Recruiting Channels: The Appropriate Ways and Platforms

There are more and more channels and platforms for recruitment. Google for Jobs, TikTok or a recruiting game? Two things are certain: not every channel is suitable for every candidate persona. And it's pretty difficult to stay on the ball. In this article, we therefore summarize the most important recruiting channels for you.

There are many different ways and platforms to reach potential candidates. Each of them offers certain advantages and disadvantages. And every recruiting channel is associated with costs – whether directly or indirectly through personnel costs incurred for its "use".

The right recruiting channels for every persona

Once a specific candidate persona has been developed, it helps to choose the appropriate channels. As a recruiter, you should always have an idea of where to reach the talent you are looking for and how they communicate. Be active where the candidate persona is bustling – and don't wait for them to stumble across your job advertisement by chance. Common recruiting channels include:

Careers page

The careers page on a company's website is the poster child when it comes to recruitment. An authentic and convincing public image is important. Successful employer branding can support the career site by causing candidates to specifically search for jobs at a specific company. The page should meet basic SEO requirements so that it can be found through search engines. You can achieve more visibility if the advertised jobs also appear on Google for Jobs.

Jobs

Job ads are the classic way to reach candidates. By differentiating between the different platforms and portals, advertisements can be displayed in an increasingly targeted manner. Especially in the case of very special vacancies, for example, an advertisement in the job section of a specialist medium can lead to a higher quality of candidates than a "watering can principle". The recruiting strategy shows where you can best reach the target group.

Events / Job Boards

The Corona pandemic is currently throwing a spanner in the works for many events. Nevertheless, job fairs can be a suitable place to make talents aware of the company and to make contacts. Smaller industry regulars' tables, hackathons or networking events of associations are still taking place for the most part even in Corona times and offer many opportunities to draw the attention of a very specific group to vacancies.

Social Media

Social media recruiting is a way to get in touch with talent very easily. Career networks such as Xing and LinkedIn play an important role here. They offer the opportunity to search directly for candidates with specific skills. Depending on the candidate persona, other platforms, such as Instagram, Facebook or TikTok, may also be suitable. Through their presence on these channels, companies can engage in employer branding and gain access to candidates who previously had no connection to the company. Today, however, building reach is almost only possible with a budget for sponsored postings.

Talent Pool

As a recruiter, you should also maintain contacts with potential candidates for whom there is currently no position. If a position is then to be filled acutely, a well-maintained talent pool offers a pre-selection of suitable talents and can significantly shorten the time-to-hire.

Active Sourcing

If positions are to be filled quickly, active sourcing is a suitable recruiting channel. They actively research promising candidates and contact them directly. You will find what you are looking for with the help of career networks or in a talent pool. Even more than ever, the company applies to the candidate – not the other way around.

Employee Referrals

Human resources thrives on personal relationships like no other area of the company. Employee recommendations help to make recruiting even more personal, authentic and thus more successful. The company's own employees contribute their networks to the recruiting process and can thus help shape the future.

Recrutainment

A playful approach to a potential employer is offered by so-called recrutainment. These include, for example, career orientation games, which are suitable as personnel marketing and branding tools. At the same time, a pre-selection of candidates can already be made through recrutainment. 

Conclusion: The recruiting channel depends on the candidate persona

Today, we have a very wide range of different channels for recruitment. A virtuoso recruiter is characterized by the fact that he knows exactly when to hit which key. However, this is only possible if there is a clear awareness of the candidate persona. The recruiting strategy is then the score that makes the talent acquisition measures sound and turns potential candidates into enthusiastic applicants.