A new survey from Jobvite, a provider of next-generation recruitment solutions, shows what many experts may have already predicted: that companies are choosing to invest more money and time in social networks and employee referrals over job boards and search firms.
Jobvite conducted their second annual Social Recruitment Survey by polling approximately 440 human resources and recruitment professionals, the majority of which, 65 percent, have between 101 and 5,000 employees at their company. Responses came from a variety of industries, with a concentration of technology companies making up 33% of respondents.
The majority of those surveyed said they are planning to increase their financial commitment to social recruiting. Seventy-two percent of companies plan to invest more in recruiting through social networks, while a majority say they will invest less in more costly sources, including job boards, third-party recruitment and campus recruiting. In the same survey conducted last year, 68 percent of recruiters said they would increase their use of referrals and employees’ networks.
In addition, 80 percent of companies surveyed said they use or are planning to use social networking to find and attract candidates this year. LinkedIn use grew from 80 percent in 2008 to 95 percent of respondents in 2009, while Facebook use grew from 36 percent in 2008 to 59 percent in 2009.
A new addition, Twitter, ranked third with 42 percent of recruiters using the tool to source candidates.
It looks like their social networking efforts are paying off. Sixty-six percent of respondents using social networks for recruiting reported that they had successfully hired a candidate who was identified or introduced through an online social network, showing that the channel is not only being used, but also producing quality results.
Seventy-seven percent of respondents said they use social networks to reach passive candidates who are not actively seeking employment.
While many background check companies have cautioned against using social networks to check up on their candidates, survey results show that companies simply aren’t listening. Recruitment and human resource professionals are using a variety of online sites to research candidates: LinkedIn (76 percent), search engines (67 percent), Facebook (44 percent) and Twitter (21 percent). Respondents reported that 24% of candidates disclose their social networking presence when applying for a job.
The full results of the survey, including employee referral stats and what percentage of companies plan on hiring or laying off this year, click here.
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May 20th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Interesting post with lots of great stats to support the idea that social media recruiting isn’t going away and isn’t a fad. Thanks for sharing!
May 20th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Thanks for the post. It doesn’t completely surprise me given how many of the smaller job boards are fading away due to the lack of additional funding. Jobfox has raised over $40M in the last few years which apparently isn’t enough to keep them afloat. (I have heard they are running out of cash quickly) No job board out there is unique in any way and it’s pretty clear that they aren’t attracting seekers. No matter how many more bells and whistles are added it’s not going to save. Social media is it.
Like Jennifer said, it isn’t a fad.
May 20th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
Having been a recruiter for Aerotek for 5 years I doubt social media will ever become what everyone on this blog believes. Recruiting firms will always be the largest buyers of these tools and when you’re revenue based, recruiting is a numbers game and a timing issue. Social media outlets like facebook and LinkedIN bring a lot of value don’t get me wrong along with twitter but when it comes to making calls and finding candidates I’ll take CareerBuilder and Monster all day long. A good recruiter can find anyone with those resume databases, no matter the req no matter the client. Either through referral or searching based on competitors and sourcing within those companies.
People talk about good recruiters and how they use networking to find candidates. Well I used Monster and Careerbuilder as a lead generation tool, except my leads were candidates. Setting up resume alerts were my best recruiting tool along with leveraging my current contractors for referrals. I realize corp. recruiting is a lot different so maybe all this social networking is geared towards those types of recruiting teams. But the real money lies in proving to Recruitment companies that you particular tool is worth a continued investment.
May 20th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
Although I find the premise of the survey results (”companies to invest less in job boards”) to be absolutely true from the people I speak with, bear in mind that this survey isn’t a random sample of recruiters. According to Jobvite, “some of the people who took the survey were “responding to an invitation on the Jobvite website” and some of the others were found via “an invitation sent via Twitter.” Asking people on Jobvite (a Web 2.0 system for managing candidates) if they use social networking and asking people on Twitter if they use Twitter skews the results. Again, this is not to say the general premise isn’t accurate, just that the exact numbers may not reflect the average recruiter.
