Press Release Summary: The challenge for employers going forward is therefore not simply one of letting people know they have vacancies - it's also about engaging jobseekers in a dialogue and speaking to people in a relevant way that makes their company the most attractive organisation to work for.
Press Release Body: Employer brands damaged by online ignorance.
The Internet is the first port of call for jobseekers, yet employers are still damaging their employer brand when it comes to dealing with online applications.
According to the latest Total Forum report - a comprehensive study of jobseeker trends from totaljobs.com - 80 per cent of jobseekers look online before anywhere else, compared to 66 per cent in 2005. Regional newspapers follow, with 52 per cent using this source.
The volume of online applications is also rising. More than half of those polled (56 per cent) had applied for a job online, whilst 36 per cent had applied for 1 - 5 jobs within the last month (a 4 per cent increase from 32 per cent in 2005).
Yet despite this high level of online activity, it appears that the majority of recruiters are damaging their employer brand by failing to have the courtesy to respond to applicants. A staggering 73 per cent of those polled did not receive a response or acknowledgement from employers after applying for a job.
John Salt, website director for totaljobs.com comments:
"Five years ago business was ahead of consumers in terms of internet sophistication, but now the tables have turned. Employers understand the value of online applications, but the majority haven't transferred Customer Relationship Management principles to the online recruitment cycle. The Internet provides much more than a cost effective way to gather CVs - it represents a rich multimedia communication platform which we believe is the future of recruitment."
The Total Forum report also gives insights into exactly who is using the Internet to find work in 2007, revealing an increasing trend towards more experienced and professional jobseekers using the Internet. Forty per cent of online jobseekers are now at managerial level or above, an increase of 5 per cent since the last report. More than a third (37 per cent) have a degree or postgraduate qualification.
The report also shows that for the first time ever, women have overtaken men as the primary users of online job hunting - 52 per cent are female, compared with 48 per cent in 2005. However, the key roles that women search for remain more traditional with the retail, secretarial/PA and healthcare sectors being the most popular. The hottest sectors for male jobseekers are IT, engineering and manufacturing, and transport and logistics.
Concludes John Salt: "It seems that the online jobseeking community is now as diverse as the modern workforce itself. The challenge for employers going forward is therefore not simply one of letting people know they have vacancies - it's also about engaging jobseekers in a dialogue and speaking to people in a relevant way that makes their company the most attractive organisation to work for."
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2025
