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Methods of Recruitment are the specific approaches that every company employs to identify, attract, and onboard top talent. To choose the right recruitment methods, a human resource (HR) needs to know that recruitment highly depends on certain factors such as the required skills, candidate profile, experience level, budget, timeline, and available hiring resources. Every firm needs to meet the evolving demands of staffing needs and ensure they hire the best talent; for that, they are continuously altering their recruitment methods. Within human resources, understanding the different recruitment methods and recruitment types is crucial for building a robust talent pipeline.
In this blog post, a reader will get to know about the meaning of recruitments, what are recruitment methods, major steps involved in recruitment process, along with thirteen different types of recruitment methods.
What Is Recruitment?
Recruitment is an ongoing process of effectively screening, selecting, and appointing the potential candidate to the job role suited best with their qualifications. Recruitment aim is not to just fill up the vacancies, instead of this recruitment entails selecting top talent for specific job role, matching with their academics. For example, as succession planning becomes more effective across industries, particularly for senior executives, recruiters must be able to establish and maintain a consistent talent flow to replace openings that cannot be filled via internal hiring or promotions.
Recruitment Methods: What Are They?
Recruitment methods refer to the strategies used by HR to find suitable candidates for the organization in which they are working, so that the organization’s productivity is enhanced. Recruiters also encourage potential candidates to apply for vacant job positions. Selecting appropriate recruitment methods depends on available hiring resources and the necessary experience level for the job post to be filled immediately. The goal of applying recruitment methods is to hire the best talent for an organization.
There is an entire cycle to this procedure, which begins with determining organizational requirements and ends with employing staff. Finding the best candidates for different roles inside the company depends heavily on the recruiting process. Given its importance, many recruiting methods may be used depending on the needs. Before knowing about different types of recruitment methods, let’s first understand the steps involved in the recruitment process.
Steps involved in the recruitment process.
Step 1: Understanding what talent you need
The first step in recruitment is to look for the type of person you need for the specific job role. This involves two main things:
- Writing a job description entails outlining the duties, necessary abilities, and credentials of the position.
- Creating a Candidate Profile: Outlining the qualifications, background, and character attributes of the ideal candidate.
Doing this helps in many ways, such as:
- Improves company structure – HR can see which roles are important and remove unnecessary ones.
- Identifies key skills – They can focus on the skills that will bring the most value to the role.
- Helps set fair salaries – By comparing with organisation standards, HR staff can ensure that they are offering competitive pay.
Thus, this step ensures that you know who you’re looking for before you begin the hiring process.
Step 2: Finding Potential Candidates (Talent Sourcing)
Once HR knows what they need, the next step is to reach out and find people who match that profile. You can find candidates through:
- Employee referrals
- Job websites (like Naukri and Indeed)
- Social media (like LinkedIn)
- Your company’s website
- College recruitment drives
- Newspaper ads
- Internal job postings
Step 3: Screening Candidates
After sourcing, HR likely receives many applications, some aligning with the job post, some not. Screening helps them to shortlist the best ones.
Here’s how screening usually works out:
- Preliminary Screening – AI tools or HR staff check resumes to shortlist suitable candidates.
- Initial Interview – A brief phone or video conversation to learn more about the applicant.
- Skill & Personality Tests – These tests help check whether the candidate has the right skills and fits your work culture.
- Final Interview – In this step, a detailed discussion with top-level managers is conducted to choose the most suitable candidates.
Step 4: Making an Offer
HR writes and sends an offer letter once the top applicant has been chosen. The employment description, pay, joining date, and other pertinent information are all included in the offer letter. The applicant accepts the offer if they agree to all terms and conditions. Negotiations may be necessary if they want modifications. The recruiting process is over if both parties agree. If not, the HR executive needs to start looking for another candidate for the vacant job post.
Step 5: Onboarding and Induction
Once the candidate accepts the offer, they officially become an employee.A seamless onboarding process facilitates their integration into the organization and helps them comprehend their function, the team, and the regulations of the firm. A strong start may have a significant impact on the new hire’s performance and how long they stay.
