Recruiting On-Line:
Using the Internet to Find New Employees

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Post Jobs: Services and Resources Available to You

Online Job Banks || Targeted Specialty Sites || Your Company Web Pages || Marketing Your Listings

Online Job Banks

These are similar to the Sunday Help Wanted sections in major newspapers. These services include the Careerbuilder.com, Monster.com, and JobCentral among many others.

• They cover a broad collection of industries and occupations
• Many have a keyword searchable database
• They may allow for employer information (benefits, company location, etc.)
• They will reach a very large audience
• When you post, be sure to include application instructions in the posting!

Questions to ask any Online Job Bank before posting in their pages

1. How does the job applicant contact you?
2. How many people are accessing this site?
3. How are the job announcement entered?
4. How are the postings updated or deleted?
5. Is there a resume database and does your fee allow you access?

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Targeted Specialty Sites

These include industry and association trade journals (ComputerWorld), sites dedicated to a specific audience, (Black Collegian), targeted locations (CTJobs.com),or even supported groups of professionals and similar services offered by the outplacement firms like DBM, Lee Hecht Harrison, Right Management Consultants, and other outplacement firms.

Employers, especially small to medium-sized businesses may find these resources to be their best "bang for a buck" options, especially the professional associations. Many operate their own online career centers and will post jobs and /or allow you access to their resume databases for a very reasonable fee. You will also be speaking with a much smaller yet more highly-qualified candidate pool.

Sites like this can be found all over The Riley Guide.

• These are usually smaller sites dedicated to recruiting in specific fields, industries, diverse audiences, locations, or support groups.
• They will reach a smaller but hopefully more qualified audience
• You can locate these targeted sites using a virtual library like Yahoo and finding industry or occupation links

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Posting on Your Company Web Pages--A Great Idea!

Many companies are adding their job openings to their corporate web pages, and it is paying off.

• Internet surfers are drawn to the company pages.
• You can connect with people targeting your company or industry through research
• The site provides instant access to more information so someone can make an informed decision about applying
• A nice low cost option!

You can also post jobs in many Mailing Lists.

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Marketing Your Listings

On the Internet, it's not who you know, it's who knows about you!

Once you add your jobs to your page, you must get the word out.

• List the URL on your brochures and business cards.
• Tell your recruiting partners your pages are available.
• When you list your jobs in other locations, point them back to your corporate site.
• Get a highly-visible link placed on the corporate web server.
• Put the URL in your print ads.
• Put the URL in your signature file on all email correspondence.
• Register your URL with anyone related to your recruiting needs.

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Using Mailing Lists

Using Mailing Lists

What's a Mailing List?

It is a discussion group which operates via Electronic Mail. Also called a Listserv, Listproc, or Majordomo, you must "subscribe" to a list to be included, and all messages are sent to your email box. These operate through Electronic Mail, and can be used to target postings to a more defined group of potential applicants or network.

Notes on Posting in Mailing Lists

1. Your Subject line should include the job location and job title
2. Follow a mailing list for a while before posting
3. Be sure job postings are acceptable to the group or contact the list owner with questions

Please read our information on Networking to learn more about using Mailing Lists in your recruiting campaign. You may also find our article on E-Networking to be a good introduction into using chat rooms and community sites.

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Searching for Posted Resumes and Potential Candidates

Resume Databases || Professional & Trade Associations || College Placement Centers & Alumni Associations || Diversity Candidates & Global Recruiting

Resume Databases

You can find potential employees all over the Internet. Many will use one of the several Resume Database and distribution services available through the major Job Banks along with most of the Industry or Occupational specialty sites. And, of course, Mailing Lists offer networking opportunities.

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Professional & Trade Associations

Many associations are now on-line and can put you in contact with members who are looking for new opportunities. The Scholarly Societies Project is one way to locate these associations, and Yahoo is another. The Riley Guide has many listed throughout the site.

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College Placement Centers and Alumni Associations

Locate and connect with many of these through The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) or just check with your local colleges! Check the College Alumni Association for more experienced candidates.

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Diversity Candidates & Global Recruiting

Look for Professional and Trade Associations dedicated to particular groups, like the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. Check collegiate web pages for the various Student Organizations on campuses and look for Internet sites dedicated to diversity and affinity groups. You may also find non-profit associations just waiting to help you out.

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Electronic Applications

When you start advertising jobs on-line, you should be prepared to accept applications and resumes via Email. Always specify that the resume and letter/application are plain text and are included in the body of the message unless you can handle attachments.

Talk with your IS personnel about using Forms via the Web for receiving resumes. These provide a set format to be filled in, and will allow cut-and-paste from an applicant's resume.However, still give applicants the option to email a plain-text resume in lieu of the form.

Here's the really good news for those of you who are still leaning towards Fax receipt of resumes. It's possible to allow both the email and form applications to load directly into your resume management system. Many have already developed this capability, so talk to your vendor and your favorite, most helpful IS staff member.

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A Few Thoughts

1. Managing the Mail

When you start letting folks email you their resume, expect a good response. So, a few tips to control the incoming deluge.

1. Require all applicants to use a specific job title or job number in the Subject line to sort mail.
2. Use a general mailbox such as jobs@yourcompany.com to receive all incoming applications. Never use someone's personal account!
3. Use an autoresponder to acknowledge receipt of mail sent to that box. Check with your organization's legal counsel to see if this is necessary and what to say, but letting people know that yes, you did get it, would be very polite.

2. Legal Implications of On-Line Recruiting

If you decide you are only going to recruit online from now on, you may be lining yourself up for trouble down the road. While no one has yet been hauled into court for violating any recruiting regulations in online recruiting, today's lawsuit-filled atmosphere is keeping most HR legal counsel leaning towards the side of extreme caution. All I can say is keep up with your professional reading and follow any article talking about this issue with extreme interest. SHRM is keeping a close eye on this and other online issues, so if you aren't a member you might consider the membership cost worth the information investment.

3. Want a Consultant to Help You Out?

Mark Mehler and Gerry Crispin of CareerXRoads, Pete Weddle, and Bill Vick of XtremeRecruiting are all experts in this area and are available to help you and your organization learn more about online recruiting and to create a strategy to best fit your needs.

4. Want to Know Who's Out There?

Interested in some demographics for the Internet? Trends and information on users of the Internet can be found through a variety of sources.

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For More Info: A Quick List of HR Information on the Internet

• SHRM
• Workforce
• NACE, The National Association of Colleges and Employers
• Online Recruiting News
• Weddles
• XtremeRecruiting

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