recruiting the right employees is critical since it affects the productivity of the company. Apart from that, it also affects the retention rate. The number of external sources from which companies can recruit has increased over the last decade.

The advancement of digital technology has led to increase in the number of online platforms from where companies can hire professionals. Linkedin, Monster, Indeed are among the leading external sources of recruitment for companies. while the use of digital channels for recruitment has grown over time, the other traditional sources are not entirely out of use. Companies also use them to invite candidates.

Mostly, it depends on the type of role that the companies’ selection of external recruitment channel is based upon. Apart from that, it also depends to some extent on the geographic region where the company is located and the kind of skills required for the job. However, companies have several options to select from when selecting the right mix of external channels for recruitment. In the technology industry, college placements are still a leading external source of recruitment for hiring fresh talent.