SOCIAL MEDIA RECRUITING, E-RECRUITMENT, THE AGE OF INTERNET SOURCING

1. VIRTUAL RECRUITMENT
QRT - ARUNESH CHAND MANKOTIA
The Internet has revolutionized the recruitment world, drastically changing the
way companies and recruitment agencies look for quality talent. The Internet is
probably one of the greatest recruitment resources available to Recruiters. More
HR managers and recruitment agencies are recruiting on the Web whether
through online job boards, corporate recruitment websites or E-Recruitment
solutions.
The Internet makes huge numbers of Job Seekers available to Recruiters as
millions of Job Seekers surf the Web to search for jobs, post their CVs and fill out
job applications daily. The immense power of the web enables Recruiters to make
use of online recruitment solutions like recruitment websites or job boards to
ensure that the recruitment process becomes simplified and cost-effective. The
nascent Internet recruitment industry is poised for explosive growth, but figuring
out how to tap into the power of recruiting over the Internet may seem somewhat
daunting.
What is Internet Recruitment
Don’t get frazzled by the many terms used to describe Internet recruitment. The
words E-Recruitment and Online Recruitment are often used interchangeably to
describe the very same thing. Websites attract large national and international
audiences. Online recruitment helps recruiters attract, short-list, regret, filter,
test and recruit job seeker applicants with a minimal amount of administration.
Utilized correctly recruitment can be used to for the entire recruitment process,
from advertising job vacancies and receiving candidate applications, to the back
office processing where human resources and line managers can create their own
talent pool of potential recruits.
What to expect from Online Recruitment Sites
Job boards (or job portals) and recruitment websites usually offer the very
similar solutions as recruitment sites, however the level of functionality and
services offered by each differ in relation to the company’s business model or
niche industry. The country also plays a significant role in determining what type
of solutions may be offered by the job portal. While most job boards allow the
recruiter to advertise and manage jobs online, an effective online recruitment
solution (also known as E-Recruitment Solution) provides recruiters with

2. sophisticated solutions to manage the entire recruitment process online thereby
reducing the recruitment cost and time to hire.
Advertising Job Vacancies Online
Finding the right person for the job is always the core objective, and by
advertising job vacancies on the Internet it is possible for Recruiters to attract
both active and passive Job Seekers. The advantage of advertising your job
vacancies online is that the ads appear on the web for 30-60 days rather than in
one edition of a printed newspaper. Additionally, you don’t pay for the
advertisement based on the space taken; job boards usually allow you to use all
the space necessary to describe the position adequately and attractively. The
format in which the ad appears, length of ad, duration and volume of job
advertisement postings differ from job site to job site. Some job sites allow once-
off job advertisement postings where ad hoc employers can advertise their rare
job vacancies online for a limited period of time. Other job portals provide bulk
job posting discounts or subscription packages.
Application Process Management
Application management or application tracking systems manage the entire
application process through automated communication with job applicants.
Recruiters are able to view applications online and/or receive job applications
directly in their email in boxes. However, today’s recruitment systems are
designed to do a whole lot more than just reduce paperwork; they can receive,
sort, shortlist, contact and regret job applicants directly from the web-based
interface. They provide better management of applicant information online and
can be used to send mass regret notifications (bulk-regret) to multiple job
applicants instantly.
Pre-screening and Filtering
The more advanced web-based recruitment solutions have incorporated pre-
screening or filtering systems as part of their functionality. The extent and nature
of these differ considerably from one service provider to the next. Some
recruitment sites provide system generated background checking on job
applicants, while others offer more sophisticated psychometric or career
assessment tests. Other effective, but less complicated solutions include tailored
questionnaires that detect required skills to meet the exact needs of the position.
Skill based automated pre-screening greatly reduces the time spent during the
recruitment cycle and increases the probability of hiring the right candidate for
the job.

3. Corporate Recruitment Websites
E-Recruitment solutions can provide an interface that allows company’s to post
jobs on their own company website as well as accepting CV’s through the
company’s website. While some candidates are actively looking to change jobs,
others may be more hesitant to post their resumes on job boards for fear that
their current employers might see their CV. A company website’s own
recruitment section offers more opportunity for the employer to provide facts
about the company’s culture, environment, practices and recruitment
processes. Establishing an employment section on the company’s site can
provide a very cost-effective means to building up a company’s own talent pool of
prospective employees while reinforcing the value of the brand to potential job
applicants.
The eVolution of e-Recruitment
There is far more to online recruitment than job advertising, database search and
online application management. Some trends in internet recruiting shows a rise
in the emergence of corporate recruitment videos, online interviews and online
recruitment networking. Other value added services will include HR and
Recruitment Communities, Forums, Blogs and Recruiting news.
E-Recruitment further lends itself to a natural extension of e-HR (Human
Resources) solutions where HR processes such as payroll management, skills
development, employee benefits, exit interviews and retention management can
be outsourced to an online service provider. These systems are usually designed
to integrate with existing intranet, payroll and HR back-end systems effortlessly
and effectively. This level of sophisticated integration aids in combating longer
term recruitment issues through the effective use of people management.
If you haven’t considered an e-Recruitment solution by now, then you are not
evolving. The many benefits offered by online recruitment services are extensive
and the evolution of recruiting on the web will further path the way to successful,
cost-effective hiring and people retention.
Arunesh Chand Mankotia
aarunesh@gmail.com