External recruitment is concerned with generating a pool of qualified candidates through external sources of employment. Under it, following methods of recruitment are adopted.
1. Direct Recruitment
Direct recruitment refers to a process of recruiting qualified candidates from external sources by placing a notice of vacancy in an organization's notice board. The detail of the job will be specified on the notice board. this method is useful for the recruitment of blue-collar, white-collar, and technical workers. This method of recruitment is suitable when there is high supply of human resources in the market.
2. Casual Callers
This method of recruitment is concerned with using previously applied candidates as a source of recruitment. The applications already available in the employment office are used as sources of prospective candidates. In other words, applications from individuals who are already recorded in the employment list can be referred as new applicants and the best suited candidates are selected for the job. This method avoids the costs of recruiting people from other sources.
3. Advertising
Advertising is one of the most common and popular methods of external recruitment under which the job vacancy is announced through different print and electronic media. When the qualified and experienced employees are not obtained from other sources, advertisement method is used to attract the best qualified and experienced personnel. Usually, most of senior positions in organization are filled by this method.The job description and specifications are specified in the advertisement to allow self-screening.
4. Employment Agencies
Employment agencies run by private, public or government sectors are regarded as an important source of recruitment for unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled jobs. The agencies are likely to have a list of qualified candidates in their records, and they render their service as per the requirement from other organizations for employment.
5. Schools, Colleges And Universities
It is also known as campus recruitment. Under this method of external recruitment, educational institutions such as schools, colleges and universities offer opportunities for recruiting fresh candidates.Most educational institutions provide placement services where the prospective recruiters can review credentials and interview the interested graduates.
6. Labor Contractors
Labor contractors are an important source of recruitment under which workers are recruited through contractors. However, this method of recruitment is not used by many business firms and organizations.
7. Recommendations
It is closely concerned with employee referrals. Under this method of external recruitment, applicants are introduced by friends and relatives. In fact, many employers, operating at a small-scale operation, prefer to take such persons as they are acquainted with backgrounds and credentials of prospective employees.