Job Seeker Behaviour. Part 1: A Day in the Life of a Job Seeker. Tracy Godding, Head of UX. March 2016

Transcription

1 Job Seeker Behaviour Part 1: A Day in the Life of a Job Seeker Tracy Godding, Head of UX March 2016 Job Seeker Behaviour: A Day in the Life of a Job Seeker 1

2 Introduction At Madgex we never stop looking for ways to improve the performance of our job boards, which is why we invest so heavily in research into job seeker behaviour. User behaviour has changed significantly over the past few years and will continue to do so. We need to understand what our users do, how they think, and how they behave in order to help us to improve our job board technology. Constantly observing and measuring user habits means we can produce a fluid and well-designed experience that our users trust. Our latest research focuses on how people use their multiple devices to search for jobs. Job Seeker Behaviour: A Day in the Life of a Job Seeker 2

3 Research To understand more about how users are searching and applying for jobs we decided to measure the daily habits and behaviour of job seekers. This insight equips us to improve the experience of our job board platform and make our clients more successful. Before we began this research, we outlined a number of key questions: How are people using different devices in everyday situations to find jobs? When and in what contexts are people looking for and applying for jobs? How do people move across devices to complete tasks when finding & applying for jobs? What are the reasons people aren t applying on their mobiles? What are job seekers perceptions of job seeking and job boards? What are a job seekers pain points? What can we do to improve the mobile experience and increase the application rate? To answer these questions, we conducted a diary study. This method allows us to measure the daily habits of job seekers with minimal disruption to their routine. Job Seeker Behaviour: A Day in the Life of a Job Seeker 3

4 Analytics and Data Combining these insights with analytics and data, we have been able to learn more about how job seekers are using job boards. In this first part of our Job Seeker Behaviour study, we reveal how and where job seekers are using different devices to search and apply. Job Seeker Behaviour: A Day in the Life of a Job Seeker 4

5 A Day in the Life of a Job Seeker Mornings Statistics show that approximately 33% of job searches occur before work, though very few applications are sent during this period. Most job seekers typically start their day with a quick browse for opportunities. Some may do this over breakfast, but many take their first look during their commute to work. Job Seeker Behaviour: A Day in the Life of a Job Seeker 5

6 We found a typical job seeking session at this time of day lasts minutes. This includes checking job alerts, notifications and looking for new opportunities on job boards. High levels of mobile activity during the early morning period is very typical across a number of sectors, as users make the most of their time during the commute. This is supported by this tweet from the CEO of Royal Bank of Scotland. "Our busiest branch is the 7:01 from Reading to Paddington over 167,000 of our customers use our Mobile Banking app between 7am and 8am on their commute to work every day " - Ross McEwan, CEO, Royal Bank of Scotland Job Seeker Behaviour: A Day in the Life of a Job Seeker 6

7 The Working Day While many users start the day (and their job search) using their mobile, they often turn to desktop or laptop once at work. During a typical working day, job seekers demonstrate slightly different behaviour to that displayed earlier on in the day, but this doesn t mean job seeking goes on hold. Research shows a large amount of job seeker activity happens at work in short, quick bursts on a desktop or during breaks, often using a combination of mobile and desktop. Job Seeker Behaviour: A Day in the Life of a Job Seeker 7

8 Throughout the day job seekers engage quick searches or check social networks (Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn) for the latest opportunities. Our research shows that a high number of applications are sent around midday and in the afternoon during the week. Due to time restraints, job seekers will often prepare applications in the evening before tweaking and sending them during their working day. Job Seeker Behaviour: A Day in the Life of a Job Seeker 8

9 Evenings During the evening, job seekers take a deeper look at the opportunities they are interested in. They will research companies and roles in more detail, before taking the time to refine their CVs and applications. Most of this activity takes place during relaxation time, family time and TV watching. It is very common to be using a laptop or mobile while watching TV. One of the more surprising elements of our research was the amount of job seeking activity that occurs in later in the evening. Job Seeker Behaviour: A Day in the Life of a Job Seeker 9

10 What time of day do people search, research, and apply for jobs? Time of Day Search Research* Apply % of all sessions Early Morning 3% 0% 0% 2% Commute 30% 9% 6% 23% Working Day 27% 27% 23% 27% Evenings 12% 36% 41% 20% Bed 12% 10% 12% 12% Search Research* Apply Total % of time spent on each task 74% 10% 16% Job Seeker Behaviour: A Day in the Life of a Job Seeker 10

11 What time of day do people visit job boards? What time of day do people apply for jobs? *Diagrams shows a representative job board Job Seeker Behaviour: A Day in the Life of a Job Seeker 11

12 Weekly Patterns In addition to looking at the daily activities of job seekers, we were also able to study how their behaviour differs throughout the week. Weekdays vs. weekends Job seeking activity reduces at the weekend. Our study found that there is a feeling from candidates that things just don t happen at weekend - jobs aren t advertised and people aren t hired. Active job seekers may do some brief searching and research, but they are more likely to work on an application to send the following week. Job Seeker Behaviour: A Day in the Life of a Job Seeker 12

13 The biggest difference in behaviour at weekends is that desktop use dips sharply but mobile (tablet and phone) usage continues with only a slight dip. *Diagram shows a representative job board Mondays and Tuesdays Most jobseeker activity, including applications, occurs on a Monday or Tuesday. Tuesday activity is slightly higher, as it s also when most jobs are posted and it is also a common day for marketing activity. Job Seeker Behaviour: A Day in the Life of a Job Seeker 13

14 Summary Understanding job seekers and their behaviour will help you run a more successful job board. Recognising when job seekers are performing particular tasks means you can adapt your strategy and marketing campaigns accordingly. In Part 2 of our Job Seeker Behaviour study we will take a look at how people are are using your job boards across multiple devices and what this means for mobile applications. Copyright 2016 Madgex Ltd Job Seeker Behaviour: A Day in the Life of a Job Seeker 14