The Advantages of Recruitment From Newspaper Want Ads

In an era where computer and Internet use has made online recruitment a popular means of locating qualified job candidates, newspaper advertising is often viewed as an obsolete recruitment method. Declining newspaper circulation also makes newspaper recruitment less attractive. However, there are still some advantages to using newspapers to connect with job seekers.

Newspaper recruiting allows you to target a specific geographic location such as a town or county. This can be especially helpful if the job requires knowledge of the local area, like a sales position which requires frequent local travel. This can also help to keep costs to a minimum, as you won't have to worry about paying the travel expenses for candidates outside the local area, or the relocation expenses from hiring these candidates.

Newspaper advertising allows for flexibility in the size and placement of the ad. If your recruitment budget is small, you can create an ad consisting of just a few lines to keep costs to a minimum. For larger budgets or if you need to fill a variety of positions, a larger ad that includes a photo can attract the attention of a large pool of qualified candidates. You may even be able to place the ad outside of the "Help Wanted" section to increase its visibility.

A newspaper ad can be read virtually anytime, anywhere, which makes it highly convenient for the user. Online recruitment ads require the candidate to have access to computers or other electronic devices that can access the internet, using applications that often offer multiple distractions. Broadcasat media like television and radio do not lend themselves easily to recruitment unless you're hiring a large number of people and can justify the cost of multiple placements to reach more of your target audience. Newspapers let candidates find your ad at their leisure without the use of devices like radios, televisions or computers.

Many employers, including those that hire a large number of part-time workers, target older workers in their advertising. Since newspaper audiences tend to be older, perhaps because they did not grow up in an age where everything was digitized, newspaper recruiting can still be an effective means of finding workers.