Recruiting cost. The cost of recruiting an accounting person can range from $100 for an advertisement in the local newspaper to one third of the hired person's salary, which is a typical charge if the person is hired through a search firm. The recruiting cost tends to have a low level of importance if the recruiting task must be completed at once and a higher one if there is a long time line involved. Also, the lower-cost approaches tend to involve extra time by the controller to screen recruits, whereas more expensive approaches, such as using a search firm, tend to require less screening time, because this task is completed by the intermediary. In short, a cheap recruiting method takes longer and requires more effort than an expensive approach.. O$ r& M8 O' e- ]$ S

9 o# a. L  }! C) u% c) K0 S% X/ uRecruiting quality. The quality of the person hired tends to go up if there is a long time interval for the recruiting process. This is because the controller can take the time to obtain a large pool of candidates, interview them at his or her leisure, an spend the extra time needed to review their references. The reverse is generally true if there is a time crunch involved. However, these assumptions are generalizations, for it is also possible to run into a perfect candidate on the first day of a search.
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& j% O5 N- v$ PRecruiting time. As noted in the first two factors, the time allowed to conduct a recruiting campaign will usually result in higher costs if there is little time available, because a controller must resort to expensive sources. Also, there is a change that the quality of candidate recruited will be lower if the recruiting period is short, because there is only enough time to meet with and evaluate a limited pool of candidates.
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Once a controller has determined which of these three factors (or a combination thereof) are paramount in the search for a specific candidate, the recruiting sources to look to include:4 ^9 j/ {+ I5 U: @" J" {' G" t) p
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Audit and consulting firms. It's common for a controller to hire from the ranks of the auditing and consulting firms that work for the company. This approach can be inexpensive because the controller already knows the best performers in the firm, and it can also result in a fast hire.
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1 N, x; N5 Z" q* Y. {. V; eAuthors. A rarely used technique is to hire the authors of published accounting works. This approach ensures specific knowledge by the candidate of the subject matter for specific jobs. However, there is no assurance that this knowledge equates to good job performance.# e. Q4 P/ D; j3 y+ \- k9 ?6 D
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Campus recruiting. A good source for lower-level positions is the college campus. However, it is difficult to determine the quality of the people hired because they have never worked before. This tends to requires a long lead time, since candidates must be recruited months in advance; thus this approach is useful only for filling positions that are constantly needed and for which accurate hiring projections can be made.
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Employees. One of the best sources for recruits is current employees. This approach works best when a company offers recruiting bonuses to employees; the only problem is that the recruiting bonuses paid to employees can be rather large, usually exceeding $1,000 and sometimes going higher than $5,000 for each person hired.
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6 K0 _  q. [# ^8 L  X: }* UFormer employees. A controller should go to great lengths to maintain contact with quality employees who have left the company. Sometimes, the reasons why they left are not good enough (higher pay, better positions, etc.), and they may be willing to return to the company. This is one of the best recruiting methods because it is quick and inexpensive and requires minimal interviewing.

Internet postings and advertisements. This can involve either posting a job or reviewing posted resumes. Either alternative is inexpensive but requires screening an inordinate number of potential recruits. However, this approach is similar to newspapers in that the quality of recruit tends to be low.
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Newspaper advertisements. This is the most common recruiting method, but it has a major problem: It typically results in a vast number of applications, which requires a great deal of screening to arrive at a small group of qualified candidates. For the more senior accounting positions, this approach tends not to result in a very large pool of qualified candidates, because only those people who are actively looking for work are reviewing the advertisements; this ignores the most qualified people, who are currently working elsewhere.( L8 p6 }, C4 ^! s0 H
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Professional organizations. This approach involves meeting qualified candidates through the meetings of professional organizations. It requires a great deal of "face time" by the controller or other members of the accounting staff. Though there is a minimal direct cost, the amount of labor by the accounting staff can be excessive. Also, it takes many months of attending meetings to build up a lengthy list of potential recruits. But this an result in high-quality candidates who have been prescreened through the organizational meetings.
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) d9 \! F; T  b( ^3 WProfessional publications. This involves advertising in a professional publication to which an accounting person subscribes. The advantage of this approach is that only a select group of trained accountants will see the advertisement, which thereby reduces the pool of recruits to a select group. This tends to be a slow recruiting method, due to the lead time needed to advertise.
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Search firms. The most expensive recruiting approach, search firms typically charge between one quarter and one third of a hired person's first year's salary as their fee. But there are good reasons for using this method: search firms conduct their own screenings of candidates, and most firms maintain a lengthy backlog of resumes, and so can bring in many candidates on short notice. The quality and speed may offset the high cost.
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Unsolicited applications. The lowest-cost recruiting method is to receive an unsolicited application, because there is no advertising at all. Applications are filed as they come in. However, unsolicited applications result in the lowest possible quality of candidate because there is no screening mechanism built into the process.
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In addition, Controllership identifies eight factors to consider when recruiting. These are: integrity, process knowledge, certification review, communication skills, drive, technical capability, teamwork skills and turnover likelihood.