Having trouble recruiting new staff to your business? Here are seven out-of-the-box recruiting methods that will help you score the ideal candidate for your open position.

Today’s workforce is flooded with opportunities, and with many businesses looking to fill roles, it’s hard to compete for qualified talent. To help you land that ideal new hire, here are a few uncommon methods to recruit applicants that could help attract just the person you’re looking for.

1. Purchase hiring ads on social media

You’ve developed a solid job description and posted the listing to your website and other hiring company’s sites, but how do you stand out against the high volume of content on the internet? If you feel like your job posting isn’t getting enough eyes on it, a valuable resource you can utilize are hiring ads. Social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn make it easy to “boost” existing posts, meaning you can apply dollars behind them to get a wider reach. This strategy doesn’t have to be expensive either, as many digital platforms offer a variety of pay structures for targeted ads.

2. Boost your employee referrals incentives

Current employees are some of the best candidates to recruit new team members. They know the business and can speak to their own personal experiences—plus they may even know someone who would be a good fit for your company.

To best motivate your employees to share the word about open positions, offer incentives such as reserved parking, extra vacation days and even referral bonuses should the new hire stay at the company for a pre-determined timeframe (e.g., six months). It’s an easy and cost-effective solution for finding new faces to fill out your staff.

3. Host a digital open house or online hiring event

In this digital era, events that previously happened in person are now taking place online, from staff meetings to interviews. You can apply this same logic to your applicant pipeline by hosting a digital open house or online hiring event. By holding an online “webinar” about your company or a moderated Q&A, you are giving potential candidates a taste of your company from the comfort of their own home. This allows for many potential employees to enter the employment pipeline at once and allows both parties to get to know each other and see if it’s a good fit.

4. Partner with temp agencies

Employment agencies, or temp agencies are organizations which match employers to employees. If you run a business that does not require a specialized degree or training, partnering with a temp agency may quickly help bring talent through your door. Individuals who come to temp agencies looking for work are often highly motivated to begin a new career, so partnering with one may lead to a fruitful partnership.

5. Add employee testimonials to your site

Real-life testimonials are a great marketing tool no matter what industry you find yourself in. If you want to know if a movie is good, you check review sites to see what viewers are saying, and if you want to know if a restaurant is worth checking out, you look the business up online to gauge diners’ reactions. The same can be said about businesses, as what your employees think about working at your establishment is a true testament to what applicants can expect. Ask employees (current and former, if the split was amicable) if they’d be willing to share a quote for your site, and don’t forget to include a picture. Applicants want to hear from others outside of leadership about what the work environment is like, and testimonials can spur potential employees to take the next step towards applying.

6. Use old-school advertising

No matter the medium, whether it be print, digital or any combination of the two, the fact is that you want your job listing to get in front of job seekers’ eyes. The traditional way to do that is still valid: old-school advertising. Whether it be slapping a billboard up on a busy freeway, submitting a job listing to your local newspaper or buying an ad slot before the daily TV news, old-school advertising is a tried-and-true way of making people aware of your product, service or any other bit of information you need to convey. While it may not be effective in recruiting qualified candidates, it will increase awareness by reaching a wide audience.

7. Get social

If you need people, it’s probably best to go where the people are. According to a study conducted in July 2022, there are roughly 4.7 billion social media users as of July 2022, equating to 59% of the total global population. Whether it be on Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook or Snapchat, you can use these services to engage with job seekers and post open roles within your team.

Recruitment strategies for hiring more employees is just one part of running a business. Keep exploring with these essential resources.