Man and woman chatting on a couch
20% 39%
22% 13%
30% 30%
20% 15%
8% 3%

Referrals from current or former employees

Recruiters

Colleges/Trade schools/Grad schools

Referrals from personal networks (friends or family)

Online job sites

Referrals from advisors, investors, and partners

Local newspapers or business journals

"Help wanted" signs

Industry trade groups

Social networks

Temp agencies

Company websites


*“Core” positions include any of these roles: CxO, business development/sales, engineering (any kind), finance/accounting, IT (security/infrastructure), marketing, operations, or project management

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  • Job sites are great for spreading the word about open roles to large groups of potential hires.
  • Social networks can increase candidate engagement and help communicate your culture through pictures, videos, and even employee testimonials.
  • Reduce hiring time and costs by encouraging your team to refer candidates. Use incentives – like cash reward, tickets, or vouchers – and make sure the referral process is easy to navigate. 
  • Consider tapping former employees, colleagues, and even previous candidates (at your discretion) to help build your referral pipeline.
  • Engage non-digital candidate audiences through traditional approaches like newspaper ads and help wanted signs. A LinkedIn survey found that 43% of small businesses in the retail/wholesale industry that have hired in the last twelve months relied on local newspapers or business journals. In contrast, manufacturing only relied on this tactic 21% of the time.

 
  • Zero in on what makes your company a nurturing, rewarding place to work by asking current employees about why they like it. Highlight this feedback in your candidate outreach, job posts, and interviews. Employee feedback can also shed light on areas of improvement the company should work on to keep people happy. 
  • Humanize your company brand by sharing its story (not just products) across social channels. The LinkedIn survey found that social media is an important part of engaging candidates, so be sure to share your company story across social media networks and the company website. 

 
  • Use the job post to highlight the position’s goals and most important responsibilities. Convey experience, technical skills, and soft skills necessary for success in a detailed, but concise way.
  • Use standardized behavioral and situational interview questions:
  • Behavioral questions share insight on a candidate’s past successes and challenges, their working style, and their ability to recognize opportunities for improvement.

        Here are some examples of behavioral interview questions:

  • Tell me about a time when you felt you led by example. What did you do, and how did others react?
  • Describe a situation where you needed to help someone understand your perspective. What steps did you take? What were the results?
  • Tell me about a time when you had to confront a colleague or manager for inappropriate behavior. How did you handle the situation?

 

  • Situational questions challenge candidates’ comfort zones while giving them the chance to showcase their problem-solving skills and express their values. 

        Here are some examples of situational interview questions:

  • Let’s say you had to juggle several projects from multiple managers at the same time. How would you organize your time?
  • Tell me how you would deal with an upset customer from one of our least valuable accounts. 
  • Walk me through your process for building out the team in Springfield over the span of a year with a million dollar budget. 

 
  • Job sites can help you track candidate progress and assess candidate fit. Business owners report job sites helped them learn which questions reveal good fits, track where candidates are in the hiring process, schedule and coordinate interviews, and improve overall efficiency so there’s time to hire.
  • Personalize outreach and interview questions using candidate information from job sites. Leverage this competitive intel against other companies going after the same people to have more informed, thoughtful conversations with candidates.

Online job sites: 

LinkedIn: 64%, Indeed: 56%, Monster: 50%, ZipRecruiter: 46%, CareerBuilder: 41%

The tools slow hirers use to make full-time hires:

  1. Colleges/trade schools/grad schools
  2. Referrals from investors, advisors, or business partners
  3. Referrals from their personal network
  4. Referrals from current or former employees
  5. “Help wanted” signs

The tools slow hirers use to make part-time hires:

  1. Referrals from investors, advisors, or business partners
  2. Referrals from their personal network
  3. Colleges/trade schools/grad schools
  4. Referrals from current or former employees
  5. “Help wanted” signs

 


 

The tools medium hirers use to make full-time hires:

  1. Recruiters
  2. Referrals from current or former employees
  3. Colleges/trade schools/grad schools
  4. Referrals from their personal network
  5. Online job sites

 

The tools medium hirers use to make part-time hires:

  1. Recruiters
  2. Colleges/trade schools/grad schools
  3. Referrals from investors, advisors, or business partners
  4. Referrals from current or former employees
  5. Online job sites

 


 

The tools fast hirers use to make full-time hires:

  1. Referrals from current or former employees
  2. Recruiters (aka “headhunters”)
  3. Colleges/trade schools/grad schools (e.g., career fairs, job boards, etc.)
  4. Referrals from investors, advisors, or business partners
  5. Online job sites like LinkedIn, Indeed, Monster, ZipRecruiter

 

The tools fast hirers use to make part-time hires:

  1. Referrals from their personal network (e.g., friends and family)
  2. Referrals from current or former employees
  3. Local newspaper/city business journal (e.g., job ads, classifieds, etc.)
  4. Colleges/trade schools/grad schools
  5. Online job sites

 


 


*Survey Methodoloy: LinkedIn surveyed principals of 1,000 U.S.-based businesses with up to 200 employees online via small business research company Bredin. The survey was fielded from October 30 to November 13, 2018, and has a margin of error of +/-3% at the 95% confidence level.