What are External Sources of Recruitment?

Why Do Organisations Utilise External Sources of Recruitment?

Organisations utilise external sources of recruitment for a broad range of important reasons:

• Skill Gaps: Existing employees may lack the requisite skills for certain positions. External hiring enables the company to tap into a larger pool of talent with the specific skills needed.
• Innovation and New Ideas: External recruitment stimulates innovation. Fresh talent with new experience, fresh ideas, and new solutions, which may be hard to find internally, is introduced into the organisation.
• Expansion and Growth: During periods of high business expansion or growth, external recruitment becomes essential to fill multiple positions quickly. This is especially true in sectors experiencing rapid growth that require skilled workers.
• Diversity and Inclusion: External recruitment helps promote diversity in the workplace. It allows companies to hire individuals from diverse cultural, educational, and geographical backgrounds. This diversity can foster a more innovative, collaborative, and inclusive work environment.

Genuine External Sources of Recruitment

External recruitment sources are abundant, and businesses can gain access to potential applicants. Let's take a look at some examples of external recruitment sources:

a) Job Portals & Online Listings

Job portals are one of the most prevalent mediums for external recruitment. Websites like Indeed, Monster, Glassdoor, and niche job boards allow organisations to post job advertisements. These platforms provide access to a huge global pool of applicants.

Organisations are able to search resumes, sort candidates according to skill, and monitor follow-up on applications.

b) Campus Recruitment

Campus recruitment is an external sourcing method whereby companies go to universities and colleges to hire recent graduates. These programs target soon-to-be-employed students before they enter the workforce. They offer internships, entry-level positions, or graduate programs to help them transition into their careers.

By partnering with universities, businesses can have full access to a group of young adults and educated individuals with the latest educational information.

c) Employment Agencies & Headhunters

Employment agencies specialise in matching companies with suitable candidates, especially for roles that require specific skills. They maintain vast databases of job seekers and handle both temporary and permanent placements across various industries.

Headhunters, on the other hand, focus on filling high-level executive or niche roles. Leveraging deep industry insight and professional networks, they target passive candidates - individuals not actively looking for a job but well-suited for strategic leadership positions.

d) Recruitment Events & Job Fairs

Employer and candidate meetups at job fairs and recruitment events are organised events where employers and candidates sit down together to interview for positions. They usually take place in large cities or on college campuses and provide companies with the opportunity to see many candidates within a short time frame.

Job fairs may be general, or they may specialise in a particular industry. They are an excellent means for employers to brand themselves while conducting interviews with prospective employees in person.

e) Employee Referrals (Outside Network)

While employee referrals are commonly considered an internal recruitment source, employee referrals outside the network represent a valuable method of external recruitment. 

Employees can refer qualified colleagues, relatives, or friends outside the company, giving the firm access to talent pools that may not be well-known. Referrals tend to attract higher-calibre candidates because they are referred by someone within the firm.

f) Government & Placement Exchanges

Government-controlled employment offices and recruitment agencies are an important connection between companies and prospective workers. Some of these offices are subsidised by public authorities, making them a valuable resource for companies. They are particularly useful for recruiting members of minority groups or filling vacancies that require specialised qualifications.

State-supported programmes can also provide incentives or subsidies to employ certain categories of candidates, such as ex-servicemen or candidates from deprived regions.

g) Social Media

Social networking websites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are becoming major recruitment vehicles. LinkedIn, for instance, is professionally designed to accommodate networking and job seeking. Here, employers can advertise employment vacancies, browse for possible applicants, and even contact passive employment seekers. 

Facebook and Twitter are also employed by employers to announce job vacancies and market corporate culture, which could draw in candidates who share the same values as the company.

Advantages of External Sources of Recruitment

External sources of recruitment provide organisations with numerous benefits that are important to organisations seeking to bring in better staff:

• Larger and Broader Talent Pool: External sources of recruitment give organisations access to a larger pool of talent. This provides the opportunity to select candidates with diverse skills, experiences, and backgrounds.
  
  
• Bring New Ideas, Skills, and Innovations: Hiring from outside the company brings new ideas and diverse means of doing things to the company. These new employees are likely to bring the latest information from the industry as well as creative problem-solving skills that help businesses remain at the cutting edge.
  
  
• Fills Specialised Positions: There are some jobs requiring specialised skills that are hard to find within the organisation. The most probable remedy when the required talent for those jobs is not within the current talent pool of the organisation lies in external recruitment.

Challenges of External Recruitment

Although there are many advantages to external recruitment, it has some challenges:

• Expensive: Advertising, agency fees, and other hiring expenses can be more than the internal hiring process, which can be fewer steps and less costly.
• Longer Hiring Process: Screening external candidates takes longer to finish interviews, background checks, and reference checks. External hires also need a more extensive onboarding process to familiarise themselves with the company culture and procedures.
• Risk of Cultural Misfit or Higher Attrition: External candidates, even highly qualified, might find it difficult to fit into the organisational culture. This misfit can be a cause of dissatisfaction and higher turnover, especially if the company has a very distinct culture that new employees might have difficulty incorporating.

Related: Employee Onboarding Checklist

Conclusion

External recruitment expands the talent pool, brings in fresh ideas, and fills roles that internal candidates may not suit. While it offers access to diverse skills, it can be costlier and pose cultural fit challenges. Therefore, a balanced approach using external sources when internal ones fall short helps companies attract top talent. When paired with effective onboarding, it boosts long-term success and sustainability.