4.7 Attracting applicants
You have now established the criteria for recruiting the kind of person you are looking for; the next step is to find someone who meets these criteria. Obviously, you must make it known to people that a vacancy exists. Before placing an expensive advertisement in a newspaper or professional journal you should consider alternatives. There are a variety of methods of publicising recruitment in addition to the traditional media advertisement (see Box 2 ).
Box 2: Sources of recruits
Internal advertisements
Advertising in a range of newspapers and professional and specialist publications
Employment agencies and job centres
Selection consultants who advertise on your behalf and may screen applicants
Executive search consultants (headhunters) who will try to track down suitable candidates for your post
Introductions by existing staff, word of mouth. To prevent discrimination this should be accompanied by more formal mechanisms
Previous applicants
Unsolicited applications
The Internet
School or university contacts
Planned promotions from formal assessment schemes