Leveraging LinkedIn

For small businesses who can't afford headhunters, there's a more affordable option to find top talent, according to serial entrepreneur Terry Hedden. Paying for a headhunter typically costs 15-20% of the annual salary of the person you hire. Instead, Hedden's go-to is LinkedIn.

Posting jobs to LinkedIn and Craigslist is an easy way to collect resumes, Hedden says. But, although there's plenty of entry-level talent available in IT, it's the more specialized roles that can be difficult to find.

That's why Hedden pays to get advanced search capabilities on LinkedIn before he goes “fishing.” This is a term that Hedden uses for proactive searches to find people with specialized backgrounds. In software and development, there are very few people looking for jobs because the expertise is in such high demand.

“The best people aren't looking for work,” Hedden says. But you have to find the people who might be interested — the people willing to listen if they're not happy at their current position, he says. It's just a matter of going out and finding them, he adds.

Hedden searches LinkedIn based on skill and then finds the people in “retraction mode.” Tell them, “I'd love to talk if you're interested,” Hedden says, and a lot of people respond favorably. Now that the economy is in an upswing, more people are willing to make moves to new companies, according to Hedden. When you have the conversation, you can talk more about the creativity to your workplace, he says.

One of Hedden's current companies, Marketopia, hired all 10 of its employees in the last four months. Hedden says he learned from companies like Google how to provide out-of-the-box benefits that lure prospective talent. He provides employees with free gym memberships, high-end coffee and even a dog at the office.

- Traci McMillan Beach