7.2 Employee Recruitment
When a firm creates a new position or an existing one becomes vacant, the firm starts looking for people with qualifications that meet the requirements of the job. Two sources of job applicants are the internal and external labour markets. The internal labour market consists of employees currently employed by the firm and the external labour market is the pool of potential applicants outside the firm.
Internal Labour Market
Internal recruitment can be greatly facilitated by using a human resource information system that contains an employee database with information about each employee’s previous work experience, skills, education and certifications, job and career preferences, performance, and attendance. Promotions and job transfers are the most common results of internal recruiting. BNSF Railway, Walmart, Boeing, Ritz-Carlton Hotels, and most other firms, large and small, promote from within and manage the upward mobility of their employees.
External Labour Market
The external labour market consists of prospects to fill positions that cannot be filled from within the organization. Recruitment is the process of attracting qualified people to form an applicant pool. Numerous methods are used to attract applicants, including print, radio, web, and television advertising. Hospitality and entertainment firms, such as Ritz-Carlton Hotels and Six Flags, frequently use job fairs to attract applicants. A job fair, or corporate open house, is usually a one- or two-day event at which applicants are briefed about job opportunities, given tours, and encouraged to apply for jobs. For firms needing accountants, engineers, sales managers, and others for professional and scientific positions, college recruiting is very common. These firms (Deloitte, Cisco Systems, Salesforce.com, and thousands of others) schedule job fairs and on-campus interviews with graduating seniors.
Online Recruiting and Job Search
The internet, social media, and specialized software have completely changed the employee recruitment process. Dozens of companies such as Monster.com, Indeed, StartWire, and Glassdoor enable applicants to search for job openings, post their résumés, and apply for jobs that companies have posted. Most companies provide links to their company website and to the career page on their site so applicants can learn about the company culture, listen to or read testimonials from employees about what it is like to work for the company and search for additional openings that may interest them.
Large firms may receive thousands of online applications per month. To review and evaluate thousands of online résumés and job applications, firms depend on software to scan and track applicant materials using keywords to match skills or other requirements for a particular job. Social media has also changed how companies search for applicants and verify applicant information.
MANAGING CHANGE
Social Networking and Employee Recruitment
Referrals and professi