This post is sponsored by Adecco Group. You can download their 2015 Work Trends Study here.
As things go in life, practice makes perfect, and this is also true when it comes to social media and using it for your next job search. At least, this is what we have seen in the results of the 2015 Adecco Work Trends Study, which we conducted earlier this year across 26 countries.
We wanted to know what job seekers think about social job searching and also what they think about smartworking solutions, so here are the results.
Consider where you apply:
If you want to understand how someone reacts to a situation, you first need to understand them as a person – it is very similar when it comes to organisations.
For example: the bigger the company, the more likely it is that your online behaviour and profiles will matter to your potential employer in the application process. If you apply at smaller companies, the likelihood that the recruiter assesses you online will decrease.
It also depends in which country you apply: eastern European countries and Asia are more likely and North and South American and central European countries are less likely to reject your application based on your online profile.
However, it is very easy to avoid this situation:
- Make sure the information on your CV and your online profiles are not contradictory.
- Do not post improper or unsuitable images.
- Try to avoid political opinions.
Although, what is out of your hands and up to the recruiter to decide is: how your personality fits in with the company culture.
Being a social pro lets you shine:
It’s very simple: the more active you are with your online job searches and activities, the more likely it is that a recruiter will contact you through a social network. Through the study, we’ve seen that, when job seekers use only one network, the probability was at 16% and, if all of the “big five” are used, the likelihood increases to 46%.
Blogging also increases your chances: candidates with a blog were more likely to be contacted online by a recruiter, as it all boils down to visibility. Recruiters use the social networks as contact databases and the more keywords you feed into these databases about yourself, your experience, your knowledge and qualifications, the more likely it is that your profile will get noticed.
Additionally, the more information you make available about your professional qualifications, the better equipped the recruiter is to assess whether you are a good match for the position he/she is trying to fill. This is true regardless of whether you are actively or passively looking for a new opportunity.
We know you want – so go and get it:
Our work environment today is more connected than ever – most of us own a smartphone to monitor our work e-mails or to be available via phone and chat to colleagues and clients. We connect via the web and through video chat around the world and our workday begins when we commute to the office. It is true that with a laptop, a smartphone and an internet connection, we can set up shop anywhere and be almost as (or even more) efficient than working from the office.
That’s why, even though many of us are not aware that this concept is summarized in the idea of ‘smartworking solutions’, we love each single part of these solutions and we want to have more of them! So why don’t we?
Part of it is due to age: many respondents in the Work Trends Study above the age of 50 years have never tried remote working; and respondents below the age of 24 have a higher concern about remote working, probably due to the limited knowledge about the job market or their own abilities.
According to recruiters, they would offer more flexibility in work time and location to middle or senior manager in a permanent position. If you belong to this group, the likelihood that your employer can offer you more flexibility is extremely high.
Is this all?
Nope, there is more to find out in the Adecco 2015 Work Trends Study and we have put all of the documents in one place for you to download: adecco.com/worktrends. You can also follow @AdeccoGroup on Twitter and Instagram and receive even more insights from the study!
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.
