All of the respondents agreed that outsourcing some activities of recruitment to external service providers could be beneficial to the company. For instance, external recruiting agencies can help companies in overcoming the lack of internal resources that are needed for recruitment.

Also, working with an external recruiting agency can be more effective and cost-efficient than doing all the recruiting work by themselves. However, the respondents clarified consistently that it depends on the positions that the company is aiming to fill. In fact, there is no "one size fits all solution". According to the respondents,...

...relying on an external service provider is worthwhile, when they are able to provide greater results and benefits at a faster speed and lower costs, than the company could otherwise make available.

Following the respondents, especially high-level positions or those, which are rather difficult to fill, tend to be outsourced to recruiting agencies. The majority of the interviewees mentioned that having a recruiter is inevitable for positions, which require a specific set of unique talents. For the majority of the respondents, working together with a recruiter allows them to emphasize more facets of candidates, such as their cultural fit with the company, than it would be possible by using SNSs for recruitment only. Within this regard, the interviewees underlined that it is crucial to have a good recruiter, who is able to identify and understand what exactly it is that one is looking for in a candidate, or for the specific position. Many recruiters possess invaluable experience and knowledge in the field of recruitment and the application of SNSs for talent acquisition that companies cannot provide internally. However,...

...external recruiters can only be as effective as the quality of input that the company that outsources provides to them.

In fact, it is essential that companies know exactly what they are looking for and communicate that to the external party. The interviewees outlined that, at this point, it is of great importance to uncover aspects in the job description, requirements or company culture, which are not clearly visible at first sight. Those aspects can include a candidate's desired personality traits or the company's corporate culture. Indeed, one of the respondents mentioned that one of the hardest parts in her recruitment efforts was to identify and define the company's corporate culture and to communicate this consistently throughout the organization.

Finding and qualifying talents that are not only a technical fit for the company, but more importantly work and behave in line with the company's corporate culture can be seen among the most challenging tasks of successful recruitment. Therefore, recruiting agencies can be seen as an inevitable tool in checking for and providing a cultural fit. The vast majority of the interviewees underlined the human touch and personal connections that recruiters possess as crucial factors of successful recruitment. Recruiters are able to include this in their selection process, which makes them an invaluable resource for companies to boost their hiring efforts. Recruiters possess the expertise to subject candidates to in-depth screenings and interviews, which focus on rather personal aspects and traits of the candidate. These can show characteristics that might be of greater importance for successful employee performance, rather than conformity in terms of technical and professional experience. A respondent said that technical knowledge could be learned, so this is not the biggest issue in finding candidates that meet those requirements. But, finding a professional, who feels comfortable in the environment in which the company operates, the area where they are located, and the people with whom they work is even more important. In other words,...

...the cultural fit becomes a major determinant of success, especially in international recruitment.

The cultural awareness of candidates and their ability to understand and adapt to differences are crucial aspects, too. Truly, it should be considered fundamental to have the right recruiter for the precise need to be served (e.g. German-owned company that operates in the US).

All in all, the interview series identified several factors that influence the application of Social Media for recruitment across international companies. In this regard, it has to be said that companies value and approach Social Media for recruitment differently, depending on their industry focus, company structure and overall stance over Social Networking Sites as a recruiting tool. As a matter of fact, recruiters have to look at each company, its industry, and its recruiting needs individually to identify the most suitable and effective recruitment instruments.