Online Recruitment: Going Beyond LinkedIn

It’s hard to imagine that, before the advent of the Internet, the only ways to learn about new job postings were through newspapers, word of mouth, or carrier pigeons.

You can now consult reviews and social networks about a particular business. Before, you could only mostly trust the company at face value.

For both employers and job seekers, the application process has significantly changed. In addition, the emergence of the Internet has dramatically altered the recruitment landscape.

Although some people still submit hard copies of their resumes to potential employers, most job openings are now listed online.

It’s difficult to tell who has more power—the recruiter or the candidate. But for now, let’s deep dive into online recruitment and how tapping job-related platforms that aren’t LinkedIn can help you expand your team.

Recruiting in the digital age

The Internet has dramatically transformed our lives.

In the recruitment industry, hiring through the Internet has done its magic in the following aspects:

Hiring is done at a larger scale

The Internet has allowed recruiters to operate on a far greater scale than they previously could. How?

Suppose you’re a recruiter with access to the Internet. You can publish job listings for various tasks and manage those messages from a single location, be it your inbox, a dedicated site, or a software program.

You can perform more work, hire more people, and advertise for more jobs, which are goals for recruiters.

1. Faster hiring

It’s no wonder that the advent and development of technology have streamlined and accelerated the hiring process because the Internet makes everything rapid and accessible.

The Internet has made this entire process much smoother and simpler to handle. Today, you can email a candidate and anticipate a response right away.

The same is true for posting a resume. When it used to take days or weeks to appear in a newspaper, it can now be published online and available to the public in just a few minutes.

2. International candidates are more accessible

Interviews conducted via videoconferencing and other online platforms have become widespread and frequently take the place of in-person sessions.

This technology makes a remote or even an international team much more feasible.

You can now use the Internet to call potential candidates if you are based in another country and opening a shop on a different continent.

Booking flights and lodging for the applicant beforehand saves a ton of bother and doesn’t cost you any money (were they to fly over and have the interview in person).

3. Cost-effective

Speaking of money, recruiting fees rank among the highest costs for most firms.

In addition to the actual price of acquiring a candidate, recruiting often includes training and retention expenses. Each employee must undergo orientation and training and be given time to learn the details of his position.

Many employers view this as an investment.

The recruiting process starts over again if an employee departs the company before those expenses pay off, which is reflected as a loss on the books.

A more significant return on investment can be achieved by properly managing online recruitment and selection processes because they significantly save expenses and improve staff retention.

Hiring beyond LinkedIn

Now that we’ve established how online recruitment transformed the industry let’s look at the platforms recruiters mostly use to search for candidates.

At the top of your mind is probably LinkedIn.

Did you know that LinkedIn has actually existed longer than Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram?

It is a networking site with more than 900 million professional profiles. So for recruiters and job seekers, there are endless networking and employment prospects.

These days, using LinkedIn is crucial to becoming a full-fledged professional, whether you’re looking for a new job or maintaining your personal brand.

But the thing is, although it is arguably one of the most famous, online recruitment can go beyond LinkedIn.

Around 260 million users were actively using LinkedIn as of the beginning of 2020. That puts Microsoft subsidiary LinkedIn far ahead of all other international professional social media platforms.

Now, is LinkedIn the only way for you to tap quality hires? Not really.

The Internet is a vast space, and you can assemble a strong team if you know where to look:

1. Niche platforms

Yes, many personalities are on LinkedIn, but it is undeniable that some industries utilize other platforms to recruit new hires.

Take, for example, a specific niche such as the maritime industry.

Rookie or seasoned seafarers may find more options and information if they go to niche crewing platforms. One such platform is Martide—a one-stop-shop for all things maritime.

If you’re a seafarer looking for job opportunities on LinkedIn, the process might be longer because you’re not the only industry the said platform is catering to.

But if you were to find one on Martide, you’ll easily navigate through listings and even breeze through the application process because the platform caters to your industry only.

Niche platforms can streamline the process, thus resulting in a speedy and convenient application and recruitment.

2. Social media platforms

If people now use social media to sell their products, what makes you think the recruiting industry can’t use it for advertising their openings?

Facebook may not be the first place you turn to while looking for a job, but it is where employers may find you.

You can establish criteria to focus on people who have the necessary talents and are in the right place.

For recruiters, posting vacancies on Facebook groups and the company’s page is also worthwhile, as the platform remains at the top of the list when it comes to monthly active users.

To summarize

Recruitment has come a long way because it’s become more convenient and quick for both recruiters and prospects.

Although LinkedIn is one of the most known when it comes to professional networking, it’s not the only place recruiters can go to work. Utilizing platforms catering to specific industries and maximizing the power of social media are all solid ways to fill vacancies.

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