There’s a lot of talk about the number of people looking for jobs in New York City. With the economic slowdown and its recovery far from over, more qualified candidates than ever before are entering the job market. The pressure is on individuals to be the best, present themselves the right way, and find the job they want.
But as an employer, the sheer number of applicants and the crowded pool of talent can make finding the people your company needs just as daunting. There are plenty of tried, tested, and new ways to find the best workers.
Personal Recommendations
In New York, your network is essentially your net worth and utilizing it to get recommendations for employees is a great way to narrow down your choices. Because of the number of applicants – especially for entry level positions – a single job can easily have more than 300 qualified candidates vying for it. The easy way to get around this? Send an email with a detailed job description to a trusted circle of professionals in your industry and ask for recommendations or references. Applicants who come to you from colleagues and friends should be better suited, and you’ll spend less time dealing with too many resumes.
Searching Electronically
For many mid and smaller-sized companies, the need to hire a headhunter or recruiter has almost vanished. Nowadays, there’s a whole range of websites that are great for advertising your open position. The major sites get impressive numbers, and you’re guaranteed responses from your filtered choices. The downsides? It takes time to sift through them and to find the right candidates who are genuinely qualified and suited.
Working in the U.S., the importance of LinkedIn cannot be stressed enough. LinkedIn has grown to over 200 million professional members and many recruiters are now using LinkedIn on a daily basis. To advertise a position on the site will cost you $395 for 30 days (in the Greater New York City Area) and when using a premium Linked In account you will have help in clustering and administering the applications. You are able to apply a vast number of filters to find the right candidate and upon receiving applications you will quickly discover how connected the applicant is just by looking at his or her Linked In activities. 97% of HR professionals now used LinkedIn to find the best applicants and the level playing field offered to big and small companies alike means the site should be given serious attention.Media Bistro is an NYC based job listing, training, and event website with the largest job board in the United States for media professionals. To post a listing on Media Bistro is $279 for a 30 day posting, or $578 if you choose the Job of the Day Packages. The site has over 550,000 registered users in the fields of magazines, newspapers, television, radio, book publishing, graphic design, PR, and advertising.Monster.com is one of the largest employment websites in the world and will cost you between $210 and $295 (depending on your location) for a 30 day ad. It offers a range of services and promotions for small business and targeted positions, allowing you to choose from over 300 job titles and have your positions e-mailed to and highlighted for those searching in that field.Another high-end site is Simply Hired, boasting a global reach of 30 million across 40,000 partner sites, with prices starting at $99 for a single post.Looking for someone local on an entry level? Craigslist could be the place. Though it does have a mixed reputation, since it is offering many verticals, from personal relations to housesitting, a job listing in the New York area will only cost you $25 and will get you plenty of genuine job seekers. With clear parameters you can get fantastic and creative candidates contacting you directly – but be prepared to sift through many resumes to find the right person.
Visas and International Employees
As a company based on the idea that one of the things which makes NYC great is its international citizens – we highly recommend looking to hire internationals and provide an “in” to this global city. If you think only large companies have the finances to hire international workers, you may be surprised. The U.S. State Department runs an Exchange Visitor Program known as a J-1 Visa for individuals approved to participate in work-and study-based programs. Many organizations throughout New York City have been approved to grant J-1 visas and they act as the sponsor for a candidate from abroad – this allows both new and established companies to hire one of these sponsored candidates. If you work with a sponsor, your company can act as host, offering internships and work placements which fulfill specific criteria as laid out on the visa terms.To become a host employer and offer training for international workers, you must first decide which of the programs you’re interested in. There are a wide range of options, but a couple of the most useful for businesses are:Intern: This program allows college and university students, or recent graduates, to come to the U.S. and get hands-on experience working in the U.S. in their chosen field. They also gain valuable cultural exposure. If you hire an intern on a J-1 visa you are responsible to make sure they get experience and training in their field, whether it’s from attending classes and programs, one-on-one mentoring, or through hands-on work experience.Trainee: This program has similar requirements on employers as the intern program. It is designed for foreign professionals who have prior work experience in their field to come to the U.S. for cultural exposure and to receive training in U.S. business practices in their chosen occupational field.In addition to requirements specific to the program you select, other obligations include:
- You will be responsible for health insurance for your international employee
- You will need to pay the visa sponsor around $1200
- Your company must have at least five employees and be able to provide work according to a training plan, so that your international employee can benefit from their time with you.
Designated sponsor organizations for the program of your choice can be found here. You then can make contact with the relevant organization to express your interest. The benefits to you are numerous: You get talented graduates with international experience and a clear desire to improve themselves and invest in the U.S. and NYC. The State Department provides past employers’ experiences so you can read about the benefits of the program.
Job Fairs
You might be tempted to think job fairs are a thing of the past, but there’s a busy scene in New York and companies would be ill advised to ignore such a concentration of eager workers. There are some well-established fairs in NYC alongside more recent additions throughout the city.
Job fairs can save your company money by pooling together candidates and removing the need to advertise the position and spend hours selecting, contacting, and interviewing potential employees. The combination of publicity through advertising and money saved through job listings makes fairs a continuing favorite with many employers.NYC Startup Job Fair is designed specifically for New York-based startup companies. Supported by companies such as NYU Poly, New York Entrepreneurs Business Network, NYU Venture Community, Partnership Fund for New York City, and many more, the fair connects startups with the right people to make their companies – and the city – more successful. As a company you need to have raised at least one round of capital to qualify to attend. The real benefit is access to candidates who are eager to work with younger companies and who can bring their ideas, passion, and skills to work for you. The focus on startups across the whole fair makes this a good place for young companies with flexible business models, but perhaps less capital, to find their future workforce.Nationwide Job Fairs – New York Job FairNationwide runs more than 170 job fairs across the U.S., including New York City. Established companies such as Prudential, Comcast, and Cintas have used their services for finding employees and job-seekers from all occupations attend, from sales and marketing to administrative and finance. As an employer you can view resumes submitted online before the fair begins and schedule interviews with potential employees.National Career FairWith more than 300 events in 76 cities, National Career Fairs have the pull to attract some of the best candidates. Aflac, Sprint, Fedex, American Express, Apple, and AT&T are just some of the companies already using the services offered, and you will be sure to reach candidates who many not use traditional online career search methods.Modern job fairs cater to many needs. If, as a company, you want to broaden your horizons to include a more varied group of people, Diversify Jobs USA can help you do that. These fairs bring together candidates from culturally diverse backgrounds, and are sponsored by companies such as Prudential, American Express, Allstate, Wegmans, BP, and more.
University Job Fairs
New York City’s universities provide some of the country’s top educated students, and for companies working in the city the university job fairs are a great pool of talent.NYU’s Wasserman Center for Career Development runs a series of Career Fairs through the year, including a Spring Job and Intern Fair, an Engineering + Technology Career Fair, and a PhD and Masters Fair. Employers can register online through the Career Fair Website and the events present a fantastic opportunity to meet graduates at the very beginning of their careers, network with colleagues across your industry, meet the career administrators of schools and colleges, and build contacts for future recruitment.Columbia University’s Center for Career Education hosts several fairs, networking events, and conferences around NYC. Registration, which is on a first come, first served basis, can be completed online. Startup companies can enjoy a discounted rate for registration – saving several hundred dollars depending on the event you choose to attend. Again, these graduate fairs are a great place to meet hard workers at the very beginning of their careers who are willing to commit to your company and are eager to see growth.