What are the most common ways for recruiters to find candidates?

Mêeven though job offers are the most widely used and effective means of recruiting executives, companies are diversifying their sourcing methods, according to Apec's annual "Sourcing cadres" survey.

Multi-channel sourcing. Companies are diversifying the channels through which they recruit executives externally : 4 on average. Posting a job offer is the preferred sourcing methodé  more than 8 out of 10 recruiters publishedé at least one offer during their last recruitment. And in half of all recruitments, the candidate finally hired éhas été met éthanks àto this éponse à a job offer. In fact, more than half of all recruiters consider job offers to be the most effective way of attracting applications.

Opportunities that are more or less accessible. The executive job market is thus particularly transparent, with the hidden market accounting for only 8% of executive job opportunities. But more « confidential » sourcing methods, accessible à to a restricted circle of candidates, are still àeven ’the source of a significant proportion of executive hires.

To be known… or to be knownître. The recruiter's network of contacts makes it possible to meet the candidate finally recruitedé in 17% of cases. Co-optation, used by over a third of companies to find candidates, accounts for 8% of all hires. Lastly, unsolicited job applications, consulted by six out of ten recruiters, prove to be relatively ineffective, accounting for just 8% of all hires.

*exclusive use of the recruiter's network, cooptation and/or headhunting

Source : Apec, Sourcing cadres édition 2014, June 2014