Regardless of what sector you are involved in, recruiting the best personnel is essential. Without the right talent no business can thrive.
Unfortunately, the recruitment process is usually time-consuming. This means that it can be extremely expensive. Fortunately, there are ways to keep the costs down. One of which is using the web to research potential candidates. This speeds up the process considerably. Here are some tools every business should be aware of.
White Pages
If you are recruiting, you can use White Pages to carry out a people background search. The service is free and it pulls in details from various public record sources. This saves you from having to visit numerous websites and carry out searches on each one of them.
The searches are secure and confidential. Criminal histories are included in the search results. Names, phone numbers, email addresses, business names, and physical addresses can all be used to carry out your background check.
Use LinkedIn
LinkedIn should be your next port of call. Most job seekers will update their account before starting their job search. So, you should find a complete job history.
More importantly, you will also be able to find out more by looking at the skills and endorsements sections. The recommendations of others can be a good indicator of how accomplished they are.
Visit the Social Media Accounts of Potential Candidates
When applicants apply, ask them to supply details of all of the most popular social media accounts. You will be surprised by how much you can find out about applicants from these sources.
However, you have to be balanced about when and how you use them. This article discusses the ethics of using this method. It goes through the pros and cons and shows you the fastest way to glean the information you need, should you choose to use this research method.
Check Out Their Websites
If they have a blog or website that they run, ask for the URLs. This is particularly useful if their website is related to the work they will be doing for you.
Read Anything They Have Published
Some candidates will have spoken publically, recorded videos, or published articles. A few will have written books. You don’t need to check all of this out, but if you think anything is particularly relevant to the role you are recruiting for, focus in on those.
All of the above tools and techniques are very easy to use. Potentially, you can train someone to do this type of work in just a couple of hours, if you don’t want to do it yourself.
Don’t Believe Everything You Read Online
The web can be a useful recruitment tool. But, but bear in mind that not everything you see online will be accurate. So, if there are any skills you are relying upon your new recruit having, test those at the interview stage.
Lastly, if there is a candidate that does not have much of a web presence, don’t immediately strike them from your list. Some people are quiet and private and very rarely, if ever, share anything online. Provided the candidate has the right qualifications and work experience, keep them on your list. That way you will not miss out on recruiting someone who will be an asset to your firm.
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