What Is Recruitment?

What is recruitment?

Recruitment is the process of attracting, screening, interviewing and selecting candidates for an open position at a company. It can also include hiring and onboarding the chosen candidate.

Businesses recruit employees for all sorts of reasons. They may be expanding and need more people, replacing someone who’s left the company or filling a position after an employee moves into a different role. Some businesses use specialized recruitment software to find qualified candidates or turn to outside agencies for help with the hiring process.

What are the different types of recruitment?

There are two primary types of recruitment: internal and external.

• Internal recruitment: This approach involves looking for candidates among your company’s existing employees. Employers may promote from within or move an employee into a new role, location or team as business needs change.
• External recruitment: This approach involves looking outside your company for new employees. You can find candidates by posting job openings on job boards, your company website or social media, reaching out to local colleges and universities, or asking your employees if they know anyone who might be a good fit.

Many businesses use a combination of internal and external recruitment strategies to find qualified candidates while giving existing employees opportunities to advance.

What does recruitment involve?

The recruitment process may look a little different at every company and for every role. Still, most hiring cycles follow a similar path: defining the open position, sourcing applicants, screening candidates, conducting interviews, making a job offer and onboarding new hires. 

Here’s a look at each step in depth.

1. Define the open position.

Start by identifying what you need the new employee to do and the qualifications they’ll need to succeed. Think about which skills are essential and which ones someone could learn on the job. From there, work out the details, including the pay range, schedule, work location, anticipated start date and who the employee will report to. Use this information to write a clear job description and develop a standard set of interview questions so you can evaluate candidates consistently.

2. Source job applicants.

There are plenty of ways to find potential employees. You can work with a recruiter or recruitment agency, ask employees or trusted colleagues for referrals, or find employees by posting openings on your company website, job boards (such as Indeed and its alternatives) and social media accounts.

Some people will be actively looking for a new job, while others might be perfectly happy where they are but willing to hear about a good opportunity. You’ll want to approach these candidates differently, and how well they know your company can also make a difference.

According to Joe Mullings, founder, chairman and CEO of The Mullings Group, an executive search and talent access firm, candidates typically fall into one of three engagement categories:

• Established connections: The individual knows you and is likely to take your call because of an existing relationship.
• Referred or familiar candidates: The person may not know you directly but has been referred by someone else or recognizes your company.
• Unfamiliar candidates: The individual doesn’t know your company and will need more information about your business and what you have to offer.

3. Screen potential candidates.

Once the applications start coming in, review resumes and cover letters to see who has the qualifications you’re looking for. You can then conduct brief phone screening interviews with the most promising candidates to get a better sense of whether they’d be a good fit for the job.

Some applicant tracking systems (ATS) use AI to screen or rank candidates, but don’t take their recommendations at face value. Check how applicants are evaluated and make sure a person is responsible for hiring decisions. You’ll also need to make the screening process accessible to applicants with disabilities. The Justice Department’s guidance on hiring technology explains how these tools can violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), including by screening out qualified applicants. Always ensure candidates have a clear way to request reasonable accommodations.

Next, you’ll move the strongest candidates forward to interviews. For applicants who don’t meet your expectations, thank them for their time and let them know you’re not moving ahead. Job applicants would rather hear a “no” than radio silence.

“Be responsive, and don’t burn bridges,” advised Sarah Dewey, owner of Cake For Thought Bakery and a former talent sourcer at Meta. “If you have candidates that aren’t a fit for anything you’re currently hiring for, it does not mean you should ignore them. They may be a perfect fit for something down the road.”

4. Interview qualified candidates.

Next, the hiring manager interviews the most promising candidates to learn more about their skills, experience and suitability for the job. Asking competency-based interview questions can help you understand how candidates have handled situations they might encounter in the role. It’s also a good idea to ask everyone the same core questions so you can compare their answers fairly and help reduce bias.

When considering a potential employee’s cultural fit, focus on how well they’d work with your team, not whether they have the same personality or share your interests.

Depending on the position, you may need more than one round of interviews. This is also a good time to check candidates’ job references.

5. Select a candidate and extend an offer.

After interviewing the candidates, compare their qualifications and interview responses to your hiring criteria, and choose the person who’s the best fit for the job. Then, draft an offer letter and extend it to your chosen candidate.

