Where to hire employees depends on the type of roles you're filling, your budget, and whether you're hiring locally or remotely. Here are some of the most effective channels:
General job boards
- LinkedIn Jobs – Best for professional and managerial roles.
- Indeed – One of the largest job boards with broad reach.
- Glassdoor – Combines job postings with employer branding.
- Stepstone - Generalist job board
- Jobat - job board present in Belgium focusing on jobs in Flanders
- Références - job board present in Belgium focusing on French speaking jobs, is part of the Roussel media group
Remote hiring
- Remote.com Jobs – Global remote talent.
- We Work Remotely – Popular for remote tech and knowledge work.
- Remote OK – Remote positions across many industries.
Tech talent
- Wellfound – Startup-focused hiring platform (formerly AngelList Talent).
- GitHub Jobs (community alternatives) – Search developer communities and portfolios.
- Stack Overflow Talent Resources – Reach software developers through the Stack Overflow ecosystem.
Freelancers and contractors
- Upwork – Freelancers across many professional fields.
- Fiverr – Project-based work and specialized services.
- Toptal – Curated network of experienced professionals.
Executive and specialized hiring
- Executive search firms for C-level and senior leadership such as Profile Group
- Industry-specific job boards (e.g., healthcare, finance, education).
- Professional associations and certification organizations.
University recruiting
- University career centers
- Internship programs
- Campus career fairs
- Graduate recruitment events
Social recruiting
- LinkedIn for professional networking.
- Facebook local groups for hourly and local hiring.
- Instagram and TikTok for employer branding and reaching younger candidates.
Employee referrals
Many companies find referrals to be one of the highest-quality hiring sources. A structured referral program with incentives often leads to faster hiring and better retention.
Recruitment agencies
Recruitment agencies are useful when:
- You need to hire quickly.
- You're filling hard-to-find or specialized roles.
- You don't have an internal recruiting team.
- You're hiring internationally.
Which option is best?
| Hiring need | Best channels |
|---|---|
| Office/professional roles | LinkedIn Jobs, Indeed |
| Software engineers | Wellfound, GitHub, Stack Overflow, referrals |
| Hourly workers | Indeed, Facebook Groups, local job boards, Interim agencies |
| Remote employees | We Work Remotely, Remote OK, Remote.com |
| Executives | Executive search firms such as Profile Group, LinkedIn |
| Freelancers | Upwork, Toptal, Fiverr |
| Recent graduates | University career centers, internships |
Using multiple channels together—such as employee referrals, LinkedIn, a major job board, and your company's careers page—typically produces the best hiring results while reducing time to fill open positions.