{"id":11084,"date":"2018-06-27T06:30:36","date_gmt":"2018-06-27T13:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/recruitloop.com\/blog\/?p=11084"},"modified":"2023-05-10T08:42:19","modified_gmt":"2023-05-10T15:42:19","slug":"internal-vs-external-recruitment-pros-cons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/internal-vs-external-recruitment-pros-cons\/","title":{"rendered":"Internal vs External Recruitment: Weighing up the Pros and Cons"},"content":{"rendered":"

Are you looking for your next employee? Sometimes the process can seem endless, can\u2019t it? For every two or three great candidates you interview in the final stages, you can recall the scores of resumes and cover letters that you\u2019ve dropped into shredders. <\/span>
\nSome of those candidates missed your shortlist only marginally. Others possessed none of the essential criteria for the vacant position. And let\u2019s not talk about the candidates whose carelessness liberated spelling and grammatical errors to wreak havoc across the white and black landscape of their resume.<\/span>
\nIt\u2019s easy to blame the tools<\/a>–your external recruitment methods<\/span> (and your internal ones, for that matter). The job board didn\u2019t lure the talented candidates the way it advertised… There were no viable leads at the careers event you blew a chunk of marketing budget on\u2026. <\/span>
\nSometimes, the handful of promising applicants among the roughage never presents itself, and you take the metaphorical high road–rather than risk hiring someone whose credentials leave you with a cautious gnawing in your gut, you restart the search. You refresh your job board listing, or post a new <\/span>Hot Job!<\/span><\/i> update.<\/span>
\nAnd the same people apply.<\/span>
\nThat\u2019s when it\u2019s time<\/span> to try a new external recruitment method<\/span>.<\/span>
\nIt\u2019s rare that a business can say with certitude that they\u2019ve exhausted all available recruitment methods. We are creatures of habit. If one recruitment tactic is working, why change?<\/span>
\nIf another gave us a bad experience, we might be wary of using it again.<\/span>
\nBut of course, being wary is not good recruitment. Nor is never adapting. It\u2019s not forward-thinking recruitment. It\u2019s not aggressive. It\u2019s defensive–it\u2019s the relying on sturdy, known ground to fall back to when you meet difficulty.<\/span>
\nWe can never be sure that our single, reliable tactic is giving us the best candidates out there, can we? Reliable is good, but we use <\/span>reliable<\/span><\/i> to describe the worn car in the driveway that we\u2019ve driven for ten years. It\u2019s gurgling when we start it up, and long drives aren\u2019t worth the discomfort anymore, but it\u2019s never broken down. It\u2019s <\/span>reliable<\/span><\/i>. <\/span>
\nReliability infects us with a sense of sentimentality–and that\u2019s a dangerous feeling to have when there\u2019s a world of alternative just outside, waiting for us to embrace change.<\/span>
\nSo in this post I’m going to talk about a host of recruitment methods you can use–internal and external–and about which of these methods are best. You probably use one or more of these already–but that <\/span>one<\/span><\/i> that you\u2019re <\/span>not<\/span><\/i> using might be the one that leads you to the ideal candidate.<\/span><\/p>\n

Internal recruitment methods<\/b><\/h2>\n

Sometimes you don\u2019t need to use an external recruitment method. The ideal candidate is already in your employ. Recruiting from within can save you money, and occasionally time, too.<\/span><\/p>\n

Promoting an existing employee<\/b><\/h3>\n

Promoting an existing employee to a higher role shows that your business supports the concept of career progression in a business. By promoting someone, you\u2019re placing trust in the growth of their skill set and their acquired experience.<\/span>
\nBut are they ready for the responsibility of moving one step up the chain of command? You might not know the skill set of every employee inside out–that\u2019s why line managers and supervisors exist, and you can look to the insight of these team leaders to ascertain whether an employee\u2019s ready to progress their career to the next level.<\/span><\/p>\n

Recruiting internally can raise morale and results<\/b><\/h3>\n

When you advertise a position through internal channels–via email or company intranet, for example, you\u2019re presenting your staff with the opportunity to increase their job prospects, earn a higher salary, and prove they\u2019re a capable asset to the company.<\/span>
\nMany people accept a job knowing there\u2019s a chance to develop personally <\/span>and <\/span><\/i>professionally if they work hard, with lucrative pay-rises in the picture, too. If you gift your employees this <\/span>opportunity<\/span><\/i>, you can measure their ambition. You\u2019ll learn who wants to embrace the challenge; who thinks they\u2019re not ready yet; and who is comfortable in their current state–for now.<\/span><\/p>\n

Moving an employee from temp to perm<\/b><\/h3>\n

Upgrading an employee from temporary to permanent is a common method of recruiting from within. Your <\/span>temp<\/span><\/i> might prove over time that they\u2019ve got the skills and the toughness for the role on a more intense, full-time basis.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hire a retired employee<\/b><\/h3>\n

Employers often overlook this tactic. They shouldn\u2019t. If you\u2019re looking to build an extension on your house, would you ignore the opinion of your friend who\u2019s been in the house extension industry for years? No, you\u2019d take as much knowledge from them as you could to ensure you build the best extension possible. Retired and <\/span>mature employees<\/a> come with a wealth of experience<\/span> and can be great for consultancy roles where you\u2019re taking advantage of their knowledge and experience to reveal blindspots.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sounds like internal is the way forward!<\/b><\/h3>\n

