Difference Between Inbound and Outbound Recruiting

Both inbound and outbound recruiting are different strategies that recruiters use as part of talent acquisition. These terms have gained a lot of popularity as our recruiting culture is constantly evolving.

Knowing what they are and how they differ from each other can help your organization decide on which is the better choice for them and their hiring needs.

What is Inbound Recruiting?

Inbound recruiting is similar to inbound marketing. It helps attract the right potential candidates to your company. It is about creating an opportunity for your candidates to find your business.

Inbound recruiting is aimed at raising awareness about your brand image so that talented candidates would want to get in touch with your company and hopefully, make the move there.

What is Outbound Recruiting?

Outbound recruiting involves posting about job positions on relevant websites and job boards. This is a more traditional approach where recruiters fight for new talent. They search for promising individuals and use different methods, such as cold calls, emails, ads, etc., to reach out to them and get them interested.

In outbound recruiting, the company is the one initiating the contact rather than the candidate.

Inbound and Outbound Recruiting: The Difference

As evidenced by their definitions, inbound and outbound recruiting are two completely different approaches to recruitment. Here are the key differences between the two methods.

They Focus on Different Stages of the Candidate Journey

The goal of inbound and outbound recruiting is the same: hiring the perfect candidate. The way they go about achieving this is where they differ.

In inbound recruiting, companies hire by proactively and consistently attracting candidates to them with the goal to make those candidates choose them over their next employer.

Here, candidates are led through the first 3 stages of the candidate journey: Awareness, Consideration, and Interest.

Outbound recruiting, on the other hand, is where companies search for the right persona and contact them when a certain position needs to be filled.

Here, recruiters jump right to the application stage and offer the job vacancy.

They Provide Long and Short-Term Hiring Solutions

If you want a long-term solution to your hiring strategy, inbound recruiting is the better choice. This is because, in inbound recruiting, your goal is to build an employer brand that will continually attract a high-quality applicant pool.

Outbound recruiting is more short-term and derives quicker results. It is only used when a need arises, unlike inbound recruiting that is always ongoing.

They are Similar to Inbound Marketing and Outbound Sales

Approaching candidates in today’s job market is the same as approaching customers.

The goal of inbound marketing is to let applicants figure out their own pain points and then apply them to figure out whether a company is a good cultural and financial fit.

The way to do it through inbound recruiting is by creating relevant content, such as employee testimonials, company stories, and the perks and benefits offered.

In outbound recruiting, which is the same as outbound sales, recruiters find candidates who might be a good fit. Once they find potential candidates, they call them to find out what the pain point is.

Inbound vs. Outbound Recruiting: Which is Better?

Although inbound recruiting is becoming more and more popular with time, any recruiter’s hiring process would still be incomplete without a solid outbound recruiting strategy. Savvy recruiters often use a combination of both strategies to attract the best talent.

A combination approach not only gives you a wider candidate pool to choose from, but it also ensures that your efforts are targeted, and not vague.

If you are a new business and want quick results, outbound recruiting is the way go to. Networking, cold calling, and email recruiting give you a higher chance of landing candidates quickly.

On the other hand, if you need a continuous source of quality candidates to come to your company, outbound recruiting can be a bit much on its own. Inbound recruiting allows you to get a large number of candidates, each of which is interested in working with your company and knowing more about it.

It is important to remember that the world of recruiting is ever-evolving. Effective recruiting keeps that in mind and uses elements from both approaches to land the best employees.

Last Thoughts

Inbound recruiting can be a great way to find talented employees. However, outbound recruiting can be a better way to find the best candidates for your organization. Outbound recruiting is when you go out and find new employees, instead of using an inbound recruitment process. This method can be more effective because you can target specific job openings, and you don’t have to compete with other companies for the same candidates.