In today’s corporate environment, the discerning manager who wants to streamline the recruitment process for his team is spoilt for choice. You have online job boards, job fairs, college recruitment drives, employee referrals, and of course, executive search firms.

We recently discussed with the national sales head of a large multinational company who was trying to figure out which source would get him the best candidates, and realised that the best bet for hiring managers and recruitment teams was to use a combination of channels in order to establish and streamline a healthy recruitment pipeline.

– Online recruitment

Including job boards and social networks, this channel has become one of the most used recruitment tools for internal recruitment teams as well as third party search agencies. The biggest advantage of using this channel is that it is cost effective and exponentially increases the size of the candidate pool.

– Job fairs and college recruitment drives

A job fair is a convenient common platform for employers and recruiters to meet prospective candidates. Employers book booths or tables where organisation culture and benefits are showcased and resumes are collected. The biggest advantage of this recruitment channel is the convenience and direct interface between potential employers and candidates.

– Employee referrals

This scheme uses the professional and personal networks of current employees as the source of suitable candidates. This channel is widely acknowledged as being the most cost effective, and organisations across the world are trying to increase the volume of recruits through this. Studies indicate numerous benefits, ranging from lower recruitment costs, improved employee suitability, quality and retention.

– Executive search firms

An executive search firm or a headhunter is a third party recruiter who is contracted by organisations to source candidates on the basis of the requirements released to them. These agencies are usually very specialised and are used for critical mid-level and senior vacancies. Executive search is usually the best channel to fill urgent or critical positions, since they are known to be aggressive in their search. They are also a good source to use while targeting passive candidates who might not be actively looking for a job change, but might be a perfect fit for a role.