Read More – Quick Guide to an Effective Recruitment Process
Types of Recruitment Methods in HRM
There are many different types of recruitment methods. They are as follows:
1. Direct Recruitment
The direct recruitment method involves the corporate’s CEO directly approaching top candidates in educational and training institutes. To connect with the suitable candidate, recruiters directly collaborate closely with these placement cells specially seen in colleges where students pursue engineering, medical course, business study, etc. Employers directly contact college professors to learn more about students with excellent academic records. Sending recruiters to conferences and seminars or setting up a mobile office to network with possible applicants are typical examples of direct recruiting.
2. Indirect Recruitment
In order to advertise job openings, the term “indirect recruitment” mostly depends on the use of media outlets, including newspapers, journals, radio, and television. Job seekers may evaluate their appropriateness with the aid of well-written ads, which guarantee that only qualified candidates apply. When a company wants to reach an extensive and widely distributed target population, this strategy works well. Organizations may use blind ads, hiding their identities behind a box number. Reputable companies, however, usually use this method of recruitment.
3. Third-party Recruitment
This recruitment method involves taking help from private employment agencies, professional associations, and employee referrals to connect with those who are looking for new job opportunities. Labor contractors, temporary assistance organizations, and public job exchanges are also often employed for hiring. Third-party recruiters may be organizations or private individuals looking to hire people on a temporary or permanent basis. These recruiters are crucial in making the recruiting process easier.
Every one of these hiring practices has benefits and works well for specific situations and demands. They help make the hiring process effective by guaranteeing that the right people are chosen for different positions within the company.
4. Boomerang hiring
Rehiring former employees is known as boomerang hiring. These employees share the organization’s ideals, are comfortable in their roles, and understand what it takes to succeed. Boomerang hiring is most often seen in the service industry, where seasonal labor is common. However, as more businesses realize the advantages of recruiting a former employee who is familiar with the needs of the position, this technique is growing in popularity.
5. Social recruiting channels
Social recruiting channels refer to using social media platforms like LinkedIn, Naukri.com, Indeed, Glassdoor, etc, to promote open job vacancies in your present firm. This approach is popular with job searchers; even professionals who are not actively seeking employment are willing to talk about a position due to a social media advertisement or an employer approach. In order to improve awareness and strengthen your employer brand, post about the position on the company’s social media accounts and actively interact with commentators. Directly contacting potential recruits is also a smart move. Inform them about the position, act professionally, and be respectful if they express no interest.
6. Employee Referrals
Many firms have gained their best employees through an internal reference by other employees who are currently working in the organization. And it makes sense, a current employee already has an idea about the role, company culture, etc, so they would have an idea about who would fit the role better.
7. Advertisement
This is one of the most commonly used, yet one of the most effective types of recruitment strategies. Posting job openings on many sites, including LinkedIn, your company’s career website, and other social media channels that have the ability to draw applicants, is known as advertising. This approach of hiring may be expensive, of course, but it also draws in a lot of applicants and enhances the business brand.
8. Word of mouth
Large brands and well-known companies can leverage word-of-mouth recruitment because unsolicited job seekers approach them daily. With an established employer brand recognized as an employer of choice, they only need to announce that they’re hiring to attract a strong response.
9. Programmatic advertising
One innovative recruitment method is programmatic advertising. Without a doubt, you need to employ it for your online hiring. Nonetheless, it might be creative to recruit on specialized websites where your potential clients gather. Getting to know your applicants is the key lesson here. Because when you’ve done that, you can make sure they see your job posting by using programmatic advertising.
10. Employer review websites
Review websites should be a part of every company’s hiring strategy. In the twenty-first century, many job seekers spend a lot of time looking up possible employers online. To find out more about the challenges and difficulties facing your organization, as a recruiter, you may wish to check out these employer review websites.
