Are you having difficulty finding top talent to fill your job openings?  Finding the best, most qualified people who fit your company culture and will be high performers is a most important task to ensure future success of your business. 

Building a great team of employees should be highest on the priority list for every company. Attracting the right talent to your organization is a challenge and must be met head-on in innovative and creative ways. 

It is a selling job. Presenting your company to applicants and selling them on the benefits of working with you is the most important marketing job you are faced with.

Recruiting techniques have changed dramatically with the advent of social media. There are a multitude of sites on the web where candidates post their profiles. Some of the most popular include LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Companies review information about candidates from these sites and the person’s posts. It can be helpful or detrimental to the candidate seeking a job. Many people don’t think about the impression they are making online and how it follows them forever. There can be a dramatic effect, either positive or negative. A company utilizes this source in comparing applicants and making a decision as to who will be considered for the next steps, i.e. interviewing, testing, hiring.

Social media is also a great media channel to showcase a company’s corporate mission and display information about the company and its culture. There are various recruiting websites utilized by employers. Some are listed below.

• Zip Recruiter

• Indeed

• Career Builder

• Glassdoor

• LinkedIn

• Google for Jobs

• Dice

• Idealist.com

• LinkUp.com

• Pinterest

• Simply Hired

• MOGUL

• Craig›s List

• Monster

• JobSpider

• Jobvertise

Some of the above offer free listings and others are available at a low cost. Some make contracts available and cost can be based on volume. This is not an exhaustive list. Others which can be very useful are associated with organizations of specific types of jobs and occupations, trade associations, and others with membership rosters.

Some sites specialize in a specific type of position and others are general in nature. There are also other resources which should not be overlooked. Included are:

• Newspaper classified ads

• Radio advertising

• Employment Security Commission

• Employment Agencies

• Temporary employee service agencies

Don’t overlook “word of mouth” advertising and posting openings on your company website as well as signs in your locations where customers frequent.  One of the best, and often overlooked resources, is your own staff. Current employees who are happy in their jobs can be your very best resource for finding quality talent. Businesses who offer monetary incentives for referrals by employees report very successful talent acquisition through this internal source.

There are many other steps that follow after identifying applicants but the first step in the hiring process is the identification of potential candidates. Don’t underestimate your contacts and connections as an applicant or as the hiring manager.

Reputation and good standing in the community make a company an attractive place to work. At the same time an individual’s reputation can speak louder than experience in making it to the top of the stack of applications. What you do, what you say, how you present yourself all depict the type person you are and send a message to an employer that will put you in the “to be considered” group or “file 13.” It is left up to you. Someone is always observing and assessing you. Your background and actions will follow you all your life.

Becky Vaughn-Furlow retired from Trustmark Bank as executive vice president and human resources director. She can be contacted by emailing bvaughnfurlow@gmail.com.