Recruitment agencies can prove to be a "good resource" for SMEs, one expert says.
But Victoria Walker, an advisor for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), said that what worked best for an SME would depend on its needs.
She said that when starting the recruitment process small firms should work out what kind of candidate they were hoping to attract and then take the appropriate actions.
Ms Walker said this could include a recruitment agency, the local job centre or an advert in the local paper.
She said: "Within a smaller business, it can be easier for the managers to say: 'Right, okay, this is what I want from a person and this is what the job requires.'
"[It's] not necessarily a more informal process, but people can perhaps be a bit more hands-on with it."
A recent report by consumer group Which? said that some employers were still asking questions that were now illegal under discrimination laws.
It warned that companies that did this could face an unlimited fine if caught.
