When you are searching for a candidate for an open position within your company, what is the first approach that comes to mind for your search? Classifieds in your local paper? Your local temp agency? Well, what if you could easily reach out to thousands of potential employees without doing much at all, or spending any money? It can be done, and it’s actually pretty easy to do.

Consider Your Options

No matter what type of job you are posting, there is a wealth of options that you can utilize to get the word out. Of course, your old local stand by’s always help, but they can cost you money and you may not be wanting to shell out cash for that. The good thing is that with all of the social media, job websites, and a wonderful thing called the Internet, you can easily post your open jobs for free. Ask other business leaders you know what they find works the best in gaining potential employees with the skills they need. If you don’t know many other hiring managers or business leaders, you can always scout around online for some opinions. Of course, I’ve got some easy options for you to consider as well.

Your Job Posting Options

In the past, you’ve been limited to classified ads, word of mouth, and temp agencies to find qualified employees. Today, however, your options are wide open. Here are some of my favorite places to post job listings that will net you some qualified candidates:

Social media – Oh how social media has grown into a monster that can be used for anything. There are plenty of great social media sites that you can use to post free job ads that will actually reach candidates that have the skills you need. LinkedIn is my personal favorite for this as you can join and post your job openings, as well as search for qualified people and get the word out. LinkedIn is a professional social media site that gives you the ability to make contact with others out there that are in the same field, have the same interests, and are looking for jobs like the one you are posting. Twitter and Facebook are great too, but you have a lot of people that will see these posts and answer the call without having the skills needed. My suggestion is to start with LinkedIn, with millions of members, there is no way that you cannot find several qualified candidates.

Craigslist – While this one can be tricky, you can easily post a job opening here on your local Craigslist. If you post in the jobs section, you will get charged $25 to post your job. However, if you post in other areas, such as the Wanted section, you can easily post what you need in a qualified candidate for free. If you don’t mind paying the $25 for a listing in the jobs area, I recommend it highly. While your ad will get browsed by thousands of people, you will have to weed through those resumes that you get which are not qualified. But overall, it’s an excellent place to post a job ad for local, qualified candidates.

Networking – Everyone knows someone that is looking for a job right now. Get the word out to friends, business contacts, and family that you have an opening and what you need. You never know when the right person for the job will show up because someone told them you were hiring. Plus, word of mouth through networking can be a great way of also getting the word out about your business.

Job websites – There are plenty of general job websites out there such as Monster, CareerBuilder, and Indeed that will allow you to post a job listing. While not free, all of these job boards will offer you a paid listing that will really allow you to go into depth with what you need and who specifically you are looking for. There are also hundreds of niche job boards (like the HumanResources.com Job Board) that specialize in a particular field or industry. These are browsed by job seekers that look specifically at their field of expertise, and you will find the responses you get will be pretty well tailored for the job.

Classified ads – Yes, newspapers are still around and going strong, although most have more of an online presence than anything else. You can easily post classified ads for job postings through your local paper’s classifieds and be seen by tons of local candidates in your area.

Hiring Remotely

Interviews can get tiring and sometimes you might be hiring someone remotely for a position. Many positions today are moving toward a remote office or even work at home, versus the traditional office setting. A lot of jobs in customer service, game design, editing, and medical coding can use employees that live anywhere in the country. So how do you interview someone that lives across the country without spending the money to travel? Easy, you do remote interviewing by web conferences. Web conferencing services are the perfect way to cut down on gas, travel expenses, and other expenses that pop up when you’re interviewing a lot of people that live far away. You can quickly and easily talk face to face with candidates where both of you are comfortable. It can be a great way to break the ice and find out how someone’s personality is as well.

Which Should You Choose?

I personally recommend doing as much as you possibly can so that you are almost flooded with options. By posting your job opening in multiple places, you will reach more potential candidates for the job. You will be able to sort through them quickly to weed out those that are not qualified and then go on to the interview process from there with the ones that are. This gives you a great head start in finding that perfect person for the position, all the while keeping your budget and time commitment in check.