Just out this morning: Jobvite’s annual Social Job Seeker Survey and this third edition says fewer working Americans are actively looking for a job, even as the survey found that most of us are open to opportunity should it come knocking.
Of the 1,029 employed workers taking part in the survey, 9 percent said they were actively looking for a job. Last year, 16 percent said they were looking.
Yet even as the active seekers declined, more employed workers moved into the “active” passive category this year. Jobvite says 69 percent of the employed are either seeking a new job or would be open to hearing about one. Last year, 61 percent were in that category.
Add in the unemployed respondents, and it turns out 75 percent of the workforce — employed and unemployed alike — are open to opportunities. Last year, that percentage was 69 percent.
Jobvite, a talent acquisition and recruitment management platform, which leverages social media and referrals, found that both the actively seeking and those passively seeking (which the company collectively calls job seekers) are more savvy than ever about using social and professional networks for business.
Compared to workers who are employed and not open to a new job, the job seekers are significantly more likely to have a profile on Facebook (85 to 75 percent), LinkedIn (44 to 31 percent), or Twitter (51 to 31 percent). Almost two-thirds of them have at least two profiles on social sites.
A quarter of them have updated their Facebook or LinkedIn profile this last year. That’s not surprising considering the Jobvite survey found 61 percent of the actives and passively actives believe finding a job’s gotten hard in the last year. A third of them are less optimistic now that they’ll find the right job.
Also not surprising, since any number of surveys have found the same thing, 32 percent of Jobvite’s job seekers credit job boards for their current job. What is surprising was that 26 percent say a newspaper helped them find their current job; 27 percent say a classified ad led to their favorite job.
Referrals, however, were the strongest source of best jobs and right behind job boards as the source of their current job. Thirty-one percent credit a professional or personal referral for their current job; 41 percent say they got their favorite or best job ever as a result of a referral from family or friends.
Social media got credit by 16 percent for their current job. One in six said they got their best job ever through Facebook.
Add up the multiple responses to the sources and methods people used to get their current job, and between social media and referrals — which these days often come from friends and contacts on social networks — it comes to 40 percent.
“With fierce competition for jobs, which now includes a majority of employed people on top of active job seekers, social media has become a critical tool for job hunting and career growth,” said Dan Finnigan, Jobvite’s president and CEO.
“One in six job seekers polled credited a social network for leading to their current/most recent employment. Maintaining your online presence and keeping employment top-of-mind at all times are vital to professional success. With technology and social networking rapidly evolving, those who don’t engage through Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter will quickly find themselves falling behind.”
14 comments
rss | trackback
Interesting Jobvite Survey Numbers: Less People Actively Job Searching/More Passively Looking | ResumeWriting.com Blog Oct 8, 2012 at 8:56 am
[...] management platform, which leverages social media and referrals” released their annual Jobvite Social Jobseeker survey this morning. The datapoints in the survey are interesting for revealing how much job search is [...]
Martin Snyder Oct 8, 2012 at 10:07 am
I think this is strong news for the third-party recruitment industry- it speaks to a higher and higher volume of job shopping and marketing activity going forward and ever more value on trusted relationships and rapport/propinquity to make things happen.
I wonder how many of the jobs obtained via social networking included a recruiter as a node. I would guess a sizable number.
I think our social and economic arrangements more follow the physical/cultural contours of the day rather than the other way around…so expect more contignent work relationships and ever shorter/defined lifecycles for organizations. All good for recruiting ;-)
Janine Truitt Oct 8, 2012 at 11:10 am
John,
Great article and important info for employers. For people to be open to hearing about other opportunities there is some issue where they are. Most people don’t flirt with the idea of a new job if they are entirely fulfilled in their current job.
75% active/passively looking employees is nothing to turn a cheek to.
Thanks for the info.
~Janine N. Truitt
John Kreiss Oct 8, 2012 at 5:47 pm
Staying active in social media also communicates interest in keeping up with technology. Stay current with advances in technology, and maintain marketable employment skills.
Let your skills diminish, and it’ll be harder to get a job when needed down the road.
Bert Domingues Oct 9, 2012 at 10:47 am
Did I miss something here? I reviewed the graphic and when you total the numbers, they do not equal 100%. So, the 40% number they highlight is incorrect. Can someone please correct me.
Thanks
John Zappe Oct 9, 2012 at 4:25 pm
@Bert. Note that the graphic uses the word OR. The survey permitted respondents to select multiple methods.
Jonathan Duarte Oct 9, 2012 at 7:19 pm
John,
I don’t think this survey is very accurate.
For instance the survey suggests that:
85% of the US Workforce is on Facebook… fine.
But when asked those Facebook users what their income was, the largest pool of candidates (25), stated over $100K!
Additionally, that same group of Facebook users responded that
34% of them (the largest result group) have “some college” education.
Is this to mean that statistically the largest group of US Workforce on Facebook (34%) has only “some college”, and the largest majority of Facebook workers gets paid over $100,000 per year?
That’s the way I read it.
I had some other issues with the data as well, and wrote blog post about it, http://jonathanduarte.com/linkedin/jobvite-2012-social-job-seeker-survey-is-it-accurate-i-dont-think-so .
News › 10 Reasons to Stay in a Job for 10 Years Oct 18, 2012 at 2:12 pm
[...] Randstad says that 40% of employees are planning to look for a new job within the next six months. Another survey notes that 69% of employees are already at least passively shopping for new job opportunities via [...]
10 Reasons to Stay in a Job for 10 Years | Business Studies Online Oct 18, 2012 at 2:16 pm
[...] Randstad says that 40% of employees are planning to look for a new job within the next six months. Another survey notes that 69% of employees are already at least passively shopping for new job opportunities via [...]
10 Reasons to Stay in a Job for 10 Years | Knowledge @ Enziq: Web Development, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing Guru Oct 18, 2012 at 6:00 pm
[...] Randstad says that 40% of employees are planning to look for a new job within the next six months. Another survey notes that 69% of employees are already at least passively shopping for new job opportunities via [...]
10 Reasons to Stay in a Job for 10 Years | iTAX – tax news Oct 18, 2012 at 8:49 pm
[...] Randstad says that 40% of employees are planning to look for a new job within the next six months. Another survey notes that 69% of employees are already at least passively shopping for new job opportunities via [...]
The current job market « Dispatches from the Castle Nov 26, 2012 at 3:08 pm
[...] Randstad says that 40% of employees are planning to look for a new job within the next six months. Another survey notes that 69% of employees are already at least passively shopping for new job opportunities via [...]
tabdig.org/ May 18, 2013 at 10:19 am
tabdig.org/…
Jobvite Social Survey: Were All Becoming Passively Active Seekers – ERE.net…
Products - Engineered Timber Floor May 20, 2013 at 3:12 pm
Products – Engineered Timber Floor…
Jobvite Social Survey: Were All Becoming Passively Active Seekers – ERE.net…