Recruitment

Recruitment refers to the process of finding possible candidates for a job or function, undertaken by recruiters. It may be undertaken by an employment agency or a member of staff at the business or organization looking for recruits. Advertising is commonly part of the recruiting process, and can occur through several means: through newspapers, using newspaper dedicated to job advertisement, through professional publication, using adverisements placed in windows, through a job center, through campus interviews, etc.

Suitability for a job is typically assessed by looking for skills, e.g. communication skills, typing skills, computer skills. Evidence for skills required for a job may be provided in the form of qualifications (educational or professional), experience in a job requiring the relevant skills or the testimony of references. Employment agencies may also give computerized tests to assess an individual's "off-hand" knowledge of software packages or typing skills. At a more basic level written tests may be given to assess numeracy and literacy. A candidate may also be assessed on the basis of an interview. Sometimes candidates will be requested to provide a résumé (also known as a CV) or to complete an application form to provide this evidence.

In some countries, such as the United States, a great deal of care is legally mandated to ensure that all candidates are dealt with equitably.

A British Army etc. recruitment centre in Oxford.

The follow-up process may be referred to as part of the recruitment process: inveigling the selected candidate or candidates to take up the target job or function. This applies particularly in filling positions in the military or in expanding the human resource base of a cult.

Head-hunting is a frequently used name when referring to recruiters, but there are significant differences. In general, a company would employ a head-hunter when the normal recruitment efforts have failed to provide a viable candidate for the job. Head-hunters are generally more aggressive than in-house recruiters and will use direct cold calling techniques, advanced sales techniques, personal visits to the candidates office and will purchase expensives lists of names and job titles. In general, recruiters will do their best to attract candidates for specific jobs while head-hunters will actively seek them out. Many companies go to great efforts to make it difficult for head-hunters to locate their employees.

See also

*Impressment, shanghaiing
*Military recruitment, counter-recruitment
*Proselytisation
*Pyramid scheme
*Recruitment process outsourcing
*Management
*Business
*Firing