11. Talent pool databases
Examine your current pool of candidates who haven’t been hired in the past, rather than beginning from scratch and advertising the position online. There are probably some people there who were excellent candidates for earlier positions and may be excellent candidates for the current position. You may swiftly create a shortlist of applicants who are already acquainted with your company and have a track record of being competitive by looking through your talent pool for the qualifications and experience needed for your vacant position.
By demonstrating that you appreciate the time and effort of all applicants, including those who haven’t been employed in the past, this method saves you time and effort and enhances the reputation of your company.
12. Promotions and transfers
Despite many similarities, promotions and transfers are two distinct ideas. When a company has an open position, it may offer the job to one of its current employees. The individual will advance in their career, be given greater responsibility, and get a better income if they are awarded a promotion. However, if the employee is offered a transfer, their duties and pay will stay the same, but they will be transferred to a new branch or department.
13. Internships and apprenticeships
Offering apprenticeships and internships is a great approach to evaluating people’s talents and abilities and is similar to a working interview. Managers may use this time to assess interns’ and apprentices’ potential and find individuals who can be developed and trained for future positions. Future leaders are not an exception to the rule that everyone must start somewhere. All of them start out in entry-level jobs, but well-run internship and apprenticeship programs may serve as excellent means of identifying and developing future leaders and talents.
Read More – Re-Engineering the Recruitment Process
Conclusion
In summary, we can say that choosing among these different recruitment methods ensures that organizations can source the right mix of talent for every role. From campus drives and referrals to programmatic advertising and boomerang hiring, each recruitment type offers unique benefits and challenges.
Thus, by knowing the strengths of each recruitment method and aligning them with your hiring needs, you can craft a comprehensive recruitment strategy that attracts, engages, and retains top talent.
FAQ
Employee referrals, boomerang hiring, and internal promotions/transfers often cost less per hire since they leverage existing relationships and reduce advertising expenses.
Assess factors like role seniority, required skills, timeline, and budget. For high-volume or entry-level roles, campus drives and internships work well. For niche or senior positions, third-party recruitment or programmatic advertising may be more effective.
Yes. A blended approach—combining social recruiting, direct recruitment, and referrals, for example—maximizes reach and quality. Regularly review metrics (time-to-hire, cost-per-hire, quality-of-hire) to optimize your mix.
Maintain active company pages, craft engaging content, use targeted ads, and personally reach out to potential candidates. Respect privacy and be professional in outreach messages.
Talent pool databases shorten hiring cycles by resurfacing qualified candidates who have already expressed interest. They demonstrate respect for past applicants and can improve employer brand perception.
Use key metrics such as time-to-hire, cost-per-hire, quality-of-hire, and candidate satisfaction to gauge performance. Compare these against industry benchmarks and review them each recruitment cycle to optimize your mix of recruitment methods.
The legal considerations that should be taken into account during recruitment are to ensure compliance with equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws by using nondiscriminatory, job-related criteria in screening and selection. Maintain transparent documentation of decisions and avoid questions that may infringe on protected characteristics.
Broaden outreach to nontraditional talent pools—such as people with disabilities, veterans, or those with criminal records—and craft inclusive job descriptions free of biased language. Partner with community groups and attend diversity-focused job fairs to access underrepresented candidates.
A compelling employer brand enhances visibility in a competitive market and resonates with passive candidates. Showcase your culture, values, and employee stories on social media and career pages to boost engagement and application rates.
AI tools can help screen resumes, match candidate profiles, and schedule interviews, reducing administrative tasks and bias when properly monitored. Automation improves candidate experience by providing timely updates and freeing recruiters to focus on relationship-building.
Tap into your existing talent pool database to quickly re-engage strong past candidates. Use structured interview guides and scheduling software to streamline coordination and eliminate delays.
Engage agencies for niche or high-volume roles to leverage their broader networks and specialized expertise. For positions demanding deep cultural fit or confidentiality, prioritize in-house methods like direct recruitment and employee referrals.
