Understanding job seeker trends enables your business to target its recruitment strategy more effectively. Are these habits affecting your hiring success?
Employees are checking you out before applying to your job
New research[1] suggests that candidates assess prospective employers in the same way as they would a potential holiday destination on Trip Advisor, placing more trust in a candid opinion from an employee or rejected job applicant to an employer’s positive spin on their brand. A bad reputation can cost your company at least 10% extra per hire. Support a positive brand image with technology that allows a seamless transition from your corporate website to your careers page.
Job hoarding is here to stay
Candidates prefer to have a number of job offers on the table before making a final decision on which one to accept, leading to a rise in the number of so-called ‘job hoarders’ and job offers rejected at the last minute – a trend first seen last year. Reducing your time to hire and taking the candidate experience seriously will improve the likelihood of your job offer being accepted. Our previous article offers more insight into how to overcome the issue of job hoarding and rejected job offers.
Get to know your typical job search times
Indeed’s recent report, Targeting Today’s Job Seeker[2], found that job searches across its site peak on Monday mornings, immediately before lunchtime. Your own recruitment data will provide more insight into the most successful time for your own job postings. If candidate responses are low, changing the time of your post may attract more attention but other factors such as employer brand and the wording of your job post will also influence their decision to apply. Job search habits should be monitored and reviewed on a regular basis through your recruitment software.
Flexible working is a priority
Searches for flexible working options increased by 58% from 2014 to 2016. As skilled candidates become harder to source, employers must consider flexible working in order to attract and retain talent. Measure the success of your job posts that offer flexibility compared to those that don’t to ascertain what works best for your business. Data from both Indeed and Adzuna reflects the positive effect flexible working can have on your candidate response, often leading to a reduced time to hire.
Mobile is the most popular way to search for jobs
The majority of today’s job searches are carried out on a mobile device. A hiring process that doesn’t offer a mobile responsive function will prompt your ideal candidate to look for a job that does. Support your recruitment success with HR software that offers a full functionality for candidates and hiring managers on all mobile devices. Recent research found that two thirds of people[3] sleep with their phones close to them. HR is the profession most likely to adopt this habit.
Job search varies by sector and region
The success or otherwise of your talent acquisition strategy is influenced by your sector and location. Data from jobsite Adzuna[4] suggests that over a fifth of scientific jobs and nearly 1 in 10 nursing and healthcare jobs are still open after 90 days. London tops the areas most affected by the talent shortage, with Eastern England, the North East and the South East close behind. More specifically, cities including Cambridge and Brighton are struggling to recruit candidates into STEM jobs. In contrast, employers in Northern Ireland and Yorkshire report a much faster time to recruit talent. Understanding the trends affecting your region and sector will enable HR to adjust its hiring strategy. The fastest growing job searches according to Indeed are for high paying tech jobs.
Candidates won’t come to you
Talent won’t necessarily be looking for you. Stack Overflow’s Developer Hiring Landscape for 2017, found that while 59% of developers are open to new opportunities, only 9% are actively looking for a job. Adopt a long-term approach to hiring and engage with potential candidates through your talent pool. Communicate through regular automated updates on your business and upcoming vacancies and monitor the response through your recruitment software. Take the time to get to know the unique habits of your own talent community. Our previous article outlines three steps to creating and nurturing your own talent pool.
Understand the job search habits affecting your business. Invest in world class recruitment software that helps you to hire better people faster. Talk to Advorto today.
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[1] http://recruitmentbuzz.co.uk/job-hunting-treated-like-booking-holiday-new-research-finds/
[2] http://blog.indeed.com/2017/05/23/targeting-todays-job-seeker/
[3] https://www.thehrdirector.com/business-news/tech/on-the-loo-with-your-iphone/
[4] https://www.adzuna.co.uk/blog/2017/05/18/science-and-healthcare-jobs-hit-by-skills-shortage/
