4: Specifying job and person requirements
Attracting applicants
You have now established the criteria for recruiting the kind of person you are looking for; the next step is to find someone who meets these criteria. Obviously, you must make it known to people that a vacancy exists. Before placing an expensive advertisement in a newspaper or professional journal you should consider alternatives. There are a variety of methods of publicising recruitment in addition to the traditional media advertisement (seeBox 1.2).
Box 2: Sources of recruits
- Internal advertisements
- Advertising in a range of newspapers and professional and specialist publications
- Employment agencies and job centres
- Selection consultants who advertise on your behalf and may screen applicants
- Executive search consultants (headhunters) who will try to track down suitable candidates for your post
- Introductions by existing staff, word of mouth. To prevent discrimination this should be accompanied by more formal mechanisms
- Previous applicants
- Unsolicited applications
- The Internet
- School or university contacts
- Planned promotions from formal assessment schemes