Nowadays, employers are resorting to using the Internet to hunt for job seekers. The web platform is a savior to the employers because they can inform the whole world about job openings in their organizations at the click of a button. We cannot appreciate the usefulness of the Internet-based recruitment unless we understand the shortcomings of the other methods of recruitment. For instance, putting a job opening in the newspapers is not a reliable approach because it is expensive and there is no guarantee that the advert will be read by the intended candidates. In the end, it will take ages before the employer starts receiving application letters from potential candidates.
On the other hand, Internet-based recruitment is effective considering that the web integrates the entire world. This is an advantage to both the employer and the candidates. Many people will read the job posting, and because of the utilities of the Internet the news about the vacancy will spread like forest fire because internet users are able to forward the same job openings to their friends (Bullard, 2003). In the case of other recruitment methods, there is a lot of delay in circulating the job posting because people have to move around for the sake of sharing information.
Internet-based recruitment is cheaper as compared to the other methods of recruitment. For instance, if the employer decided to contract a recruitment agency to hire employees on his behalf, the cost of contracting would be much higher because the agency has to make a kill from the contract. Internet-based recruitment increases the chances of receiving numerous applications. This is because the candidates will find the approach to be cost efficient compared to sending application letters. The other concern is that most employers do not write regret letters to the candidates who do not meet their qualifications. Failure to give feedback discourages most candidates from applying to such job postings because they will spend more money in making copies of their hard copies in vain. In Internet-based recruitments, all the candidate has to do is to click on the link containing the job posting and attach soft copies. This approach is ideal because the computerized system can send instant response at the blink of an eye.
Moreover, job openings that are advertised on the Internet are more detailed as opposed to the other forms of recruitment (Adri, n.d.). For instance, job postings that are advertised in the dailies contain vague information because the employer is trying to use a few words for the sake of cutting back on the cost of posting the advert. In such cases, the job posting only refers to the job title but fails to give other crucial information such as salary, roles and experience required. If such information were made available, the employer would be able to filter the applications they receive. On the other hand, the candidate cannot single out the job openings that he/she is qualified for and thus he/she will respond at random.
Using the Internet to conduct recruitment exercise provides a pool of intellectuals. In case the number of applications is overwhelming, the employer can prompt the system to decline applications after a certain number is reached. This ensures that applications do not pile up.
In addition, Internet-based recruitment is ideal for multinational companies because they enable people from different geographic locations to send their applications. Such companies would find it difficult if they were to source for employees beyond national boarders. This is because they would have to assign this role to local based agencies, which would further complicate the matter. This is because the local agencies do not know exactly the attributes that employers require from candidates.