We received over 400 applications for this vacancy through a major job site, but the two candidates you recommended were the strongest we received.”
An employer said this to me recently. They were using me alongside an advert they had posted. I won’t name the job site as the same principle applies to all; but they made a very good choice. It’s one of the best ones.
But it can take multiple methods and a lot of proactive work to make sure you reach all graduates. They haven’t heard of most SMEs; and they don’t all use the same job site.
If you are only using one source to find candidates, you are limiting your available pool; and probably not reaching everyone.
Of the many methods I use to find graduates, none is responsible for filling more than 20% of the vacancies I work on.
In the above example, the employer received some good applications and a couple were selected for interview. They could have probably filled the vacancy themselves from these.
But if they had, they would have missed out on their top 2 choices (the only 2 I sent them). And the successful Graduate would have missed out on a job that she loves and is thriving in.
I only charge a fee if one of my candidates joins you, so it won’t cost you to find out if there is anyone you have missed.
And many employers trust me to handle everything myself; so they don’t need to take time away from their ‘day jobs’ to go through the many applications that any graduate vacancy will attract.