Is hiring more employees one of your New Year’s resolutions?

While hiring ultimately relieves your headaches in the long run by helping you and your team with workload, in the short run most entrepreneurs dread hiring because of the time and effort involved.

Fortunately, there are ways to ensure you recruit more of the right candidates and waste less time with people who don’t suit your needs.

1. Target Your Advertising

If you’ve ever posted a job listing on a big general-interest job search site, you know what a deluge of resumes you get hit with—and how few of them are even relevant to the job you’re hoping to fill.

Instead of using this scattershot technique, hone in on the job search sites that are most relevant for you. That could be sites specific to your industry or to the type of position you’re trying to fill (such as marketing director).

2. Get Social

Social media has emerged as a great way to find job candidates. LinkedIn’s focus on business networking makes it the first place you should think of when looking for qualified employees. You can post an official job listing, or just put the word out to your network on LinkedIn.

If you’re willing to put in some extra legwork, you can also check out any LinkedIn groups you belong to for people who may not be actively searching for a job, but could have the skills you need, then get in touch with them. Or ask your networks to do the same in their LinkedIn Groups.

Of course, LinkedIn isn’t your only option for seeking candidates on social media. Depending on what platform makes sense for you, you may want to tweet news of your job opening or post it on your Facebook site. Along the same lines, consider if there’s anyone among your business’s Facebook or Twitter connections who might be interested in the job.

3. Use Your Website

All of your social media efforts regarding the job posting should link back to your business website. Use your website as a tool for recruiting by creating a meaty “About” section where you explain your business’s purpose and history and introduce your team.

Depending on your needs, you might even want to create a tab called “Job Opportunities at [Your Business]” or “Working at [Your Business]” that talks about your company culture, lists available job openings, and includes contact information for interested candidates to reach you.

This used to be something only big companies did, but I’m seeing more small businesses start to incorporate it.

4. Enlist Your Employees

If your employees are reliable, hard-working and good people, chances are their friends are, too. That’s why when you’re seeking to fill a job your existing employees should be among the first people you tell. Ask them to spread the word about the job opening to family and friends.

Sweeten the pot by offering a finder’s fee if someone recommends a job candidate who gets hired and completes their 90-day probation period.

Using the four methods above will lead to fewer, but more qualified, job candidates than the typical want ad posting. You’ll get candidates who are connected to your industry, your business and the people you know.

This will make it easier to weed out the poor candidates and hone in on the ones who might fit into your business.

Courtesy: Small Biz Trends

About Susan Payton

Susan Payton is the President of Egg Marketing & Communications, an Internet marketing firm specializing in marketing copy, press releases, blog and article writing. She is also the blogger behind The Marketing Eggspert Blog.