External recruitment has certain merits:

1. The selection of staff can be made from a much greater number of people.
2. It brings individuals into the organization who have different exposures.
3. It can be used to give a firm a totally new direction.

The demerits of external recruitment include:

1. The people selected take longer to get oriented with the internal function of the firm.
2. Costs of recruitment and selection are high.
3. The interviews used for selection may not review all the adverse characteristics of the person e.g. a short temper or tendency for dishonesty.