young, either fresh out of college, looking to
establish a new career, or relocating to a
new area. The newspaper want-ads are not
an effective recruitment source for most of
today’s applicants. Placing vacancy
announcements online is more effective and
economical than using most traditional forms
of advertising.
Ihiresocialservices.com (job site specializing in human services jobs
(specializes in human services jobs l
to the National Association of Social Workers website)
– National Association of Black Social Workers
Campus
Recruiting
and Job
Fairs
Need to improve
overall applicant
pool
Both professional and paraprofessional
applicants can be effectively recruited at job
fairs sponsored by state workforce
development agencies. College recruiting
can be a very effective method for attracting
applicants for professional jobs.
Send team of HR representative with an experienced social worker
frontline supervisor to fairs – provides an opportunity for job seekers
ask both job specific and hiring process/benefits questions.
Send an “ambassador” from the agency to classrooms of social wor
majors to “guest lecture” or provide an agency overview.
Schedule experienced employees or supervisors to speak on a “hot
in the human services field at a brown bag luncheon at a local colle
university.
University
Partner-
ships
Not enough
applicants with
specialized
social work
degrees
Developing a variety of recruitment
strategies with area universities, community
colleges and Schools of Social Work to
encourage students to pursue careers in the
human services.
Collaborate with university deans and professors to help generate s
interest in the field.
Develop stipend program partially covering college tuition and other
expenses of college students who agree to work for the human serv
agency for specified periods of time. (See an example by the Kentu
Cabinet for Families and Children and ten university social work pro
Targeted
Recruit-ment
Lack of diversity
in targeted job/s
You may need a more diverse workforce that
better reflects the client population you
serve. For example, you may need to recruit
employees with specific language skills, or
with specialized degrees (e.g., MSWs or
Criminal Justice).
Target community job fairs to increase diversity among new recruits. See
example by the El Paso County, Colorado, Department of Human Servic
who created a Diversity Coalition to recruit and retain minority staff. (see
Internships
Need to improve
overall applicant
pool
Interns sometimes are paid a stipend, but in
most instances interns are fulfilling an
academic requirement of the college or
university. Although supervisors and/or
casework staff must spend time supervising
and training interns, the potential payoff is
having a “known” applicant who is familiar
with agency operations.
