Hundreds of jobs are being posted daily on the internet with the intention of matching the right type of skills and experience with different job posts. In many business circles this approach has proven to be effective due to the real time information that is provided by applicants and the ease of weeding out those that do not have the skills being sought. Whilst the growing popularity of e-recruitment across the UK can prove to be distracting, HR managers and employment agencies are encouraged to conduct the necessary study to evaluate this approach to filling vacancies. The list of advantages and disadvantages below will provide those that are considering the possibilities of e-recruitment with key facts to take into consideration.

E-recruitment Advantages

Talent Pool: E-recruitment allows employers to have a talent pool that they can use for future needs. This is done automatically once applicants submit their applications making it easy to keep track of them and list candidates that can be considered for future roles in the company.

Cost Effective: Companies that want to reduce advertising costs will find that e-recruitment is the perfect solution for doing so. They will not have to worry about the costs associated to advertising in magazines or newspapers and will still reach a large number of people based on the skills they are targeting. Timely: Companies that adopt a screening process that places qualified candidates ahead of those that may not have the required skills will have more quality results. The screening process can be anything from allowing applicants to answer certain questions or looking for certain keywords in a candidate’s application to see if he or she will be an asset to the organisation in question. Contrary to the traditional approach that would take weeks or months to evaluate hundreds of written CV’s, e-recruitment makes it easier and more flexible for recruiters to match skills with needs faster. The time that is saved in doing so can then be invested in other functions in the organisation whilst increasing productivity in their roles.

Wider Geographic Area: More and more people are using the internet and this simply means that the chances of reaching those that are looking for UK jobs online will make it easier to reach a wider audience. Once the proper screening methods are set in place, HR managers and recruitment agencies will be able to find employees within certain geographic areas to meet the organisation’s needs for skills and qualified staff.

Easier Access: Traditionally, hundreds of printed CV’s would mean more paperwork and the need for more storage space. With e-recruitment, CV’s are available 24/7 online and do not occupy office space. This facilitates the whole decision process in choosing a candidate due to the ease in accessing information when it is needed.

E-recruitment Disadvantages

Unguaranteed Results: There is no guarantee that e-recruitment will provide you with candidates that meet your needs. Some people have not tapped into the benefits of using the internet to find UK jobs and this means that you may not necessarily reach the audience that you desire. In addition to this, small companies that are trying to fill vacancies may not get as many responses as companies that are larger.

Time Consuming Screening: Companies that have not set an effective screening process in place will find that they will have to sift through a large number of CV’s to reach the candidates that really have the skills. With this in mind, the questionnaires that are used to evaluate candidates should be skilfully formulated that only qualified candidates make it to the selection stages.

Standardised formats: Qualified candidates that are not allowed to demonstrate their skills and talents due to the inhibitions put in place by standardized forms will not be fairly evaluated. This means that companies lose the chance of selecting the right candidates due to the restrictions that are imposed by standardised formats used in e-recruitment.