IT Looking for New Jobs ?

A new survey by Jobvite, a recruiting platform for the social web, found that unemployed Americans aren’t the only ones looking for jobs. Sixty-nine percent of employed respondents are considered job seekers—meaning they’re actively seeking a new job or open to the idea, and it turns out they’re using social media to do it.
“Inside every employed worker is a job seeker,” says Dan Finnigan, president and chief executive of Jobvite. “Because of pent-up demand now that the economy is growing, those workers are looking for the next step in their career.” According to the 2012 Social Job Seeker Survey, which asked 2,100 people about their current employment status and the role of social networks in their job search, 52% of all job seekers (employed and unemployed) have used Facebook to look for work, 38% have used LinkedIn, and 34% have used Twitter. One in six employed respondents credit social media for their current job.
When asked about how they’ve used Facebook to find work, 25% of respondents said they updated their profile and added professional information; 17% provided their Facebook profile information on a job application or during an interview; 15% modified privacy settings with work in mind; 14% used the site to search for jobs; 9% used it to research a potential employer; 8% connected with a potential employer on the site; and 6% communicated with a recruiter on the site. Almost half (49%) said they’ve used their Facebook contacts for “career gain.”


Finnigan says, “It is extremely important to be a well-rounded job hunter, and that absolutely includes maintaining your professional presence on the three most-used social networks for recruiting: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. For many professional and managerial careers, that begins with LinkedIn, as it is the leading social network geared toward people in professional occupations.”
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Twenty-six percent of surveyed job seekers said they’ve updated their LinkedIn profile with professional information; 11% used the site to search for job opportunities; 9% provided their LinkedIn profile information on a job application or during an interview; 7% modified privacy settings with work in mind; 7% connected with a potential employer; 6% used the site to research a potential employer; and 4% communicated with a recruiter through the site. Thirty-eight percent said they’ve used LinkedIn contacts for career gain.
“Job seekers have become increasingly frustrated at searching for jobs online and getting no response, and they intuitively know that the best opportunities are found through people, not search engines,” Finnigan says. “As social networking has become a core part of our cultural dynamic, we are continuing to see more and more job hunters taking advantage of a vertical they are comfortable with in order to find work. We anticipated growth last year and the numbers do show that job hunters are expanding their presence on social sites. Simply put, social networks provide a way for job seekers to tap into a large pool of job opportunities easily.”
However, he cautions job seekers against spending too much time online because the interaction that comes from an in-person meeting with the employees and potential colleagues at the company you’re interested in can never be replaced by a computer screen, he says.
“For active job seekers, spending an hour or two a day on social media, with the professional mindset of connecting with employers and looking for job listings, can pay off,” Finnigan says. For those who aren’t actively looking but are open to new opportunities, it’s important to make sure your profiles are current and the content is professional and appropriate.
Previous research from Jobvite found that 86% of recruiters are likely to look at social profiles for candidates, with 48% reporting they always do so. If you’re looking to clean up your profile, consider including content about participation in professional organizations. Why? Eighty percent of recruiters said they like to see that on social profiles; but just 1 in 5 job seekers have posted that information.
“My advice to employers is to use the standard employee background check initially and use social media for reference checks rather than prying too deeply into a candidate’s social media background,” Finnigan says. “Regardless, job seekers should know employers are looking at these and should be aware of the content they are putting out there.”


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