If indeed the economic recovery continues to the point where small businesses are able to start hiring, managers will likely be using a whole new set of tools to find candidates than they did three years ago.  Social media presents some new opportunities.  And the sheer number of people available to work has to affect the process (good candidates are out there, but finding the best candidates may take more time).

At Small Business Trends, Rieva Lesonsky writes about how big corporations are planning on going about new hires this year (she cites the Wall Street Journal and a Corporate Executive Board survey).  And she argues that there are some key lessons for small businesses:  

First, get back to basics. I think it’s ironic that big companies are turning to some of the time-honored tactics small companies have always used to find employees. Getting referrals from current workers, using your network of contacts to seek candidates, and even looking to your competitors as sources of job applicants are all strategies that work well for small businesses.

Second, take advantage of the ability that social networking and the Web have given us to supercharge our employee-search tactics. In the past, you would have had to actually get on the phone with 50 or 100 contacts to put the word out that you’re looking for a new marketing director, now you can let people know about it with the click of a mouse.

Third, focus on quality, not quantity. Putting the word out to a few select people you truly trust gives you better results than posting a job opening on Facebook (although the latter still beats a general job board listing for delivering relevant candidates). You’ll save time by not wading through piles of applications—and find the perfect employee far faster.

Read Do You Need to Hire This Year? Where Will You Find New Employees? here.