More HR managers and recruiters use social media in recruitment...

Surveys chart job-seekers’ use of social media

Two recent surveys chart the utilisation of social media by today’s job-seekers.  One, from the Kelly Global Workforce Index, looks at the global scene, while the other, from graduate careers site WikiJob, focuses on the domestic graduate market.

“These results are evidence of the way in which graduates may have an advantage as the employment landscape changes,” says WikiJob co-founder Ed Mellett.  “HR managers and recruiters generally agree that using social media can be an extremely fruitful job-seeking method.  More and more employers are utilising social media to find out more about applicants before the interview process.
“Networking online will give graduates access to an otherwise hidden job market, and the results from our user poll indicate it is likely that a large proportion of graduates are already actively pursuing these opportunities.  Maintaining a professional presence on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook will give graduate job-seekers a major advantage.”

According to the Kelly survey, the most popular channel for finding work is job-boards, used by 26% of the 97,000 people surveyed in 30 countries worldwide to find their most recent job.  The use of job-boards is most pronounced in the APAC region, where they’re used by one in three (33%); elsewhere, it’s closer to one in four (EMEA 25%; Americas 24%).  However direct approaches from employers account for significantly more positions in EMEA than elsewhere, while the use of recruitment firms is highest in APAC.
Again, roughly one in four people (24%) look for jobs on social networking sites (although only 1% succeeded in securing their most recent job via this route).  The proportions remain remarkably consistent across generations (baby-boomers 24%, Gen X 24%, Gen Y 23%) and geographies (EMEA 25%, Americas23%, APAC 22%).  The UK-specific figure is, however, slightly below average at 20%.
For those who do search for jobs on social networking sites, the favourites are Facebook and LinkedIn, preferred by 33% and 32% respectively.  However there’s a clear generation split here, with 39% of baby-boomers liking LinkedIn (compared to 23% of Gen Y), but 40% of Gen Y preferring Facebook (compared to 22% of baby-boomers).
There are some significant regional variations, too: LinkedIn is the overwhelming choice for job-seekers in the Americas, preferred by 40%, with Facebook on 28%, while the position is reversed in EMEA with 35% choosing Facebook as against 30% for LinkedIn.
Looking at other social media, only 3% use Twitter for job-seeking, while more than twice as many people in APAC use blogs to find work than anywhere else.
The poll by WikiJob revealed that 63% of respondents were on LinkedIn, suggesting that graduates – who tend to be more familiar with social media – are more willing to use it as a job-seeking tool.  Graduates, it’s suggested, may be more aware of the potential of social media, both as a form of self-advertisement and as a way of networking with employers.
“These results are evidence of the way in which graduates may have an advantage as the employment landscape changes,” says WikiJob co-founder Ed Mellett.  “HR managers and recruiters generally agree that using social media can be an extremely fruitful job-seeking method.  More and more employers are utilising social media to find out more about applicants before the interview process.
“Networking online will give graduates access to an otherwise hidden job market, and the results from our user poll indicate it is likely that a large proportion of graduates are already actively pursuing these opportunities.  Maintaining a professional presence on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook will give graduate job-seekers a major advantage.”
Thanks to Ri5 for the intell.