Applicant Attraction Strategies: An Organizational Perspect

Labor shortages, which are predicted to last into the 21st century, are expected to increase the importance of applicant attraction for organizations. A model of applicant attraction from the organization's perspective is developed. There are at least 3 distinct strategies for increasing attraction success: 1. improving recruitment practices, 2. altering employment inducements, and 3. targeting nontraditional applicants. Probable interactions among attraction strategies and between attraction strategies and other human resource practices are apt to call into question such propositions as labor market conditions, vacancy characteristics, organizational characteristics, the phase of the attraction process, and legal considerations. Interdependencies among the alternatives make reliance upon a single strategy unlikely. For example, applicant pools may be linked to inducements or recruitment. Attraction strategies also do not operate in isolation from other human resource policies and practices.