What is internal recruiting?

Internal recruiting means you hire from within, sourcinghires for these positions from your current pool of employees. For instance, these new hires mightmake a lateral move from a different department or receive a promotion to a more influential job title. To take advantage of their existing talent, some companies list certain jobs for internal applicants only instead of opening them up to anyone. Others may start with internal applicant recruitment and open it up to external candidates if they can’t find what they need within interested personnel.

What is external recruiting?

External recruitment occurs when you look for candidates outside your current workforce. While internal applicants can also apply for those positions, your human resources department mainly targets recruiting efforts toward outside applicants. There are many methods for external recruitment, including using job boards, recruitment agencies, referrals and posting on your social media and website.

Deciding between recruiting internally and externally

Both internal and external recruiting may prove beneficial in different situations. Ultimately, the goal of employee recruitment is finding the best candidate for the job, whether that’s a current employee or someone from outside the company.

Pros of internal recruiting

A strategic approach that leverages your existing workforce to fill vacancies, internal recruiting offers numerous advantages to small and large businesses alike. This method both highlights your company’s commitment to rewarding talented employees and fosters a company culture that celebrates loyalty. Otherpros of internal recruiting include:

• Faster training and onboarding. Internal hires already fit within the company culture and know the processes, so they usually hit the ground running when placed in new positions. Because you already performed background checks and paperwork during the initial hire, hiring from within reduces the work HR must do.
• Lower advertising cost.Advertising internal recruiting costs less (or even nothing) because you typically do so through existing channels. You can send job announcements directly to employees or post them on the company website withoutincurring extra expenses.
• Existing company knowledge. Familiarity with company processes, values and goals can help internal hires get started in the new position faster. This usually saves you money because internal hires already understand factors unique to your organization.
• Increased employee retention. Hiring from within can foster loyalty and encourage employees to stay longer. This potential for new career paths gives good workers who need a change room to grow without leaving your organization.
• Improved investment retention: Learning and development programs help shape your employees and give them necessary skills. When you hire from within, you keep employees well trained in core competencies, maximizing your development investments.

Cons of internal recruiting

While internal recruiting confers multiple benefits, it may also present organizational challenges. For example, team dynamics may shift due to the perception of favoritism, potentially creating tension..Consider the following drawbacks of internal recruitment:

• Adds new vacancies. When you fill a position internally, you fill one vacancy while creating another one. Choosing only internal recruiting may, for this reason, create a cycle of continuous movement between jobs that could create a chaotic environment.
• Potential for stagnation.Without new talent coming into the company, creativity and innovation—or even work ethic—may stagnate over time. Current employees often continue using the same processes and ideas without some fresh thinking to shake them up a bit.
• Internal political risks. Resentment and jealousy sometimes arise when internal recruiting leads to one employee winning out over another. Remaining transparent and using a fair, merit-based hiring procedure in your hiring process can help mitigate these risks.
• Limited candidate pool. Some job vacancies require a very specific set of skills, especially with the advent of new technology. Likewise, you may miss out on fresh perspectives and diversity if you stick with the staff you currently have.
• Increased training costs.If an internal candidate has some qualifications but not all, you may spend a lot of time and money training them to fill the position. An external candidate who already has the necessary training doesn’t require the extra expense.

Pros of external recruiting

When you need new insights and approaches, external recruiting may make more sense than internal recruiting. Hiring from outside your current talent pool may also bring much-needed skills to the table without increasing your investment, which may come in handy when you’re stretching a tight budget. Otherpros of external recruiting include:

• Expanded talent pool.Internal recruiting limits you to your current employees. By contrast, externalrecruiting gives you more applications from which to choose. Expanding your options in this way may help you find a better fit for the experience you need.
• Outsider’s view. Current employees comfortable in their positions have no reason to challenge the status quo. Someone with a new perspective, however, might breathe new life into your company with innovative ideas and unique solutions to existing problems.
• Increased diversity. Successful companies require diversity in demographics, experience and thought so they can better leverage a varied customer base. Likewise, adiverse workplace enhances company culture and widens your organization’s problem-solving capabilities.

