There’s no shortage of college graduates searching for jobs–some have internship and project experience, but they’re still new, and entry-level

talent has to be trained. Programs like Nashville’s Software School, App Academy, and Hackbright Academy are helping to fill the gap. But that doesn’t help when you have jobs that require experience now and you can’t find the talent. You can take a newbie and try to train them up quickly, but sometimes a role requires more than just skill–things like decision-making ability, patience under pressure, or team management experience that takes a few years to cultivate.In these situations, it’s tempting to outsource the problem. After all, you’re busy running companies, bringing in new business and customers, running beta tests–you don’t have the time to devote to a recruiting strategy. Thing is–neither do most external recruiters. They’re going to focus on sourcing the position like you did and then charge you a sizable percentage when you choose one of their candidates. Not that you should avoid external recruiters completely, but what if there were a way to save that fee without exceptional effort?

Experienced talent is out there–they’re just often already employed, aren’t aware of your company, or don’t think a small company would hire them. Here are five ways to find that experienced talent using the resources you already have.

1) Recruit nationally

Look outside your city for experienced talent. You love your city, right? Surely you can make a pitch for others to consider moving there, too. Use the jobs or careers page on your website to host a “why live and work in [your city here] page.” Include details on benefits that would be attractive to candidates: low cost of living, commuting options, networking or entrepreneurs’ groups, community events, etc. Feature employee transplants talking about where they came from and why they love the city now, too. And when you post jobs, indicate an option to provide relocation assistance–it’s often much cheaper to do that over paying a recruiter.

2) Consider the alumni connection

We may only think of universities when we’re recruiting new grads, but most career service offices have alumni functions to help experienced alumni looking for a new gig. Shoot off your job description to the alumni contact at your own alma mater or other target universities. Oftentimes they’ll do the sourcing for you to help eager, unemployed alumni find jobs. Ask your employees to share it with their alma maters, too, and reward them with university-themed gear if the hire is made.

3) Poaching from big companies

There are thousands of employees stuck inside big companies who are dying to get out and work for a startup or high-growth company. They just may not realize it or know your small company even exists. Advertise in places these employees flock, and use targeted language to suggest you’re a good respite from the big company dramas. Sure, you want to screen big company candidates to make sure they can work in a more ambiguous, fast-paced culture like yours, but an opportunity to work in a different way, have more responsibility, and be a part of something could be just the ticket. Plus, talented employees from big companies often come full of ideas that a scaling company needs–systems, processes, programs.

4) Revisit job descriptions...

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Susan LaMotte is the founder of exaqueo, a workforce consultancy that helps startups and high-growth companies build their cultures, employer brands and talent strategies. Contact exaqueo to learn more about how we can help you build a workforce strategy that’s aligned with your company culture and develop an employer brand that will allow your business to scale the right way.