2012 Source of Employment Report Job Seekers & Employers Speak Out WEDDLE’s 2012 Source of Employment Report Job Seekers & Employers Speak Out Now I want to acknowledge right up front that some of you won’t like what I have to say. It flies in the face of the conventional wisdom of those who say all you need to do is write a better resume or make more connections on LinkedIn or develop a stronger interviewing skills to get a great job. If it were that easy, you wouldn’t be here today. So, I think you deserve to know the truth. To survive let alone prosper in today’s job market, you must look at yourself in a new way and you must become expert in a kit bag of new practices. Collectively, I call them Career Activism. Peter Weddle WEDDLE’s LLC peter@weddles.com 203.964.1888

WEDDLE’s Source of Employment Survey Origin To support columns in The Wall Street Journal Alternative to one-off and one-sided surveys Annual since 1999 Focus on behaviors and preferences Job seekers and recruiters All-year polling station on www.weddles.com Traffic generated by books/columns and User’s Choice Award balloting

What’s Going On? Buzz in the press that job postings are dead Social Media now the darling of the press

Employers/Recruiters 2011 Survey Respondents Job Seekers Employers/Recruiters Gender 59.6% male 40.4% Female Age Median 45 25.1% 56+ Gender 54.5 Male 45.5% female Age Median 45 59.8% were mum

2011 Survey Job Seeker Respondents Employment Status 43.1% Unemployed and actively looking 29.9% Employed but actively looking 15.7% Employed and considering moving 7.4% Reentering job market after extended absence 3.9% Employed and never leaving Experience(1) 29.1% Mid-level professional 14.6% Managerial 13.5% Senior-level professional 12.6% Executive 9.8 Entry-level professional 6.4% Skilled trade (1) Does not total to 100% because not all answer options are shown

Job Seekers Find Employment How did you find your last job? 31.4% responded to ad or archived resume on job board 11.3% Tip from a friend 9.2% Referral by employee of company 7.0% Newspaper ad 6.5% Sent resume into company How do you expect to find your next job?(1) 53.7% responding to ad or archiving resume on job board 8.9% Sending resume into company 5.9% Call from a headhunter 4.4% Referral by employee of company 3.7% Networking at biz event / ad on employer’s Web-site (1) Not all answer options are shown

Which Job Boards Are Most Helpful? 37.6% Niche sites(1) 22.9% Search engines 21.2% General purpose sites The population 150,000 sites International Association of Employment Web Sites (IAEWS) www.EmploymentWebSites.org WEDDLE’s User’s Choice Awards www.Weddles.com (1) Not all answer options are shown

Social Media Sites Have you used a social media site? 33.1% Yes, but just a little 25.7% No, but I intend to in the near future 22.1% Yes, quite a bit 19.1% No, and I never will If yes, how helpful has it been? 35.3% No more helpful than other job search techniques 31.9% Somewhat helpful 15.6% Very helpful 17.2% Not at all helpful

Corporate Career Sites How helpful are the career areas on employer Web-sites? 51.8% Moderately helpful 24.2% Very helpful 23.9% Not helpful Not enough information about openings Not enough information about culture/values Not enough information about employees Disrespectful

Nightmares What’s the single worst thing to happen to you in your job search?(1) 46.9% You submitted a resume and heard nothing back from the employer 27.6% You received no information or feedback once you entered the process 14.7% You had no serious negative experiences (1) Not all answer options are shown

Recruiters Find Talent Which sourcing strategy yields the best candidates?(1) 43.0% Posting jobs on a commercial job board 17.4% Posting jobs on your own Web-site 8.1% Your employee referral program 5.2% Networking at business/professional events 5.2% Using social networking sites (1) Not all answer options are shown

New Hires Sourced Online Percentage of New Hires Sourced Online? Median 51-75% 23.2% 76-90% 2.6% Zero How Would You Rate Their Caliber? 35.1% Above average 26.6% Average employees 23.9% Among our best employees 1.1% A hiring mistake 13.3% No opinion

Online Job Postings Where were the majority of jobs posted online?(1) 28.7% Multiple job boards 22.7% Your own site and multiple job boards 13.5% your own site, one or more job boards and one or more social networking sites Of the openings posted online, most were:(1) 40.3% Mid-level professional positions 18.8% Entry-level professional positions 10.2% Senior-level professional positions 9.8% Contract & part-time positions (1) Not all answer options are shown

Diversity of Applicants Of the openings posted online, how would you rate the diversity of applicants?(1) 32.4% Average 31.4% Above average 24.3% Excellent 2.2% Poor (1) Not all answer options are shown

What’s Your Wish List? Which additional services would you be willing to pay for at a job board?(1) 40.5% Better matching technology 14.6% Job ad distribution 13.3% Alternative job posting formats 10.8% Featured positioning of postings 7.6% Ability to accept video resumes (1) Not all answer options are shown

3 Take-Aways Social media sites are important for brand building, but if you’re looking for a job, focus on job boards No single job board provides enough access to openings to support an effective job search Better matching technology will be the next big step forward at job boards

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