We all know how valuable a Web site can be in creating awareness for your company and in attracting new clients. More and more people are turning to the internet when looking to hire a cleaning service. If you don't already have a Web site for your business you really need to make doing so a high priority.

Your Web site can be a great recruiting tool.

Where many owners are missing the boat, however, is not using their Web site to recruit employees. In 2002 we experimented with Internet Recruiting at several cleaning companies around the country ─ from Anchorage to Atlanta. Here are the benefits we found to using this valuable recruiting tool:

Most people have access to computers: According to Internet World Stats 205,493,713 Americans and 21,900,000 Canadians are using the Internet in 2006 along with millions more around the world. Many of these people are using the internet to find employment, as evidenced by online companies such as Monster.com and other similar Web sites. Our experience has been that many of them are excellent candidates for YOUR business.

You can say a lot more about the job on your Web site: Help Wanted Ads in the classified section of the newspaper can be expensive, thereby generally limiting your job description and requirements to a few short sentences. You don't have this limitation on your Web site; all you have to do is drive people to your Web site with a simple classified ad . . .

Applicants can pre-screen themselves: Once potential candidates go to your Web site they can read all the positive things about your company ─ just as potential clients do. On your home page and/or in the navigation links, you will have a link to EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES. This job description page should outline the benefits the candidate can expect along with the requirements of the job in a lot more detail than is possible in a small classified ad. This description will allow the applicant to determine if this work interests him/her and screen themselves out if not ─ thereby saving you both precious time in the process.

Provide an online application form: You know how time-consuming it can be to sit by the phone when you have a help wanted ad running. Now, from the Job Description page, you can place a link to an APPLICATION FORM that the applicant can complete and submit online. You can then review the applications at your leisure and call back those you want to interview at your convenience. In the meantime, you can go on about running your business while the applications are coming in to your email.

Be sure to provide a map link on your Application page.

How often have you spent time with an applicant only to learn they live an hour away from your office? Most people will not be willing to commute that distance for this type of work. By providing a link to Expedia or MapQuest, they will be able to determine the distance and travel time from their home to your office. And if they are invited in for an interview, this will give them specific written driving directions on how to get there. Again, this will help to screen out unsuitable candidates and save you the time you might otherwise be wasting on the telephone.