Guide to External Sources of Recruitment: Meaning, Advantages

External sources of recruitment mean hiring qualified candidates from outside of the organisation. The organisation must analyse the vacant open positions, and then use these methods to fulfil the requirements.

The analysis of vacant positions has to be done by management, and they must choose the ways to recruit the candidates by external sources of recruitment.

The Advantages of External Sources of Recruitment

1. Networking

These sources enhance networking with candidates and are to be used for future references. This process also helps to enhance diversity in the organisation. Recruiting employees from different backgrounds helps to be more effective in creating a diverse workforce for the organisation.

2. A Diverse Pool of Candidates

A huge pool of external applicants applies to the vacant positions, which increases the chance of getting the best-suited candidates. The new employees from diverse backgrounds bring in new ideas and strategies from their previous work experience to improve the organisation’s efficiency.

3. Employer Branding

The employer brand reaches many candidates who have applied for the organisation. Employer branding describes an employer’s reputation in the niche that is described to the job seekers. The external recruitment process helps organisations to compete for the best talent, and establish credibility.

4. Fill the Talent Pipeline

A talent pipeline is a pool of candidates who are ready to fill vacant positions in organisations. These employees are kept as prospects for advancement, or external candidates for an opening. The talented employees who are hired help the organisation to stay competitive by keeping up with the current trends.

5. Avoids Bias

Bias leads to recruiters making irrational hiring decisions. These biases can make the organisation miss out on the opportunity to hire the best talent with the necessary skillsets suited for the position.

Methods of External Sources of Recruitment

1. Advertisements

Advertisements are followed by organisations to fill candidates with the necessary skill sets for vacant positions. This helps to spread vacant positions in large numbers and is used for hiring skilled workers necessary for the job role.

2. Recruitment Marketing

The major objective of recruitment marketing is to build employer branding among the potential employees of the organisation. The best practices of recruitment marketing involve the use of paid marketing, as well as the organic, repurposing of the content for the user experience.

3. Campus Recruitment

The organisation conducts an interview process for the potential candidates in desired universities. The employees with the necessary skill sets are employed through the colleges, as well as the institutes of management and technologies.

4. Walk-Ins

A walk-in interview is a method of recruitment where interested candidates reach out to the organisation to attend an interview with recruiters. The recruiters organise certain tests to determine the potential candidate’s ability, so they can make informed decisions.

5. E-Recruiting

E-recruiting makes the recruiting process more efficient and effective. The HR managers can reach a large pool of candidates, and speed up the hiring process. E-recruiting is also known as online recruiting used for attracting and assessing employees, selecting them based on performance, and onboarding those candidates chosen.

6. Online Job Boards

Online job boards are one of the most popular types of external sources of recruitment to hire qualified employees. This type of recruitment helps find the right candidates for the job by connecting employers with job seekers. Recruiters often use multiple job boards to increase their reach.

7. Applicant Tracking System (ATS)

An applicant tracking system (ATS) helps to filter candidates based on their skill sets and identifies the ideal candidate for the job role. It is basically recruitment software used by the organisation to manage the recruitment process by sourcing talent, assessing potential, tracking the interview process, and making job offers.

8. Employee Referrals

Encourage employees to refer the role to family, friends, and co-workers who are applicable to apply for an open position in the organisation. This process helps to find qualified candidates who can fit into the team and culture.

9. Previous Applicants’

The previous applicants who have shown interest in the organisation’s vacant positions before. These applicants can be easily approached with a positive outcome in most cases.

External vs. Internal Source of Recruitment

The external source of recruitment is hiring candidates outside the organisation. An organisation makes external sources of recruitment when the internal recruitment process is not viable.

An internal recruitment process involves motivating employees to apply for open positions within the organisation. This movement can be considered a promotion or lateral movement. The internal sources of recruitment include the recruitment of employees within the organisation. The different types of internal hiring are promotions, transfers, employee referrals, and former employees.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is it necessary for every organisation to consider external sources of recruitment?

Every organisation has to use external sources of recruitment when internal recruitment is not suitable. When hired externally the organisation can meet the needs of expansion.

2. What are the different methods for external sources of recruitment?

The different methods of external sources of recruitment are advertisements, recruitment marketing, campus recruitment, walk-ins, e-recruiting, online job boards, applicant tracking systems (ATS), employee referrals, and previous applicants.

3. How do external sources of recruitment different from the internal recruitment process?

In external sources of recruitment, the recruitment happens outside of the organisation, and internal recruitment happens within the organisation which includes promotion, lateral hiring, and transfer.

Closing Thoughts

Employees are an important asset to the organisation. The organisation has to be conscious while hiring from external sources of recruitment. Several external sources of recruitment include advertisements, recruitment marketing, campus recruitment, walk-ins, e-recruiting, online job boards, applicant tracking systems (ATS), employee referrals, and previous applicants.

There are commonly used external sources of recruitment that organisations use depending on their needs, such as the nature of the job positions, and the number of candidates to be reached. 

LogicMelon

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