At this stage, you may also want to conduct a criminal background check. If you do, your offer letter can state that the offer is contingent on the results. Make sure you follow all applicable federal, state and local laws, including employment and anti-discrimination laws.

If you’re using a third-party background screening company, you’ll also need to follow the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s requirements. These include notifying the candidate and getting written permission before requesting a report. If the results lead you to reconsider hiring someone, there are additional notice requirements you must follow before and after making a final decision. State and local laws may also limit when and how you can consider a candidate’s criminal history.

Let the other applicants know you’ve chosen someone else, and thank them for their time. End on a positive note; you never know when you may want to reconnect if your first-choice candidate declines or another opportunity opens up.

6. Onboard new hires.

Once a candidate accepts your offer, the final step is the onboarding process. Your human resources team will typically handle this stage, making sure the new employee completes the required paperwork, understands their responsibilities and gets settled into their new role. They’ll also make sure the process complies with applicable labor and employment laws.

Who handles recruitment?

Recruitment is an important business function, so you’ll want someone with the right experience overseeing the process. Who handles it will depend largely on your company’s size and available resources.

For example, a small business might leave recruiting and hiring to the person who will manage the new employee, often called the hiring manager. If your company has an in-house human resources department or HR manager, they may help screen candidates and work with the hiring manager to make the final selection.

If you don’t have someone internally who can take on recruitment, you can turn to outside help.

“If your company doesn’t have the bandwidth to support all of their open [roles], a recruitment technique they can adopt is to work with an agency to fill roles more efficiently,” Dewey noted.

Recruitment agencies can take much of the hiring workload off your plate, and internal recruiters can serve a similar role. Depending on the arrangement, a recruiter may handle everything from posting job openings and finding candidates to screening applicants, negotiating salaries and coordinating placements. They’ll typically work with your HR manager or hiring manager throughout the process.

What are some recruitment best practices?

Hiring employees can be expensive, especially if you end up with a bad hire and have to start the process all over again. In fact, according to SHRM’s 2025 benchmarking research, employers spent an average of $5,475 to hire a nonexecutive employee and $35,879 for an executive. With that kind of money at stake, it pays to put some thought into your recruitment process.

“Your employees are the difference between success and failure, yet the [recruitment] process that is used is generally ad hoc, rushed, and has little strategy beyond a post-and-pray approach,” Mullings said.

The experts we spoke with shared several hiring tips and best practices to help your business recruit top talent.

Prioritize communication

Good communication is important throughout the recruitment process, both with job applicants and among the people making hiring decisions. Make sure your job descriptions are accurate, respond to candidates promptly — whether it’s a yes, a no or simply an update — and keep your hiring team in the loop.

Use social media to your advantage.

Social media can be a great way to connect with potential employees. Think about who you’re trying to hire and where they’re likely to spend time online. LinkedIn may be a good choice for professional positions, while Instagram and TikTok give businesses a chance to show what it’s like to work there.

Try sharing employee stories, behind-the-scenes videos or “day in the life” posts that give people a feel for your workplace. When you have an opening, post it on your social channels and encourage employees to share it with their networks. Even if your followers aren’t looking for a job themselves, they may know someone who is.

Reach out to passive candidates.

Some of your best potential hires may already have jobs and aren’t actively looking for something new. But that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t consider the right opportunity. In fact, Gallup found that 52 percent of U.S. employees were open to leaving their organization.

What might convince someone to make a move? According to Employ’s 2026 Job Seeker Nation Report, 40 percent of people who weren’t actively looking for a job said greater flexibility or remote work opportunities would motivate them to consider applying for another position.

To get started with this approach, search professional networks and recruiting platforms for people with the type of experience you need. If someone looks promising, contact them and tell them why you think they’d be a good fit and what about their profile stood out. Be sure to mention any company perks your business offers that might catch their interest, such as flexible schedules, employee development or advancement opportunities. Keep your message short, and make it easy for them to get in touch if they’d like to know more.

Use the “Hum, Sing, Shout” method.

Recruiting doesn’t have to start from scratch every time you have a position to fill. By building a reputation as a good place to work, you can attract potential candidates before you actually need to hire someone.

