As the recruitment industry stands, job seekers still prefer to use traditional methods of sourcing new roles, according to new research.
As the recruitment industry stands, job seekers still prefer to use traditional methods of sourcing new roles, according to the latest whitepaper from Robert Walters. The latter was based on research that the recruitment agency undertook in February of this year, surveying more than 700 job seekers and 400 hiring managers across Australia and New Zealand.
Among the key findings was that 79% of job seekers still prefer to source a role using job boards or recruitment consultancies. In comparison, a meagre 5% looked to social media sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook to find a new opportunity, and only 24% would apply for a role that appeared in their Facebook and Twitter feeds.
The white paper revealed that when job seekers do visit an organisation’s social media profiles, it is mainly to discover information about the company and its culture.
“With research indicating social media still isn’t a common job hunting method, a measured approach must be taken to prevent an excess of time and money being invested to push career opportunities in a place where no one is job seeking,” Sean Brunner, director of Robert Walters, warned.
However, these statistics did not surprise Kirsti Grant, founder of social recruitment firm Social Sauce and head of talent at Vend HQ. “In my opinion, it comes down to the existing infrastructures dominance in the market over the last few years and the relative newness of social recruitment to a majority of the market,” she said. In other words, it doesn’t necessarily reflect job seekers’ preferences.
“The reality is that these behaviours are changing, and so the recruitment industry must evolve,” Grant added.
Grant suggested that organisations interested in social recruitment should seek advice from the many employers that are already doing it. “There are plenty of events being organised on the topic, blogs being written and people in New Zealand’s recruitment industry who are willing to offer advice,” she added.
“It’s as easy as registering on Twitter and following some Kiwi recruiters (internal and external) to get the ball rolling,” she advised.
