This post is sponsored by Adecco Group. You can download their 2015 Work Trends Study here.
Opening up Facebook is something you do automatically when waiting in line or taking the bus, but we wanted to know what people do when they look at Facebook.
Do they use it to find a new colleague for the job opportunity that has just opened up in their company?
Do they try to find their own new position?
That’s why we set out earlier this year to conduct the Adecco 2015 Work Trends Study, and here is what we found:
If you’re not there yet, you’re missing the trend:
Many recruiters are already very active on social media in sourcing candidates, highlighting their job ads, networking and positioning themselves as thought leaders. Companies are also using social networks to promote themselves as attractive employers and to get into real-time exchanges with their followers and applicants.
So as a recruiter yourself, you also need to take into consideration that job seekers are already there! 23% of job seekers said they are using Facebook for professional uses compared to 28% who are using LinkedIn. Surprisingly, many recruiters stated in the study that they are active online (25%), but not using social media for recruiting activities. As we saw in the Adecco Global Social Recruiting Study 2014, this is based on a lack of training and knowledge. Since Social Recruiting is a fairly new discipline, recruiters will have to learn from their peers sharing their own knowledge online (such as blogs such as Undercover Recruiter), read current literature or learn by trial and error.
Another good argument, if you are not convinced yet, is that 24% of candidates stated that they use social networks to keep in touch with recruiters and head-hunters. If you belong to the “Facebook-is-something-for-younger-people” group of recruiters, then you are potentially missing out on good business.
They have an eye on you:
Are you reading CVs and applications by the hundreds every week and completely forgetting that you are being checked out on, too?
Well you’re right – 23% of job seekers check you out on LinkedIn and 17% will also look you up on Facebook. So don’t just judge applicants based on the content they publish online but also consider that your credibility is being assessed, too! Do make sure you have a polished profile, good recommendations and check your privacy settings where needed.
Reputation is what the media says about me:
If this statement sounds like something you’d say, please rethink your strategy.
In the past few years, many pages that collect ratings and recommendations on products and also employers have conquered the online marketplace. Just as you will read up on other peoples’ experience with a smartphone before you buy it, applicants will want to know more about the habits and culture of a company – things that are not printed in a glossy brochure.
Glassdoor, for example, has continuously grown across the globe and is becoming the website to give you those insights. In our study, 20% of job seekers will go to LinkedIn and 21% also to Facebook to read about what others say about employers and this has effects on all aspects of your recruiting process – ranging from your website, online application process, your communication throughout the application and your attitude towards applicants.
If you want to be considered as an attractive employer, you should consider actively managing your online reputation.
Job seekers are making the most of their time:
Through the Work Trends Study, we found that job seekers use their mobile device for online job seeking either frequently (32%) or sometimes (33%). This lies in the nature of how we have grown accustomed to using smartphones – basically everywhere.
Since it is common knowledge that looking for a new job during office hours is bad practice, job seekers will do it on their way to work or when they need to kill time. The implications for companies are huge: the whole application process needs to be mobile friendly, starting with job search, offering easy online application systems and making use of 3rd party integrations such as the “apply with LinkedIn” button.
It also means that an employer’s social media pages need to be looked after and tended to, that online reputation is managed actively and that the employers’ office and contact details are easy to find on Google Maps.
Info: Over 31,000 job seekers and more than 4,100 recruiters from 26 countries took part in Adecco’s survey, sharing their opinions and experiences on the use of social media for recruitment and job search practices. The survey, the most comprehensive in this field to date, was conducted in collaboration with the Università Cattolica di Milano, Italy.
To find out more about the Adecco Work Trends Study go to adecco.com/worktrends or follow #WTSAdecco on Twitter and Instagram.
