Once you have worked out a mature age worker is right for your business, you need to know where to find them. This section looks at options for finding mature aged workers.
Where to advertise
To maximise the audience of your advertised position, you can:
- Advertise internally and externally.
- Use a variety of media such as online, print, community groups, trade journals, professional associations and so on.
- Use community noticeboards, online communities and job boards, local government services, sporting and service club members, as well as the local newspaper.
- Talk to and use the services and advice of recruitment consultants and agencies. A list of mature age friendly recruitment companies can be found on the Recruitment Companies page of Jobwise.
- Use word of mouth – in other words, talk to business associates, staff and friends.
- Visit Australian JobSearch
.
- Use and investigate other online job boards such as Seek , Careerone , and Mycareer .
- Use and investigate industry and skills specific online job boards.
Read more: Advertising tips
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JobSearch
Businesses can also advertise vacancies through Australian JobSearch , which is free of charge and allows you to advertise as many jobs as you like once you have registered. JobSearch has Australia's largest candidate database with over 600,000 resumes online. Its ‘Find Staff’ feature can be used to search for candidates, browse résumés and find the right person for the job.
Job Network
Job Network is a no-fee recruitment service with a national network of over 1,000 independent recruitment offices. Through Job Network, organisations can receive specialised recruitment services, including professional recruitment advice, candidate screening and shortlisting. Businesses can also select candidates by matching their skills to job requirements. Locate your local Job Network provider by calling 13 17 15 or on Provider Search .
Employability Skills Profiler (ESP) is an online support tool used by some Job Network members to assess the employability skills of job seekers. It is a particularly useful tool for assessing the suitability of job seekers with limited, unrelated or non-current work experience. ESP helps establish the employability skills that are generic or transferable, indicating effective employee performance on your particular job. The eight areas assessed in ESP are skills in communication, teamwork, problem solving, initiative and enterprise, planning and organisation, self-management, learning, and technology.
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Recruitment agencies
Recruitment agencies are often used by businesses to source, shortlist and screen relevant candidates for a vacancy, in exchange for a fixed fee or percentage of the salary package. They also have access to a database of screened candidates and list their vacancies on online job boards as part of their service.
In order to maximise the benefit of an agency it is important to let them know that you are keen to receive details of mature age workers, even if they may seem overqualified. Remember that many recruitment consultants are under 30, so it is critical that they understand you are after the skills and experience that fit your job description, regardless of age.
Some recruitment agencies specialise in placing mature age candidates. A list of mature age friendly recruitment companies can be found on the Recruitment Companies page of Jobwise.
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Labour hire arrangements
Labour hire arrangements apply when a labour hire company or agency provides individual workers to a client, with the labour hire company ultimately responsible for the worker’s pay and other entitlements. Workers may be provided on a casual, part-time, full-time or on-going basis.
Labour hire companies are often a good way to find mature age workers for short periods of time. The hourly rate charged will be higher than if they were recruited directly, but payroll and superannuation obligations for all casual employees will be organised by the labour hire company. This can save smaller companies significant time and stress in labour recruitment and management.
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Employee referral programs
Employee referral programs can be an effective way to find the right person for a vacancy. By allowing your committed staff to spread the news of a vacancy through word of mouth, your organisation can dramatically increase the effectiveness of the recruitment process, helping to lower recruitment costs, increase staff morale, and ensure a wider supply of workers. Such a program is also simple to administer and inexpensive to implement.
Read more: Example - Employee referral program
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Online recruitment
Another way to increase the candidate pool for a business is through creating a website for your business. An online presence should include a list of vacant jobs, instructions on how to apply online and a description of the culture of the organisation, as well as staff benefits. This is a highly efficient way to secure applications from job seekers for a minimal cost. An internal website can also be used to promote your staff referral program.
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