My Jan. 29 blog post, Simple steps improve shop websites for hiring, received an insightful reply from Gerry Anger, president of Granger Sales Inc.:

Greg,

I totally agree with you that keeping your website fresh and up to date will help to attract the candidates who are looking for a job. Now, how do you attract the candidates who are highly qualified but not looking for a position? Not everyone gets on company websites looking for opportunities. So you end up missing the qualified, satisfied candidates because they are not interested in checking different company websites. They go home, play with the kids, have dinner, take the kids to baseball or soccer practice and then finally get the chance to sit down for an hour to relax before going to bed to start the same process the next day. When are these people finding the time to check out company websites? Now what do you do?

I am a recruiter and have more than 20 years of recruiting experience. I currently place primarily salespeople but have in the past placed CNC machinists, cell managers and even welders. There are many recruiters who specialize in those particular types of opportunities. They go after and seek those individuals who know how to run grinders, CNC equipment, boring mills, turning centers, etc. They find the candidates who know this equipment. They know what type of mentality these candidates have and what it will take to attract these candidates to fill important open positions. I have placed people who are capable of setting up manufacturing cells and managing machine operators. These people are not looking for jobs; they have a job. And they probably have a good one.

Recruiters sell the opportunities that they have. You need more than to tell a candidate what the position is—you have to sell it. Show why it would be a good move for them. Tell them about the company and about how they will benefit by making the move, not just that it's an extra dollar per hour. Let them know about the company philosophy and where it is heading. Show them the opportunity for growth. Show them how in the long term it would be better to join a company that is on the inside and moving ahead. Sell, sell, sell!

Greg, that's my view, and that is what I use to get the right candidates to fill important positions. Good webpages are necessary to attract the right candidates, but who is viewing them before they have an interest in that company? Here's who looks at competitive company websites: the unemployed or disgruntled. Good workers stay put until you pry them loose with an opportunity that is too good to pass up.

Again, this is strictly my view for filling key positions or any position with qualified candidates who can hit the ground running and begin adding to the company's bottom line.