Recruitment is the process of locating and encouraging potential applicants to apply for existing or anticipated job openings.
It is actually a linking function, joining together those with jobs to fill and those seeking jobs. Recruitment, logically, aims at (i) attracting a large number of qualified applicants who are ready to take up the job if it's offered and (ii) offering enough information for unqualified persons to self-select themselves out (for example, the recruitment ad of a foreign bank may invite applications from chartered accountants who have cleared the CA examination in the first attempt only).
Recruitment and selection are the process of locating and encouraging potential applicants to apply for existing or anticipated job openings. Certain influences restrain (the freedom of) managers while choosing a recruiting source such as: image of the company, attractiveness of the job, internal policies, budgeting support, government policies etc. Companies generally rely on time lapse data, yield ratios, surveys etc., to evaluate the sources of recruiting carefully.