The recruitment process has been affected by a variety of aspects, chiefly technology, but the methods used to recruit employees have remained relatively the same at their core, and have essentially just evolved. In essence, the same four methods of sales recruitment that were used decades ago are still used now, but have arguably become more effective.
The Four Methods of Recruitment: Then and Now
Traditionally speaking, there were four main areas that companies focused on during the recruitment process. These areas included classified advertisements, job fairs, referrals and direct 
recruiting. In the past, companies would place advertisements for job positions in the classifieds sections, they would meet potential employees at job fairs, they would listen to referrals from other staff members and they would recruit employees directly.
With the creation of the Internet, the way employers recruit employees began to evolve. However, although the Internet has caused a great evolution of the recruitment process, it has not changed the process entirely and the four areas of the recruitment process have fundamentally remained the same.
Classifieds: Then and Now
In the past, one of the main ways for a company to inform job hunters of open positions was to place an advertisement in the classified ads section of a newspaper or magazine. This method was often expensive, and slow. Nowadays, companies still place classified ads to promote their job positions, but these adverts are placed online. These advertisements are placed on job search websites and other websites that job hunters frequent.
Job Fairs: Then and Now
In the past, companies and staffing agencies would visit job fairs in their area, where they would meet with potential employees. Job fairs were a good way to have face-to-face interactions with job hunters. Nowadays, the job fair is still used to some extent in the recruitment process, except now the process incorporates the Internet. Job fairs now get extra exposure from online advertisements, and some job fairs are even held entirely online. Online job fairs are held live, and potential employees and employers get to interact as they would at a traditional job fair.
Referrals: Then and Now
In the past, when a business wanted to fill a position, they would often hire staff in-house. They would do this through an employee referral program. Nowadays, these referrals are still an important part of the recruitment process. With the evolution in technology, however, this process is much quicker and the referral pool is much larger, due to incorporating text messages and emails into the referral process.
Direct Recruiting: Then and Now
The one method of recruitment that has remained relatively the same is direct recruiting. In the past, employees have gone directly to the source to hire employees. This is something that has not changed, as it is such an effective way of finding the best employees. Technology has helped to make the process of direct recruiting easier, as employers can find employees online and contacting them is also much easier, but this method is essentially the same today as it was decades ago