It’s common knowledge that recruitment advertising is important; having a web-optimised job advert maximises your response rates and ensures that it appears at the top of the results for online job searches.

But what can you do to ensure that the right people see it?

Some HR professionals might assume that targeting their latest vacancy to one or two advertising sources is the best option – these might have been job boards that have worked well for them in the past and so, to reduce costs, these are all they will use.

Candidate behaviours, however, are changing.

On average, candidates use 16 different resources when searching for a job online, according to the 2013 Candidate Behaviour Survey by Careerbuilder. This implies that candidates, overall, aren’t loyal to using just one job board to search for their next role, so using a variety of recruitment advertising sources is important.

With this in mind, Webrecruit Ireland recommends making the following four considerations for your direct sourcing strategy when advertising a role, to ensure that your vacancy has a much greater chance of reaching the right candidates. [Want more tips on your direct sourcing? Download our latest eBook, the In-House Direct Sourcing Guide].

1. Location

Job seekers use a variety of resources when searching for a job online and, as such, it’s worth considering how well your role is placed regionally.

Some candidates prefer to use local sources to find their next role – and the recruitment industry has recognised this, with several of the key national job boards teaming up with the online job boards from local newspapers.

These are great for giving your vacancy additional exposure to candidates within your location.

2. Aggregators are key

With 80% of job searches now beginning on Google, using job aggregators, such as Indeed, is more important than ever before.

As the number one job site in the UK, Indeed picks up vacancies via feeds from a vast number of sources and, as such, provides job seekers with a targeted overview from multiple job boards.

It is also worth noting that Google will often list Indeed’s results above those of other job boards.

Other popular aggregators include Simply Hired, Trovit and CareerJet.

3. Social media

When considering recruitment advertising sources, it’s important not to forget about social media platforms – Twitter, Facebook and, perhaps most importantly, LinkedIn.

Advertising and sharing vacancies on LinkedIn ensures that you can reach passive talent, as well as those actively searching for a new role. You can also share your role within specialist industry groups, giving you access to professionals with those all important niche skills.

4. Sector specific

Candidates who are skilled within niche sectors are often hard to find. Therefore, Webrecruit Ireland works with a variety of specialist job boards to allow your role to be seen by candidates who possess those all-important skills that you desire.

These boards can often be expensive when advertising just one vacancy – however, as Webrecruit Ireland  advertises hundreds of roles every month, we’re able to provide you with access to these in a more cost-effective way.

To summarise, by using a selection of advertising sources, you’re covering all bases and are more likely to get the best return on investment for your recruitment advertising campaigns.

This means that it’s more likely that the ideal candidates see your vacancy – because, what if you lose out on your perfect hire because they failed to visit the one job board that you’ve been advertising on?

Looking to maximise the response from your job advert? Talent Finder from Webrecruit Ireland  gives you access to a variety of recruitment advertising sources, at a fraction of the cost of a traditional recruitment agency. Find out more.