BURLINGAME, NOVEMBER 16, 2011 – A new national survey from Jobvite reveals more than 22 million Americans used social networks to find their most recent job opportunity – up 7.7 million from last year’s survey. One in six members of the workforce say an online social network was one of the sources they used to find a job, and those with more contacts get better results. With the national unemployment rate at 9.0% in October, fierce competition has 54% of all job seekers using Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter in their hunt for work.
Jobvite’s Social Job Seeker Survey 2011 polled more than 1,200 members of the workforce in a national online survey. More than two-thirds (69%) are job seekers – people either actively looking for work or employed but open to a new job. The survey provides the first in-depth look at which networks get the most job hunting activity, how the power of being social can lead to employment and which job seekers make the most of social networking.
Nearly nine out of 10 job seekers (86%) have a social media profile. Facebook has the majority with 84% of job seekers, followed by 39% using Twitter and 35% using LinkedIn. Nearly 1/3 of job seekers (31%) have a profile on all three networks.
Facebook has the highest volume of job seeking activity overall, with more people receiving job referrals, updating profiles and making new professional connections. But more than 1/3 of job seekers that have a Facebook profile don’t use it in any way to look for work. On the other hand, nearly all job seekers with a profile on LinkedIn and almost ¾ of those on Twitter leverage their networks for job hunting.
Jobvite’s Social Job Seeker Survey 2011 found a marked difference in job hunting activities and success when job seekers were “super social” – having more than 150 contacts on any single network. More than four out of 10 job seekers (41%) are super social on at least one network (mainly Facebook), and they do more social job hunting and get better results than their less social counterparts. More than ¼ (28%) of these super social job seekers found a job through online social networking.
Other significant online social network activity differences:
Activity in the last 12 months Super Social Job Seekers on specified network All Job Seekers on specified network
Updated Facebook profile with professional information 32% 20%
Had contact with a recruiter on LinkedIn 45% 9%
Searched for jobs on Twitter 48% 11%
“Our new national survey shows that socially savvy job seekers have an advantage over their fellow job hunters and it’s paying off,” said Dan Finnigan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Jobvite. “While referrals are still the top source of new jobs, online social networks play an increasingly important role in job hunting today. The job referrals happening on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter benefit employers, job seekers and the economy overall.”
The polling company™, inc./WomanTrend conducted this nationwide online omnibus survey of 2,049 adults (aged 18+) on behalf of Jobvite. Fielded October 24-27, the survey included questions on current employment status (1,205 respondents were part of the American workforce) and the use of social networks to find job opportunities. Respondents for this survey were selected from an opt-in panel, and had expressed prior consent to participate in online surveys such as this. The demographics of this audience closely match the nationwide population of adults (age 18+) with respect to gender, age, and region, and race and ethnicity.
See the Jobvite Social Job Seeker Survey 2011 for complete results.
About Jobvite
Jobvite is the leading recruiting platform for the social web. Today’s fastest-growing companies use applicant tracking, recruiter CRM and social recruiting software solutions from Jobvite to target the right talent and build the best teams. Jobvite is a complete, modular Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform which can optimize the speed, cost-effectiveness and ease of recruiting for any company. For more information, visit www.jobvite.com.