Your employees know how your company operates, sure. They already fit into the culture<\/a>. Tasks and projects are familiar to them. They\u2019ve formed relationships with colleagues.<\/span>
\nInternal recruitment can reduce the time it takes for somebody to assimilate a business.<\/span>
\nHowever, of course, internal recruitment methods are problematic for two critical reasons. First of all, there\u2019s a limited pool of candidates. Even if you\u2019re a 3,000-person firm, there are more <\/span>potential<\/span><\/i> candidates outside your company than inside it.<\/span>
\nSecond, your business doesn\u2019t grow if you don\u2019t hire from the outside.<\/span><\/p>\n

External recruitment methods<\/b><\/h2>\n

I shall now explore the external recruitment methods available to you. It\u2019s worth noting quickly, though, that embracing these methods doesn\u2019t mean forsaking career progression of your employees.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even recruitment agencies use recruitment agencies<\/b><\/h3>\n

They call it rec2rec! Where one recruitment agency specialises in sourcing seafarers and another agency can find you digital marketers in hours, there are recruitment companies whose expertise is in finding <\/span>other recruitment consultants<\/span><\/i>.<\/span>
\nThe beauty of using a recruitment agency is that they do much of the hard work for you–that\u2019s why you pay them a fee once you\u2019ve hired your new employee.<\/span>
\nThey gather applications, they create the shortlist of promising talent, they screen the talent with phone interviews, and then they send you a run-down of whom they believe to be the most suitable. All you have to do is conduct interviews and make your decision. You\u2019ve saved time that you can invest in strengthening your business.<\/span><\/p>\n

Job boards<\/h3>\n

Job boards are the number one source for sourcing candidates–they simply have the volume like no other recruitment method does.<\/span>
\nLinkedIn is a great example of an innovative job board combined with social media. People call it the <\/span>professional\u2019s Facebook<\/span><\/i>. Most users decorate their profile to appeal to prospective employers. It\u2019s a place to show off your certificates, your work experience, testimonials about you, and you can post status updates too. <\/span>
\nOf course, there are plenty of other job boards, many tailored to certain regions or industries. Do your research–some workers sign up to popular job boards, others stick to niche, industry-focused ones. You need to research which tactics will lead you to the best candidates.<\/span><\/p>\n

The printed word is still alive and well<\/strong><\/h3>\n

We all have our preference of newspaper, magazine, journal, book, and so on. Some people still turn to newspapers and industry journals to find jobs. They circle the job ad in red as the camera focuses on the job title and number to call; often the circle is more an oval, and then there\u2019s a short scene where they\u2019re standing by the window looking out at the busy passersby on the sidewalk, as we the audience listen to one end of an important phone call…<\/span>
\nOr that\u2019s how it is in the movies, anyway. Nevertheless, if you\u2019re not printing your job ad in a publication, you\u2019re missing a portion of candidates.<\/span>
\nIn addition, these publications all have websites, and those websites likely have a section for jobs. In this way, it\u2019s another job board.<\/span><\/p>\n

Careers events<\/b><\/h3>\n

Careers events at universities, colleges, and high schools often, by design, lure candidates who\u2019re at the start of their career search. These events are crawling with enthusiastic and talented people who want to know more about your industry and your business; but most importantly, they want to tell <\/span>you<\/span><\/i> about what <\/span>they can offer you<\/span><\/i>. <\/span>
\nEach instance of networking you do at an event like this is a chance to informally interview somebody to gauge their knowledge and their personality. In the current climate, <\/span>where a job is a gig<\/span><\/a> and the driven people are getting after it at 5am every morning, exposing yourself to the next generation of talent is pivotal if you\u2019re going to understand how to entice them to work for your business.<\/span><\/p>\n

Which methods are best?<\/b><\/h2>\n

External recruitment methods have more to offer. That\u2019s the <\/span>cut and dry<\/span><\/i> of it.<\/span>
\nYou might have to pay to use them, and you will definitely experience your fair share of chaff before you come across wheat. However, you will reach a wider audience, your company name<\/a> will be out in the ether, gaining traction, and the person you hire might possess outside experience that can innovate your company.<\/span>
\nBut that\u2019s not to say don\u2019t try all methods. You now know, if you didn\u2019t already, that internal hiring has its benefits too.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Are you looking for your next employee? Sometimes the process can seem endless, can\u2019t it? For every two or three great candidates you interview in the final stages, you can recall the scores of resumes and cover letters that you\u2019ve dropped into shredders. Some of those candidates missed your shortlist only marginally. Others possessed none […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":283,"featured_media":11086,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[73,63],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nInternal vs External Recruitment: Weighing up the Pros and Cons<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Alastair Brown talks about a host of recruitment methods you can use - internal and external - and which of these methods are best to attract top talent.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/internal-vs-external-recruitment-pros-cons\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Internal vs External Recruitment: Weighing up the Pros and Cons\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Alastair Brown talks about a host of recruitment methods you can use - internal and external - and which of these methods are best to attract top talent.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/internal-vs-external-recruitment-pros-cons\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Zippia For Employers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Zippia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-06-27T13:30:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-05-10T15:42:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/2941655917_cd7626cff3_b_scales-balance.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"683\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Di Doherty\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ZippiaInc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ZippiaInc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Di Doherty\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/internal-vs-external-recruitment-pros-cons\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/internal-vs-external-recruitment-pros-cons\/\",\"name\":\"Internal vs External Recruitment: Weighing up the Pros and Cons\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-06-27T13:30:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-05-10T15:42:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#\/schema\/person\/5fcdbfebaddd18cbf84dc13ba283016b\"},\"description\":\"Alastair Brown talks about a host of recruitment methods you can use - 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