Not long ago, businesses could turn to one reliable tool to help find job applicants: the classified section of the local newspaper.

If those good old days seem easy to remember it’s because they really weren’t all that long ago.

To be fair, newspaper classified ads have not gone away. But in many ways, society has evolved away from that simple, cost-effective solution. Unfortunately, what we’ve replaced it with is arguably worse — at least from the standpoint of a time-strapped businessperson.

Since people spend a lot of time online, job applicant recruiting has moved online as well. If you’ve been hiring recently, you have likely seen how many online job posting options there are today. In most cases, options are good. But if you are a small-business owner or busy human resources professional, it can take hours to sort through all of the services.

They have different pricing structures. They target job candidates in different ways. They specialize in catering to different segments of the population.

During the process of placing ads online, it’s hard to avoid the deflating thought: Will job seekers in my community even look at this?

Social media sites are one place we know most people will visit. Research shows people spend just under two hours per day on such sites. So savvy job marketers are going that direction as well.

Social network LinkedIn can be a good place to advertise for many professional-level positions. Likewise, Facebook has recently given companies the ability to post job openings on their pages. Creating job listings on Facebook is free, but it’s a good idea to invest in your ad to expand its reach.

If all of this seems overwhelming, allow me to suggest an alternative: using a personal recruiter. (Full disclosure: My company offers recruiting services.)

If you’ve never used a recruiter before, here’s one way to understand the difference. Placing a help-wanted ad is equivalent to throwing a hook in the water and seeing who bites. On the other hand, a recruiter will don a wetsuit, dive in the lake and chase down the best fish for the job.

Recruiters bring a personal, active touch to what is often a very passive process.

If given the green light, recruiters also won’t limit themselves to candidates actively seeking new jobs. It can be flattering for potential job candidates — even ones who are happily employed — to be contacted by a recruiter. It could be that the perfect candidate for your job opening isn’t even looking at help-wanted ads. A recruiter works to find those people and make them candidates.

While personal recruiting services have different rates, it’s common for fees to fall between 20 and 30 percent of the first year’s salary of the person being recruited.

There’s no doubt that on paper this costs more than placing a dozen online advertisements. But if you factor in the time saved making and managing those online ads, you might even find that using a recruiting service both makes fiscal sense and helps ensure you get the best candidates possible.

If you want more tips on how to attract top talent, check out our moresource-inc.com website.

Contact Moresource at 573-443-1234.