May 21st, 2009 at 10:44 am
It’s very true that social media recruiting isn’t going away, but they will not surpass job boards, job classifieds and other tailored sites for job seekers, given the global cash crises. Many will have to take up second jobs, just to keep a roof over their heads, Twitter and other social media sites are just another option, and not often the best for results. If your looking to obtain a new laptop computer, would you go to a general electronic store or a computer superstore, the choice is yours.
May 22nd, 2009 at 12:38 am
No wonder most of the jobs posted on sites like Monster and Careerbuilder comes from recruiters. ‘Was wondering whether a trend of using other ways to get candidates was being implemented by employers. Even most jobs at Craigslist comes from recruiters as well.
Part of the reason I started ChowJOBS was my curiosity about locating jobs directly from employers.
THANKS FOR THE TIP.
May 23rd, 2009 at 12:33 pm
Although job boards aren’t perfect (what is?) they provide a valuable service and currently the best way in which employers find employees and job seekers find employment.
I have yet to see how social networking sites like facebook, linkedin, twitter, etc. will replace job boards – supplement yes, replace no.
A recent survey referenced on this site stated that 65% of employers/staffing companies using job boards were greatly or generally satisfied with the results. It also showed that very few recruiters were using social networking sites.
Job boards will continue to evolve just as every other web-based business on the Internet will evolve. Some will flourish and thrive, some will fade away. As the technology and enabling technology evolves, employers and job seekers will expect more (as with any service). Those companies that raise to or exceed the current level of expectation will be successful.
It all comes down to having and supporting a “profit” model – the vast majority of services that seem to be promoted on this blog tend to be VC funded.
May 25th, 2009 at 12:09 am
I think that social networking has it’s place in recruitment and is here to stay. However, I think the future will show us that niche job boards will be popular again. However for niche job boards to do well they must include (a) relevant updated content and (b) social networking functionality which encourages users to interact and return to the site. This could be in the form of an integrated blog with comment forms. I’ve implemented a career blog for the Jobs2Ireland site and seen users start to interact already.
May 25th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Here’s something I find very interesting.
In the old days and today too, we were told to never submit a picture with our resumes. People in HR are often told to discard photos, or even the whole resume if it has one.
Online, however, people have no problem posting pictures of themselves in their Facebook, LinkedIn and other profiles. Those can be find when employers Google candidates.
Why the discrepancy?
June 2nd, 2009 at 11:52 am
The problem with all of these social networking sites is that they do not provide the employer with the necessary search parameters to find the right candidates. Some do not get more specific geographically than ’state.’ Well a candidate in Dallas isn’t going to help me if I have a job in Houston. Others do not allow boolean search functionality (and/not, etc.). And the biggest ones (Linked In, Facebook, Myspace) do not provide personal email addresses like the job boards do, so you cannot contact them efficiently outside of the site.
Until these networking sites get more career-focused, and cater to employers’ needs to properly search out the viable candidates, they’re virtually useless compared job sites.
July 12th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
Social networking boards may at times assist companies in identifying potential candidates but let’s be realistic about this. Why would you place more faith in an internet profile and social network, whereby people have not actually met in person, only know the other people based on what they say and write within the social networks.
Qualified passive or otherwise candidates are already out there looking at sites like careerbuilder, monster, hospitaljobs.com. If you want these candidates it is really up to companies to promote themselves and always always let these people know the compensation package.
No qualified candidate is going to apply to an organization that doesn’t provide a salary range.
You don’t need to go to social networks to find candiates, even passive ones because they are already looking. As for looking on a social sites like Myspace, facebook etc…. maybe if they are looking for someone to come give them a job as oppose to actually persuing their career.
August 11th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
Some more thoughts about the decline of job boards here- http://www.internetinc.com/death-of-job-boards
The executive summary: job boards will be back!
– Eric
September 19th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
I agree with doug on the comment regarding looking for jobs on social sites, job boards are here to stay, they are the only way employers can get the relevent qualifications instantly online.