Ten Tips for Using the Internet to Find Qualified Job Candidates by Bill Ringle "Managing your human resources," say many prominent CEO's, "is the most source of our competitive advantage." However, what if you're having a hard time bringing enough qualified candidates in the door to fill the open positions? The Internet provides a valuable resource for increasing your qualified applicants, but it is not a panacea. I know this from experience. Our company has recruited and hired on the basis of Internet leads since 1996. Here are 10 tips to increase your chances of success when using the Internet in your hiring process. Think of finding qualified leads as dragging a magnet through a bucket of hardware. Your success rate depends a lot on the source you select and what type of people you're hoping to attract. Be sure to try several sources - use some that are general purpose and some that are specialized by either geography or area of specialty. TheYahoo Careers site is an example of a general purpose site, and International Pharmajobs is an example of one for a specific industry segment. Be familiar with the top five general-purpose resume matching services: Monster, Career Path, Career Mosaic, Hot Jobs, Career Builder. (Source: Media Metrix) Register on at lease one of the top five resume matching services so that you can see resumes posted. Online resume matching services make money three ways: access (most allow job seekers to post for free and charge employers to look), advertising (banner ads, with the classier sites targeting ads to particular topic areas), and services (pre-screening, web development, etc). View the fees in terms of how they add convenience and efficiency. You've got to determine how much the next star performer for your organization might be worth. Be sensitive to the fact that many workers post their resumes online while still employed. For obvious reasons, these job seekers will want to protect their resumes from being viewed by people from within their current company. Know that you'll have to screen the candidates in ways that differ from traditional techniques. One of the downsides of the online resume services is that they rarely purge old or inactive accounts. Send an e-mail message to the address listed for a candidate. Candidates that reply within 24 hours should be flagged as very responsive. If e-mail is a critical communications tool in your company, you should note those candidates who take longer than 2 business days to respond. Regardless of e-mail response, highly attractive candidates are worth pursuing via follow-up phone calls. Allow for weather conditions (floods, snow, etc), family emergencies, and illness. Perhaps the most effective way I've found to attract candidates for contract work is to ask contractors who are doing similar work if they can recommend some additional associates to work with us. Granted, this technique works best among people who are well connected with e-mail. But, doesn't it say something today about professionals who do not access e-mail regularly and their ability to function effectively within organizations? One of the best ways to attract candidates that will fit well in your corporate culture is to have a great deal of information on your web site that shares this perspective, such as success stories, product development insights, and customer feedback. Make the "positions available" link a prominent part of your navigation system, and people who are attracted by what they read have a simple way to indicate their interest in your organization. Bonus tip: In today's tight labor market, hiring highly skilled contract workers is a more attractive option than ever before. The range of freelancers and boutique consulting firms handles a wider range of functional areas and are more customer service oriented. Web sites referenced in this article: Career Builder   www.CareerBuilder.com       Career Mosaic   www.CareerMosaic.com       Career Path   www.CareerPath.com       Hot Jobs   www.HotJobs.com       International Pharmajobs   www.Pharmajobs.com       Monster Jobs   www.monster.com © Bill Ringle, 2000, all rights reserved. Bill Ringle works with organizations that want to use the Internet to grow their business. He is a frequent presenter at business conferences and seminars, author of Internet business books, and a founding member of the International Society for Intranet Collaboration. Call 800-654-4425, or visit the website www.StarComm.com to learn more about how to use the Internet for innovative and measurable business results. Send e-mail to eNews-On@starcomm.com to subscribe to his free newsletter on business technology.