Mullings recommended his “Hum, Sing, Shout” method to help businesses stay visible to potential employees and step up their recruiting efforts when needed. Here’s how it works:

• Hum: Keep a low but steady presence in the job market, even when you’re not hiring. Stay active on social media, network with people in your industry and make sure potential candidates know your company exists.
• Sing: Turn up the volume a little. You may not have an immediate opening, but you can make a more deliberate effort to attract potential employees. Share what it’s like to work at your company, highlight your employees and connect with people you might want to hire down the road.
• Shout: Now you have a position to fill, so it’s time to get the word out. Post the opening on job boards and social media, reach out to your professional network and explain what makes the opportunity worth considering.

Keep track of candidates throughout the recruitment process.

It’s important to know where every candidate stands in the hiring process, especially when you’re juggling several openings. Whether you use HR software, an applicant tracking system or a spreadsheet, keep a consistent record of who’s applied, who’s been interviewed and what needs to happen next.

You should also track how well your recruiting efforts are working. Look at where applicants come from, how long it takes to fill a position, how many candidates accept your offers and whether new employees stay with your company. To calculate your cost per hire, divide your total internal and external recruiting costs by the number of people hired during the same period. Comparing these numbers across different positions and recruiting sources can help you decide where to spend your hiring budget.

If you’re considering software to manage the process, here are three of the best HR software platforms with recruiting and onboarding tools. Check what’s included in each package, since some features may cost extra.

• Paychex Flex: Paychex offers tools for posting jobs, tracking applicants and managing the hiring process. It also has AI-assisted recruiting capabilities, background screening services and reporting tools. Check which features are included in your plan. Read our Paychex Flex review for more information.
• BambooHR: BambooHR lets you post openings, review and rate applicants, track their progress and keep a pool of promising candidates for future openings. Once you’ve chosen someone, you can send offer letters and new-hire paperwork, including employment contracts, for electronic signature. Learn more in our BambooHR review.
• Rippling: Rippling’s recruiting tools include applicant tracking, interview scheduling, candidate feedback and reporting. When you hire someone, their information can carry over into onboarding, so you don’t have to enter it all over again. See our Rippling review for details.

“Do your due diligence, and make sure you’re keeping track of what’s going on in your pipeline,” Dewey said. “This helps being able to see your own progress and areas of opportunities. Keeping track of all your candidates and the stages they’re in (along with your data) will save a lot of sanity when hiring managers ask for reports.”

Connect with former job applicants.

Don’t forget about candidates who applied for previous openings. Someone who wasn’t quite right for one position might be a great fit for another. Keep track of promising applicants in your HR software or applicant tracking system so you can reach out when a suitable job opens up. Just make sure you’re following applicable record retention requirements and your company’s privacy policy, and limit who can access candidate information. Before starting a new search, look through your past applicants and see if anyone might be interested.

Target boomerang employees.

Don’t overlook former employees when you’re looking to fill a position. In fact, according to ADP’s May 2025 analysis, 35 percent of new hires in its payroll data in March 2025 were people returning to a previous employer, up from 31 percent a year earlier.

There are plenty of reasons someone might want to come back, whether it’s a better opportunity, a different position or a change in their personal circumstances. If they left on good terms and have the qualifications you need, they may be worth considering. They’ll already know something about how your business operates, and they may have picked up valuable skills and experience while working elsewhere.

Before rehiring someone, though, think about why they left in the first place. If they wanted better pay, more room to advance or a different work environment, has anything changed? You don’t want to bring someone back only to have them leave again for the same reasons.

Speed up your recruitment process.

Good candidates may lose interest if your hiring process drags on too long, especially if they’re considering other offers. According to SHRM’s 2026 recruiting benchmarking research (cited earlier), the median time to fill a nonexecutive position was 39 calendar days, measured from when a position was approved to when a candidate accepted an offer. That’s a useful benchmark, although hiring times will vary depending on the position and your industry.

Take a look at how long candidates spend at each stage of your process. Are they waiting a week to hear back after an interview? Does it take several days to get everyone together for a hiring decision? You may be able to eliminate unnecessary interviews, automate routine communications or set clearer deadlines for hiring managers. Just don’t rush through important steps to fill a position faster. Hiring the wrong person could put you right back where you started.

Source interviews were conducted for a previous version of this article.