184 Human Resources Management for Public and Nonprofi t Organizations
statistical areas. Laborer, offi ce and clerical, technical, and direct service
provider positions are often fi lled from the local labor market. It is com-
mon for federal, state, and local governments and nonprofi ts to recruit
clerical and trade employees, such as maintenance or custodial personnel,
from the local labor market. Applicants for these positions are typically
abundant, and the salaries that accompany the positions preclude relocat-
ing new employees.
Regional labor markets are larger. They usually comprise a particular
county, several areas of a state, or even the entire state. Depending on the
skill supply in the region, technical, managerial, and professional work-
ers, as well as scientists and engineers, may be recruited from a regional
labor market. Agencies in the New England area, for example, can use
the regional labor market to recruit applicants for all kinds of positions
because of the large number and variety of colleges, universities, and
industries located there.
State, local, and nonprofi t agencies use the national labor market when
critical skills are in short supply locally. Scientists, engineers, managers,
professionals, and executives are most likely to be sought at the national
level. The federal government, for example, recruits nationally through
regional offi ces for all of its professional positions.
Public and nonprofit organizations need to develop a recruitment
strategy. Decisions need to be made about when and where to look for
qualifi ed applicants when action needs to be taken. In some organizations,
vacancies are posted, but there is no recruitment plan, which is necessary
in a competitive job environment. Agencies need to anticipate their future
needs and actively and creatively promote the opportunities available in
their organizations. Internships, co - ops, and on - the - job training should
be integrated into the recruitment and selection process (Ban & Riccucci,
1993; U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, 2003b, 2008).
Recruitment planning and strategies at the federal and state levels are
typically directed by central personnel offi ces and for large local govern-
ments by centralized human resources or civil service offi ces. It would be
remiss to generalize any more than that because many changes are taking
place at all levels of government in regard to recruitment and selection.
The federal government and many states have delegated responsibility for
recruiting and examining new employees to the agencies. This has resulted
in some creative techniques. The State of Missouri has gone to Second
Life, the three - dimensional virtual world, to recruit employees for informa-
tion technology positions, assuming that the site gets visited by individuals
in their mid - twenties and thirties interested in technology (Hanson, 2007).