Online recruitment - a valid solution for the SME?
Using the Internet also has the benefit of being easy and instantaneous. Unlike newspapers, there is no deadline for copy - and employers can post advertisements 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The online recruitment websites are user-friendly and would-be job advertisers don't need an in-depth knowledge of the Internet to post an advertisement - just a keyboard and a credit card.
Jobseekers are, more than ever before, using the Internet to find job vacancies and look for information on potential employers. This very publication recently reported that job boards are the second most popular way of looking for a job, just behind recruitment consultancies. Half of the 162 jobseekers surveyed had applied for a job online before, either on a corporate site or a job board.
Online recruitment sites attract jobseekers by offering value-added services. As well as listing positions and allowing jobseekers to search through them, they help candidates to create resumes online, give career advice and offer networking and work/life balance advice forums. As a result, jobseekers use the Internet as a research and information tool as well as a place to actually apply for jobs.
In the current climate, finding cost efficiencies and time saving techniques are more important to SMEs than ever before. Owner/managers are taking every opportunity to be more competitive, but those who have not considered online recruitment are missing a trick. It provides an opportunity to compete with the top brands for the best people, to save money and time, and increase productivity and competitiveness.
However, a recent poll by the recruitment firm Reed found a 10% rise in demand for recruitment in the SME sector which translates to good news for job seekers.
* British Gas TIME Survey, 2000
