5 Tips for Navigating Hiring Platforms for Small Business Job sites can help small businesses find the right hire fast, but how do you know where to start?

Small businesses know that an efficient hiring process is essential for their growing company. With limited resources and a fast-paced, dynamic business environment, there's no time to waste when it comes to finding the right fit.

That's why hiring platforms for small business are so popular. Whether you're looking for hourly workers, contractors or employee number ten, job search sites like ZipRecruiter provide a competitive advantage where it matters.

Using hiring platforms for small businesses is like having a dedicated hiring team. You can quickly sort through large volumes of resumes, pull from your existing resume pool, and increase your company's visibility where quality candidates are already searching.

There's a job site for every budget, but there are plenty of options and considerations when choosing one. Here are five tips for navigating hiring platforms for small businesses.

1. Start off with effective free features.

Job search sites, in general, are an economical hiring option for small businesses. They provide access to millions of monthly users and leverage key search terms to help job seekers find the right fit.

Many hiring platforms for small companies leverage free features and free trials of premium options to attract new hires for their growing organizations. This is a great place to start for small hiring budgets, and a useful introduction to hiring platforms.

2. Consider adding premium paid features to increase results.

Even when investing in paid features on hiring platforms, job search sites are still a cost-effective strategy for recruiting top talent. A premium feature on ZipRecruiter, for example, leverages powerful AI matching technology to connect quality talent with companies, and invites them to apply to listings.

Eighty percent of employers receive qualified candidates within the first day of posting their job listing on ZipRecruiter, the company says, which can be a significant cost saving for a small business. Other premium features on job search sites can include boosted job postings, access to data insights and customized hiring solutions.

3. Take advantage of applicant tracking system integration.

Many popular job sites can sync to Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), allowing businesses to handle the entire process from a single dashboard. From attracting talent and conducting interviews to sending offer letters and onboarding, ATS integration provides a more positive hiring experience for candidates and creates efficiencies where it matters. ZipRecruiter's easy-to-use dashboard helps you sort, review, and rate your candidates.

4. Think of a job board as your company's career page.

A job posting is often the first interaction a job seeker will have with a company, so why not leave a good first impression? Job sites can act as a career page for your organization — which is even better if your company website doesn't have one.

Small businesses benefit from posting open positions on job sites because they become more discoverable. After all, its where top candidates are already searching, whereas leaving hiring to your website limits you to people already familiar with your company.

5. Tap into the site's helpful resources for small businesses.

Every hiring process has room for improvement, so why not get help from the experts? Job sites like ZipRecruiter offer a breadth of tools that companies can leverage to optimize their hiring practices. Explore valuable resources like job description templates and interview questions for various industries and positions that can save your small business time and money.