Cons of external recruiting

Though external recruiting has many advantages, it has just as many disadvantages. The extra time spent by your human resources department screening and interviewing potential hires may take up significant resources, and you may miss out on quality candidates within your own talent pool. Other potential cons of external recruiting include:

• Longer onboarding process. External candidates havemore to learn about the company, so it usually takes them longer to get up to speed. Also, they may require more training to understand the basics, leading to decreased productivity.
• Friction with current employees. Internal politics may still come into play, even when you hire via external recruiting.Current employees who apply might resent external candidates who get the job, creating a tense working environment.
• Higher cost and more work. External recruiting often requires more time, work and expenseto find candidates. You have to advertisein more locations and take longer to vet your top choices.

How to recruit internally

Internal recruiting works well when you have a talented staff with plenty of potential candidates. Often ideal when you’re limited in time and money, internal recruiting also makes sense when you need someone who already understands internal processes and projects.

Follow these steps when recruiting internally:

1. Establish your needs and requirements for the position.
2. Look at your current workforce to determine if you have enough candidates who can meet those requirements. If not, recruiting externally might be a better option.
3. Write a job description aimed at internal applicants to outline the requirements of the position.
4. Post the internal opening on your website, or send a notification via email, newsletter or other communication methods.
5. Ask your managers to provide recommendations for current employees who might be a good culture add.
6. Approach employees you feel might work well in the position and suggest they apply.
7. Interview the internal candidates with the best qualifications.
8. Look at internal reviews and discuss each applicant’s qualifications with their supervisors.
9. Select the internal candidate who best matches your needs.
10. Communicate the decision directly to the other internal candidates.

How to recruit externally

External recruitment offers an excellent alternative to internal recruiting when no one in your company has the desired qualifications for the position or you want a fresh take on the workload. The initial steps of the external recruitment process are similar—you need to establish your requirements for the position and create a job description. The main difference you face with external recruitment is determining where and how to find quality candidates.

Consider these common external recruitment methods and tools:

• Job boards. Advertise your positions on online job boards that let you post positions and sponsor them to get more traffic. In many cases, you can also look through resumes that the candidates themselves post on the site.
• Recruiting software. Using the rightrecruiting software can help you track external applicants, promote openings and organize applications. Once you make some selections, it also lets youcommunicate with applicants and onboard your new hires.
• Referrals. Establish an employee referral program to get suggestions from your current staff. Employees are more likely to recommend people who can fit within the company culture and do a good job because their recommendations reflect on them.
• Company website. Create a careers section of your company website if you don’t have one already. Include an overview of your benefits and other important information in addition to your job postings.
• Social media accounts.Let your social media followers know about your openings by posting about them, and encourage followers to share your posts to reach a wider audience. Your current followers already like your company, so they might be interested in working for you.
• Job fairs. A job fair lets you meet and screen several candidates at once, so you can gather resumes and contact information to keep on file for current and future openings. You can also hold mini interviews during the job fair to look for solid candidates.
• Recruitment agencies. If you don’t have internal recruiters or an HR department, you can outsource recruiting. A recruitment agency saves you time by finding quality candidates who match your needs.
• Networking events. Attending industry and networking events lets you meet a wide range of people, and you might even meet potential candidates with the experience you need. Networking with others in the industry may also result in referrals to other people who would be a good fit for your job.
• Industry organizations.Many industry-related organizations offer job boards to connect employers and job seekers. These organizations typically require members to be in good standing and have certain qualifications, which can help you find candidates with the skills you want.

Using multiple recruitment methods expands your reach and gives you more applicants to review. Once you have a large number of candidates, screen them to find the best options for interviews. Be sure to vet external applicants thoroughly to verify their qualifications once you choose your top candidates. Make sure to use only legal screening procedures and put all candidates through the same screening to make the process fair. Ways to vet them might include:

• Contacting references
• Doing background checks
• Reviewing social media accounts
• Performing skills tests
• Verifying education
• Verifying past employment

When you’re deciding between recruiting internally and externally, consider the needs of your company first. Each organization has unique opportunities and challenges, and both approaches offer valuable ways to acquire new employees to grow with your company.