How job search really works: the 2013 Job Seeker Survey
What is the 2013 job seeker survey all about? Well…it’s what happens when you ask 1,276 job seekers how they really look for work. Guess what – you get some pretty interesting answers.
Earlier this fall, I collaborated with Job-Hunt.org (a career resource and advice site) and eHarmony (a dating site planning to enter online recruiting) to reach out to two distinctive types of survey respondents:
– Active seekers: 275 respondents from Job-Hunt.org’s and JobBoardDoctor’s audience. These respondents are well-informed about career issues and online recruiting
– Random respondents: 1,001 respondents from a random sample (provided by USamp) of US residents ages 20-60. This sample is more representative of the population at large.
What did we find out in the 2013 job seeker survey?
- General job boards and job search engines are used most often by both sets of respondents
- The random sample relied most heavily on search engines, general job boards, and newspaper ads
- Desktop and laptop computers continue to be the primary tool in job search; mobile devices are used primarily for job search and employer research.
- 65% of the active seekers have found work via a referral from a friend or colleague
- Facebook is the most popular social media job search tool with the random sample (57%), while LinkedIn was top with the active seekers (93%)
The above are just some highlights from the 2013 job seeker survey. To download complete results, go to the Research area of the site (free registration required).
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[…] The results of the 2013 Job Seeker survey. (RT @JohnSumser: How job search really works: the 2013 Job Seeker Survey http://t.co/V3eb9nrJyX) […]
I find it interesting that already 41% of candidates are browsing jobs via mobile devices, that makes responsive design rather important right now i guess, on the other hand it is no surprise that only few of them apply, as probably no one is storing his resume on mobile phone.
I am not exactly sure what the “79% rank referrals as important” mean? Is it how important candidates think it is to have some insider in the company who can tell a good word about you to the employer? (hope that makes sense)
Greg, right. The candidates are ranking referrals as what they view to be an important way to get a job – higher than the other methods. – Jeff
[…] a survey of 1,276 job seekers. He, along with partners Job-Hunt.org and eHarmony.com, learned that job hunters are leaning on mobile devices for their job search and employer […]