The internet, which first came into public prominence in the 1990s, has completely reshaped the ways in which businesses operate in the world, moving towards a more global mindset rather than local. This global focus also lends itself to recruiting tactics or employer’s attempts to find suitable candidates for job openings. With the introduction as the internet as a tool to recruit potential new employees, there come both advantages and disadvantages for the employers and the individual job hunters.
Through the incorporation of the internet in its company, the employer will see reduced human resources costs. “HR professionals commonly have to put forth budget proposals for recruiting” (Page, 2009). The internet affords companies the ability to employ fewer human resource employees while reducing the costs involved in its recruiting process. For example, employers traditionally needed to rely on job fairs, newspaper posting, word-of-mouth, and direct recruiting to access a local talent pool. The internet allows employers a wider talent pool from which candidates, which can be found all over the world, are short-listed. This also serves as an advantage in the job search for the candidates, who are able to use the internet to access more job postings than ever before.
The introduction of the internet into the recruitment process also carries with it some disadvantages. Some employers use applicant tracking systems. One negative of these systems is that they ask “for the tasks and duties you performed” but “don’t inquire about what you learned at a job” (Ryan, 2014). This means that the employer might not be able to fully understand what a potential candidate actually accomplished in their respective jobs when trying to short-list candidates in a more efficient manner. There is also the question of honesty and reliability when it comes to recruiting candidates through the internet. The internet allows for anonymity and the ability of candidates to disguise their real identity, in the most extreme cases. Further, candidates that are not initially seen in a face-to-face encounter have the ability to get a foot in the door by exaggerating on their résumés. Finally, when it comes to the industry of marketing, the internet allows me to access more employers in a more efficient manner. These companies are wizards at using search engine optimization to make sure their job postings and company websites appear first in search results.
- Page, D. (2009). Advantages & Disadvantages of Using the Internet for Employee Recruitment. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-disadvantages-using-internet-employee-recruitment-19049.html
- Ryan, L. (2014, January 29). How Technology Killed Recruiting. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2014/01/29/how-technology-killed-recruiting/
