What is meant by Recruitment? Explain any four external sources of recruitment.
Recruitment is the process of searching for prospective candidates and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organisation.
External sources of recruitment are:
1. Recommendation of Employees: Many firms encourage their employees to recommend the names of their relatives and friends for employment. Such applicants are likely to be good employees because their background is sufficiently known.
2. Labour Contractors: Labour contractors keep in touch with labourers in the villages and bring them to the places where they are needed. On payment of commission, they are ready to supply required number of workers.
3. Placement Agencies and Management Consultants: Management consultancy firms help organisations to recruit technical, professional and managerial persons. They specialise in middle level and top level executive placements. They maintain the data of persons with different qualifications and skills and advertise the jobs on behalf of their clients.
4. Campus Recruitment: Universities, colleges, institutes of management and technology, etc., provide technicians, engineers, chemists, accountants, etc. Many big organisations maintain a close link with the universities, technical and management institutes to recruit qualified personnel for jobs. This is referred to as campus recruitment.
5. Advertisement: Advertisement in newspapers and journals is a common method of encouraging people to apply for the jobs. The main advantage of this method is that sufficient information about the organisation and the job can be given to allow self-screening by the applicants. It attracts a large number of candidates.
6. Employment Exchange: Employment exchange are government run organisation that registers the names of job seekers to maintain records of their qualifications, experiences, etc. Employers inform the exchanges about the vacancies. These exchanges refer the names of people possessing required qualities and skills to the employers.