Recruiting

In the old days a job search might mean a classified ad in the local paper, perhaps a display ad in a trade journal and maybe a recruitment visit to the local college. For higher-level or more specialized jobs the search could get prohibitively expensive and increasingly complex. The greater the geographic reach, the more ad space required, the more papers and trade journals to contact and the more recruitment trips scheduled.

Not Any More

The Internet has opened up wonderful new opportunities for recruiting, allowing employers to cast a much broader net and, for some companies, helping to decrease the cost of recruitment advertising. Recruitment listings on popular Internet sites cost a fraction of what ads in widely distributed trade journals or urban newspapers cost, have more staying power and position your organization as technologically savvy.

Online recruiting is becoming increasingly popular and represents ease and convenience for both employee and employer. It doesn't come without risks, however. While the benefits are real, there are perils involved as well.

Security

Recruiting online means that you will be receiving e-mail and, potentially, attached files from unknown sources. You will need to work with your information systems department to ensure that the proper security and screening devices are in place to protect your organization from unauthorized access as well as from computer viruses.

You will want to consider issues like whether or not you will accept attached files or will, instead, require applicants to complete your own online application form.

You will need to decide whether applications should all come to some central location (the HR department, for instance) or if management staff can receive applications directly.

You should consider establishing policies for accepting resumes and communicating with job applicants online and make sure that management staff follows these guidelines.

You will need to set up procedures and practices to ensure that your recruiting methods ensure privacy for your organization as well as for those individuals submitting their resumes.

These are all important issues that will require partnering with other internal departments, most notably the information

...