For a lot of employers, the first answer is still the same: a job ad.

And that is part of the problem.

Too many hiring strategies still begin and end with posting a vacancy, waiting for applications, and assuming the right person will reveal themselves. That approach is getting weaker. Not because job boards no longer work, but because they now sit inside a much more complex hiring environment.

Candidate movement is more cautious. Skill needs are shifting faster. Application quality is becoming harder to judge. In some roles, employers are not struggling to attract attention. They are struggling to attract the right attention.

So the better question is not, “How do we get more applicants?”

It is, “Where is our next good hire most likely to come from, and are we set up to reach them?”

Your next hire may not be actively looking

One of the biggest mistakes employers make is assuming the best candidate is already searching. In reality, many strong performers are still employed, still delivering, and not spending their evenings scrolling job boards.

That means your next hire may come from the passive market, not the active one.

If your strategy relies only on inbound applications, you are fishing in the smallest and most obvious part of the talent pool. That is risky, especially for specialist, leadership, business-critical or hard-to-fill roles. The best people often need a reason to engage. They are not waiting around to be impressed by a generic ad with a vague salary band and a recycled list of duties.

This is where proactive sourcing matters. Not spray-and-pray outreach. Real targeting. Clear positioning. Knowing which competitors, adjacent sectors or transferable backgrounds could produce the right fit. Employers who win here are usually the ones who have already done the thinking before the vacancy goes live.

Your next hire may already work for you

A lot of businesses overlook the most obvious talent pool they have: their existing workforce.

Internal mobility is still underused, even though it can reduce hiring time, protect capability and improve retention when done properly. LinkedIn’s talent trends reporting has pointed to internal mobility rising as organisations look harder at the talent they already have, and AHRI has also highlighted reskilling, redeployment and internal movement as practical responses to ongoing recruitment pressure. 

If you have not asked whether the role could be filled through promotion, cross-training, stretch opportunity or redeployment, your external search may already be inefficient.

This is where employers need to be honest. Many complain about talent shortages while doing very little to build internal pathways. That is not a market problem. That is a workforce planning problem.

Your next hire may be hidden inside a pile of weak signals

AI has made it easier for candidates to produce polished CVs, tailored cover letters and high-volume applications. AHRI has noted employers are dealing with unprecedented application volumes as AI enables people to apply for dozens of roles quickly. That means volume can look healthy while relevance gets worse. 

So if your hiring process still depends too heavily on CV screening, you are increasing the odds of missing strong people and advancing polished but poorly matched ones.

That forces employers to improve the way they assess fit earlier. Better screening questions. Better phone screens. Better manager briefings. Better clarity on what “good” actually looks like. Not just skills, but behaviours, communication style, adaptability, motivation and likely tenure.

Because no, a full pipeline is not the same as a strong shortlist.

So where should employers really be looking?

Your next hire is most likely to come from a mix of five places:

1. Your internal talent pool
   Before going to market, look at who could step up, shift across or grow into the role.
2. Passive candidates in adjacent or competing businesses
   These are often the strongest hires, but they rarely come through ads alone.
3. Your existing database and network
   Past applicants, silver-medal candidates, referrals and previous conversations are often far more valuable than starting from zero every time.
4. A better-positioned external campaign
   Job boards still matter, but only when the ad is specific, commercially clear and built to attract the right audience rather than the largest one.
5. Specialist recruitment support when the market is tight
   For hard-to-fill roles, external recruiters are not just there to “post the ad for you.” The value is in market mapping, targeted outreach, salary insight, competitor intel and access to talent that is unlikely to apply directly.