How do small businesses recruit employees?

Finding qualified employees can be a challenge for small businesses. The recruitment process can be expensive and time consuming, which is a problem for a smaller organization without the resources of big business.

The good news is, there are some best practices when it comes to recruitment, and we are happy to share those with you.

Employ a hiring strategy. Your hiring strategy should include: writing a clear job description, outlining your company values and culture so that you can assess goodness of fit with potential candidates, and creating a recruitment budget.
Advertise in multiple places. Know where your ideal candidates will be job hunting. Many companies advertise open jobs on LinkedIn, which is a great place to start. Look for candidates on other social media sites as well. If you are looking for entry level employees, be sure to post on university job boards and participate in career fairs. In addition, it never hurts to place ads on large job websites like Monster.com, Indeed.com, and Glassdoor.com.
Use word of mouth. Since you are hiring your first employee, you can’t rely on current employees for referrals. You can, however, network with colleagues from other firms, or professionals you know from your own college programs and previous employers.
Consider working with a recruiter. Some industries, such as engineering, accounting, and financial services, do much of their hiring through recruiters. If this is the case for your industry, you might have to go that route to find the right candidates.
Be honest in your position description. Yes, you want to attract talent. But if you make the job sound better than it is, you are looking at a recipe for high turnover. Write a clear and honest job description, and be sure to assess each candidate’s compatibility with your company culture.

Best of luck!