In today’s competitive and demanding corporate environment, hiring and retaining good talent has assumed great importance. Companies are constantly in the process of recruiting people from top universities, from other companies and from other sources.

All the sources of recruitment can be broadly classified into two types. They are internal and external sources :-

Internal sources: These include filling up a vacancy using a person who is already in the company’s payroll. The vacancy is advertised within the company and on the basis of responses from within the company, a selection is made. This type of recruitment has many advantages. The company is able to obtain accurate information about the candidate as he has already been working with them. It boosts the morale of the workforce who sees that the company is able to provide them with opportunity for future growth. The cost of recruitment is relatively less. The employees being acquainted with the company already do not require job training.

However, this method of recruitment has a few disadvantages as well. The choice of candidates is greatly limited. Selection of a candidate over others results in ill feeling among those who were not chosen. The selection of the candidate involves a great deal of subjectivity amongst the superiors and hence may not always be transparent.

External sources: The external sources are those sources of recruitment that are found outside the employment.

The general sources of recruitment are :-

1.  Advertisement: This is a common method of recruitment. The advertisement usually appears in a newspaper, website or magazine. It is important that the company pays attention to how the advertisement is drafted. For the advertisement to draw the right candidates, it has to be drafted properly with clarity and should present a favorable picture of the company and the working culture. 

2.  Campus recruitment: There are some cases where recruiters contact educational institutions such as colleges and universities for a list of prospective candidates. The campus recruitment has the advantage of meeting all the candidates at a single place and hence saves time and effort. While campus recruitment may be attractive, it suffers from the limitation that it is suitable only for filling “entry level” positions. 

3.  Unsolicited applicants: Many candidates send their resumes to company without any explicit request. Companies usually file these resumes and refer to them when the need for a position arises. 

4.  Websites: With the advent of the Internet, searching for candidates has acquired a whole new dimension. Web portals dedicated to finding jobs have been setup. The candidates key in their details and post their resumes. Employers have to just browse through these resumes or use the site search engine to list out people with specific skills. 

5.  Employee referrals: Some companies also encourage current employees to refer their friends or acquaintances for positions in the organization. This system has the advantage that the new employees also have a fair idea about the organization and its culture. The downside is that this system tends to create nepotism and allows cliques of friends and relatives to form in an organization. 

6.  Placement Agencies: Placement agencies maintain database of resumes from prospective candidates. Companies in need of personnel contact these agencies with their profile. The agencies provide them with a list of potential candidates. The placement agencies can also assist in the recruitment process.

External sources of recruitment have many advantages. They enable fresh talent and new ideas to enter the organization. Since the selection is made from candidates from a wide area, the choice of candidates is widened.