What is the difference between

While these terms are sometimes used interchangeably, they are actually two different things. Recruitment and hiring are crucial aspects of human resource management, particularly in finding prospective employees for open job roles.

To know what makes hiring different from recruiting, one of the top recruitment agencies in Melbourne explains these two processes below.

Recruitment or the process of recruiting involves attracting top talent to your company or organisation. It is the crucial first step to finding new employees for the purpose of filling current or future job vacancies.

The process of recruiting talent usually begins with posting job vacancy advertisements or listings on both print and online media. Recruitment ads must be specific and clear about which company the recruitment is for and the vacancies available. It should also mention the requirements or qualifications for candidates applying for each role.

Recruitment is a long-term, ongoing process done by recruitment agencies in Melbourne even when there are no current job openings. Employed candidates or passive job seekers are encouraged to apply. And since recruitment is a continuous exercise, it also comes with a significant cost — which is why some companies prefer to outsource this task to professional recruiters or agencies.

Recruitment agencies in Melbourne and in-house recruitment teams have instant access to a large, pre-screened talent pool, including candidates for senior or management roles. They would also have ready candidates with highly specialised skills.

To attract a large pool of qualified talent during recruitment, you need to position your company or organisation as an employer of choice. You need to make your establishment attractive to candidates so that even employed ones would be willing to change companies once they are shortlisted.

If recruitment is the first step to finding the right talent for a post, hiring is the final major step in the process. When you decide to hire someone, you offer the employment opportunity to a selected candidate. It is then up to them to accept or decline the offer.

Hiring begins with rigorously going over the resumes and applications received from candidates during the recruitment process. After checking resumes and applications, a shortlist of potential employees is created. This is usually followed by background checks and contacting references to not only ensure the veracity of the information provided by the candidate but also to check for culture fit.

Interviews and a variety of tests (screening and psychometric) are also carried out. The company then selects the best candidate from the lot and makes an offer.

During the hiring stage, the employee and the company or employer enter into an agreement called the ‘employment contract’ (or something similar). The contract usually contains details about the post or role, compensation, benefits, duration of employment, leave policy, confidentiality agreement, and terms and conditions of termination.

The hiring process is time-consuming and involves several steps. Also, the hiring task cannot be outsourced to third parties, such as recruitment agencies in Melbourne, since employment contracts are considered confidential.

Recruitment and hiring are essential aspects of human resource management and need to be done with great care.