In the past two decades, businesses have been on steady growth, and this has created numerous opportunities for employment seekers. However, these various upcoming roles on a daily basis make it somewhat hard for organizations to advertise all their open positions. Not to mention the high costs of advertising that are involved, and thus a recommendation would save the organization so much time and money. With such advances in the business world, it is imperative for job seekers to keep and maintain a keen eye to grasp these opportunities as they come. However, if a job seeker has only been applying for advertised jobs, the high chances are that he has been missing out on other numerous opportunities, and unnecessarily lengthening the process as well. This is where the need for the speculative application comes in. A speculative application is getting in touch with an enterprise to enquire whether they have a suitable job that would fit you, even though the organization is not advertising for any vacancy. This is a very crucial area of research that can increase opportunities for many job seekers as suggested by the various literature.
What is more, in addition to speculative applications job seekers need to have excellent networking skills if they are to be successful. With the new trends in recruiting emerging daily, the environment is a highly challenging and competitive one. Regardless of these dynamics, one essential element that holds true is that networking is crucial for recruitment. Social media network sites such as LinkedIn have changed the way professionals form their networks. According to Sameen et al. (2015), job seekers prefer connecting virtually to entering a room full of strangers. Additionally, virtual networking makes it possible to make a connection any time of the day. This area of study is critical and requires more research as it is a possible solution to a long time problem of unemployment.
Research Aim and Objectives
The primary aim of this research is to investigate the importance of speculative applications and networking in recruitment among organizations. The findings will after that be utilized in the evaluation of the significance of the concept of speculative application along with networking in enhancing the process of recruitment by HR departments in organizations. To accomplish this aim, a variety of other objectives were defined as well as reported on and comprehensively analyzed in an attempt to come up with appropriate judgment and other recommendations.
Objectives
1. To come up with an initial explanatory investigation on the aspect of speculative application and networking in recruitment.
2. To present the role of speculative application and networking in the recruitment process.
3. To explain the reason why firms outsource recruitment.
4. To describe the current state regarding speculative application and networking in recruitment.
Literature Review
Creative Career Search
A creative career search entails an artistic as well as an active approach to carrying out research on careers and making job-related applications. Instead of being passive through reading various career books along with surfing the web and being reactive via anticipating for a vacancy to come up prior to making an application, in the creative career search an individual takes the initiative in seeking what is entailed in a particular career or regarding job opportunities. There are two main elements associated with the creative career search which are networking and speculative applications. Networking involves associating with individuals who know of vacancies in certain organizations while speculative application entails utilizing a CV and a cover letter in seeking a job in a company that has not advertised itself. The two aspects can be utilized together or distinctly as single and separate entities.
Importance of networking within a recruitment
Studies state that approximately 66 percent of job-related vacancies are never in advertisements to individuals seeking jobs (Statistisches Jahrbuch Deutschland 2004). They are attained via some personal along with professional references. Many books, as well as articles such as Torres (2005) and Nierenberg (2002), make suggestions that networking mannerisms like meeting with friends to hold discussions on business affairs informally or attending conferences is vital to career success. A variety of employers prefer hiring candidates who have been referred by an identified trusted source. Through an expansion of one's network, and the individual includes more people who have links to the unknown positions, therefore, increasing one's chance of getting hired. Scholarly research by Forret and Dougherty (2004), reveal that the aspect of networking is positively associated with objective as well as subjective measures regarding career success.
Letting other people in your circle know that you are looking for an employment opportunity through networking as well as giving them an idea of your previous experiences is essential in opening doors for opportunities in the career search. Opportunities can be promotions or even job opportunities. Matt Young Quist, a prominent president regarding the Career Hormone, emphasizes the importance of networking in the career search. Networking builds as well as maintains relationships beneficial to career success. In the aspect of popular theorizing, networking is typically related to a heightened development in career progress. Previous researches reveal that the salary gap that exists between networkers and the non-networkers continues to increase with time.
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The importance of Speculative Applications to Recruitment
Speculative applications are considered to be simple ways to circumventing a normal employment application process. There is a variety of concern associated with a speculative application. In a speculative application, an individual faces little or no competition at all since the position one is applying for is not advertised. Moreover, the chances of being recruited are high since candidates are seen as showing an exceptional level of initiative possessing strong motivation as well as focus to work for the particular organization. Furthermore, an individual is not bound by an existing job vacancy.They can base their emphasis on the presentation of their qualities as well as strengths and formulating their application in the most appropriate way possible without any form of restriction to stick to. Nonetheless, through a speculative application, an individual appears on the company radar even though their application may not be taken into account with an immediate effect. Speculative applications save an organization advertisement costs that they would have incurred in advertising for a position in the company. It in that event reduces the cost of operations in the HR department in a company. It is important to do thorough and comprehensive research on the organization one is applying for whether it is through a network or speculative application.
Research Methods
The study will focus on a quantitative survey on speculative application along with networking in the process of recruitment in organizations. It will put emphasis on objective measurements as well as statistical data gathered through questionnaires. It will focus on a collection of numerical data along with generalizing it across a variety of people who are usually grouped in an attempt to explain the phenomena of speculative application and networking in recruitment in organizations. The study has its basis on primary data as well as secondary data. The central part regarding the data will be primary data. The primary data will be gathered via well-structured questionnaires along with in-depth interviews. The research will possess two types of well-structured questionnaires.
The questionnaires will be structured in a precise manner in order to enhance ease in filling them. Quizzes will be utilized in filling primary data. Before constructing the actual questionnaires, the identified researcher will conduct a pilot study in an attempt to pretest questionnaires. The surveys will entail questions associated with Human Resource planning along with human resource recruitment and selection. It will major on the two significant creative career search aspects which are speculative application and networking.
The secondary data will be gathered from journals as well as books and the internet. The information in journals and books will be collected from the IEEE.org and the journals.sagepub.com/ website. Besides this, the data will be obtained from a variety of news articles which appear in the Economic Times along with other leading newspapers. It will also be gathered from published brochures which discuss human resource associated activities in various companies.
Conclusions and Recommendations
Ultimately, it is evident that speculative application and proper networking are salient techniques for job seekers to have the upper hand in securing an employment opportunity. It is essential to identify as well as comprehend the variables which affect the utility of recruitment methods. It is also vital to understand the circumstances which favor the use of speculative application along with networking in the recruitment process. The size of an organization is a significant determinant in a speculative application. Thus, as a recommendation it is important to do thorough and comprehensive research on the organization one is applying for whether it is through a network or speculative application. What is more, beginning with the results obtained from this research, it is imperative to proceed with further analysis and investigations in exploring the success rate of speculative applications.
Works Cited
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Forret, Monica L., and Thomas W. Dougherty. "Networking behaviors and career outcomes: differences for men and women?" Journal of Organizational Behavior: The International Journal of Industrial, Occupational and Organizational Psychology and Behavior 25.3 (2004): 419-437.
Nierenberg, Andrea R. Nonstop Networking: How to Improve Your Life, Luck, and Career. Sterling, VA: Capital Books, 2002. Print.
Statistisches Jahrbuch Deutschland 2004 [Statistical yearbook Germany 2004]. Wiesbaden, Germany: Statistisches Bundesamt 2004.
Torres, N. L. It’s who you know. Entrepreneur, 33 (2005): 128 –132.
