Don't fly under the radar (News)

Attraction: By marketing job openings, companies create a sense of community awareness

John Pollack
For the Telegraph-Journal

From the outside looking in it may seem like there aren't a lot of jobs available in New Brunswick.

Many businesses in the province rely heavily on their networks to recruit new people and don't advertise much, if at all, to the public when hiring.

Enterprise Fredericton's workforce development officer Lisa MacInnis sees a problem on the horizon for businesses that only rely on their existing network when hiring, especially if they are looking for a very specific skill set.

Companies that don't market to their local communities are "flying under the radar," she says.

"We have world-class organizations here," says MacInnis, who worked as a recruiter prior to joining Enterprise Fredericton. "(But) if you were to ask people on the street they would say 'Who'?"

While residents may have seen corporate logos on the side of office buildings, MacInnis says many assume some of Fredericton's knowledge-industry firms are call centres.

Since most jobs are never advertised - many people quote it as 80 per cent but sources vary and Harvard business school says it's between 65 and 85 per cent - companies are missing out on an important community awareness opportunity, she says.

While the average resident probably doesn't have the specific skills a company is looking for, some of them might know someone that does, she says.

MacInnis says the local labour pool is getting tighter as more companies begin hiring, so if firms stick to their existing social networks for recruiting, chances are they'll all be chasing the same few people.

By advertising on job boards more of the community will know what the company does and what they are hiring for and if it is searchable online it creates awareness outside of the region as well.

"It would be great if we could bring in new talent, rather than share the same people over and over again," MacInnis says.

She says she has heard stories of New Brunswickers living outside the region and looking to come back that have sent in multiple resumes to a company and never heard back.

Because businesses that advertise when hiring are often flooded with resumes from people that don't fit the position they are looking for, most applicants get tossed aside. But MacInnis says companies should start a relationship with some of the better rejected applicants.

"We may not have anything for your skill set at this time, but we're here," she says. Companies should tell talented people that don't fit their current needs.

Ian Sullivan, a recruiter and partner at Knightsbridge Robertson Surrette, says his firm finds combining hiring tactics works best.

"If you want to cover the market properly to find the best people for the job you really need to do some networking," he says.

But he says his firm, which is the largest human resources and recruiting consulting company in Atlantic Canada, always supplements its efforts with advertisements. The company also keeps a database of people on-hand.

"I love it when the market knows that you're working on a particular assignment," he says. "That's why we would always do ads for our roles. It's community awareness.

"You never know where that candidate could come from," he says.

For top level positions, Sullivan says companies usually want a national or international search, but for positions that don't merit the cost of a widespread headhunt there are other ways to attract people from abroad.

Both he and MacInnis point to government efforts, such as the population growth secretariat, and province-led trips to larger cities for career fairs.

MacInnis says companies that are hiring should tap into other organizations, such as multicultural or newcomer groups, so immigrants will know which local companies need their skills.

The local enterprise agency likely gets inquiries from job seekers about where there is to apply in the city, says MacInnis, who takes many of these calls for the Fredericton branch.

She says it's also beneficial for companies to make sure industry groups and professional associations know about local firms and when they are hiring.