What you think you know… may be wrong: The job seeker survey 2013

What you think you know…may be wrong: The job seeker survey 20131,275 job seekers tell use how they found work

December 5, 2013London

Job Board Doctor

Job Board Doctor www.jobboarddoctor.com 2

• Jeff Dickey-Chasins• Joined job board industry in 1997• Has consulted with 300+ sites• Conducted industry surveys since

2010

Who am I?


Goals of this survey

Determine what tools and techniques job seekers use

Identify how seekers use different technology platforms

Delineate difference between active seekers and random respondents

1

2

3


Background

Job Board Doctor

eHarmony

Job-Hunt.org

1001 responses from a random sample of US residents ages 20 – 60 (labeled ‘Random’)

275 responses from Job-Hunt.org’s and Job Board Doctor’s audience (labeled ‘Active Seeker’)


Employed?

2M

Yes

No

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Random Active seekers


Age?

2M

15-22

23-35

36-50

51-65

Over 65

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

RandomActive Skr


Gender?

2M

Male

Female

Prefer not to say

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

RandomActive Skr

ToolsWhat are job seekers really using?


What tools used?

• Random respondents relied more heavily on newspapers, search engines and general job boards:

General job boards – 59% Search engines – 51% Newspapers – 45%

• Active seekers used more varied methods, at a higher usage level Job search engines – 74% Company career sites – 70% General job boards, Professional networks – 67% Social media – 65%

Job Board Doctor www.jobboarddoctor.com

Newspaper ads

Search engines (i.e., Google, Yahoo!)

Local/regional/national govt. workforce sites

Niche job boards (i.e., Dice, SalesJobs)

Referrals from friends/colleagues

Social media (i.e., LinkedIn, Facebook)

Professional networks (online/offline)

General job boards (i.e., Monster, CareerBuilder)

Company career sites

Job search engines (i.e., Indeed, Simply Hired)

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

When you last looked for a job, what types of platforms, tools, or sites did you typically

use?

RandomActive Skrs


Which tools are most important?

• Referrals

• Professional networks

• Social media

• Job search engines

• Career sites


General job boards (i.e., Monster, Ca-reerBuilder)

Social media (i.e., LinkedIn, Facebook)

Newspaper ads

Search engines (i.e., Google, Yahoo!)

Professional networks (online/offline)

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5

Please rate the following platforms, tools, or sites in terms of how important

they were to you in your job search.

RandomActive skrs

PlatformsHow are seekers using different technology platforms?


Platform use

• Active seekers show higher usage of cell phones and tablets

• Both groups still rely on desktops and laptops


How often were platforms used?(active seekers)

Use all the time

Use frequently

Use infrequently

Rarely or never use

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Cell phoneTablet (iPad, etc.)Laptop/netbookDesktop computer


How often were platforms used?(random)

Use all the time

Use frequently

Use infrequently

Rarely or never use

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%



• Mobile devices used for job search and employer research

• Desktop/laptops used for creating CVs and applying for jobs

Platform use


How did you use the following platforms during your job search?

(Active seekers)

Research employers

Create resume/profile

Search for jobs

Apply for jobs

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%



Have you ever found a job via one of these tools?

• 65% via referrals• 50% via recruiting/staffing firm• 42% via company career site

And…almost as many have found work via newspapers as LinkedIn!


Facebook

Other social media not otherwise specified

Twitter

Other (please specify)

Niche job board

Job fair

Job aggregator (Indeed, SimplyHired, etc.)

General job board (Monster, etc.)

Newspaper ad

LinkedIn

Company website

Recruiting or staffing firm

Referral from a friend or colleague

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

4%

4%

7%

7%

15%

15%

25%

31%

32%

34%

42%

50%

65%


What do seekers want from job boards?


• Quality of jobs

• Control of resume access

• Ease of use

• Site focus

• Reputation

What really matters?


Thinking about the job board(s) you used, how important were the following factors in choosing to use

a particular job board?

Advertising

Site design

Site contact information

Number of jobs listed

Geographic focus

Profession or industry focus

Ease of use

Quality of jobs listed

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5

RandomActive Skrs


How do candidates use job boards?

• Research employers and jobs

• Apply to jobs – either on the board or employer site


Other

Network with other job seekers

Network with potential employers

Research jobs available in other geographic areas

Find career resources

Research salary information

Locate jobs - then apply via job board

Identify employers in my industry/profession

Research types of jobs available

Locate jobs - then apply directly on employer site

0% 10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

What were the primary ways you have used job boards in your career hunt?

RandomActive Skr


What’s useful?• Job search

• Job alerts

• CV posting

• Communicating with hiring managers


• Lack of response from employers (71%)

• Fake job postings (64%)

• Requiring registration to see jobs (58%)

• Requiring payment to see jobs (55%)

What frustrates you about job boards?


So what about social media?


• Google+ matters: roughly 1/3 of both groups use it for career/job activities

• Facebook more important than LinkedIn to Random respondent

• LinkedIn clear leader with Active Seekers

A few surprises


MySpace

Orkut

Zing

GovLoop

FourSquare

Ning

Xing

StumbleUpon

Quora

Doostang

StartWire

Pinterest

Google+

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Which of the following social media tools or platforms have you used in some way to aid your career OR search

for a job?

RandomActive Skrs


Attitudes toward online recruiting

Go ahead – tell me what you really think.


Top words to describe a ‘generalist’ job board like Monster, etc.:

Active Seekers: #1 ‘untargeted’#2 ‘valuable’ & ‘worthless’ (tie)

Random: #1 ‘valuable’#2 ‘overwhelming’


Top words to describe a ‘niche’ job board like Dice, etc.:

Active Seekers: #1 ‘targeted’#2 ‘valuable’

Random: #1 ‘valuable’#2 ‘targeted’


Top words to describe a ‘social recruiting’ site like LinkedIn, etc.:

Active Seekers: #1 ‘professional’#2 ‘essential’

Random: #1 ‘professional’#2 ‘valuable’


Top words to describe a ‘job aggregator’ site like Indeed, etc.:

Active Seekers: #1 ‘valuable’#2 ‘efficient’

Random: #1 ‘valuable’#2 ‘efficient’


• Awareness = action: Active seekers use all career tools at a much higher level than the population at large

• Old habits die hard: Almost half of random respondents use newspapers to find work

• Mobile has its place: Used for job search and research – but desktops/laptops rule everything else

Recap


• Referrals really work: Over 2/3rds of respondents have found jobs via a referral

• Blame game: Lack of employer response to a job app bounces back on job board

Recap


• Google+ actually matters: incorporate it into your marketing

• Understand attitudes toward your service: are you ‘targeted’ – or ‘worthless’?

• Educate your candidates: help them use your service

• Deal with candidate frustration: generate auto-response after each successful application

• Don’t assume: candidates can surprise you with how little – or how much – they know

Takeaways


Job Board Doctor provides consulting services for job boards and career sites in the following areas:

Short & long-range planning Product development & launch

Sales & marketing Strategic analysis

Social media & content creation Site & user interface analysis

Phone: 641-236-0298

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: JobBoardDoctor

Web: www.jobboarddoctor.com

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.jobboarddoctor.com/

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What you think you know… may be wrong: The job seeker survey 2013