Internet Recruitment Report

Transcription

1 Internet Recruitment Report The Internet has influenced the American way of life. Over the past decade the Internet has changed the way we communicate, search for information and conduct business. Most Americans cannot imagine a world without , breaking news at their fingertips or online shopping. According to the latest Pew Internet research, about 72% of American adults are online. That translates to over 145 million people. This is a wide audience, and the Internet has proven to be an integral part of employee recruitment because there is no faster, simpler, or more cost effective way to reach thousands of qualified candidates. In fact, 44% of online Americans are looking for information about a job. The Internet allows employers to reach these candidates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. No other media provides the enormous reach and exposure of the Internet. Employers have several options when developing their Internet recruitment campaign, including: posting job openings on one of the thousands of niche and general job boards; using their corporate website for job postings; and searching resumes posted online by candidates. Most companies already incorporate the Internet into their recruitment campaigns. However, NAS Recruitment Communications is committed to helping our clients develop and manage a successful online recruiting strategy. Thus, this report provides information that recruiters need to plan their online campaign. You will learn the benefits of online recruiting, important factors when selecting a job posting site, how to use your company website as a recruitment tool, and ideas on how to develop an online recruiting strategy. We will also report on current Internet recruiting trends and demographics.

2 Benefits of Internet Recruiting The Internet offers many benefits to recruiters, but the most important are: Better reach and exposure Better ROI (Return on Investment) Better reach and exposure With over 63 million online users in the U.S. looking for information on a job, there is no other media that comes close to reaching as many potential employees. The Internet allows employers to reach candidates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Job seekers also have the advantage of searching for positions around the country or around the world, as well as posting their resumes in an online resume bank or applying immediately to a posting online. More than any other medium, the Internet has the ability to effectively and efficiently convey information to candidates. There are over 40,000 job-posting sites on the Internet, including the general job boards, niche sites and location-specific sites. These sites not only let recruiters post job openings, but also many include resume databanks. The largest recruitment job board, Monster.com, alone has 25 million resumes for employers to search. The niche sites allow recruiters to target qualified candidates in specific industries, occupations or diversity groups. Also, don t forget about your own company website. A recent survey of job seekers by CareerXRoads and CareerJournal.com learned that company websites are increasingly becoming candidates' first stop in their job search. In the beginning, Internet recruiting was most effective for the technical positions in IT and engineering. This is no longer the case since much of the population is now online, and the job sites are very user-friendly. The Internet can now be used effectively to recruit most positions from office workers to executives, skilled trades to healthcare professionals, and sales professionals to scientists. In fact, a recent survey by Monster.com discovered the most wanted occupations to be: 1. Personal care and service 2. Legal 3. Military specific 4. Business and financial operations 5. Office and administrative support The top industries looking for employees were: 1. Accommodation and food services 2. Manufacturing 3. Educational services 4. Transportation and warehousing 5. Public administration

3 The enormous reach and exposure provided by the Internet has made it one of the top sources for hiring new employees. According to CareerXRoads latest Sources of Hire survey, the Internet is the second highest source of new hires trailing closely behind employee referrals. 24.7% of new hires were sourced from the Internet compared to 27.1% from employee referrals. This tops all other published media, including newspapers. Sources of Hire SOURCES 2005 (%) Employee Referrals 27.1 Internet 24.7 College 8.0 Direct Sourcing 7.4 Agency 5.2 Career Fairs 5.2 Print 4.6 All Other 5.5 Source: CareerXRoads 5 th Annual Sources of Hire Better ROI Online recruiting is significantly more cost-effective and efficient than other media such as newspapers, job fairs or campus recruitment strategies. Price and efficiency are both important when determining ROI. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) identified online recruiting as the hiring source, providing the best Return on Investment (ROI) with 36% of recruiters selected online recruiting as their best ROI in the latest Recruiter Budget/Cost Survey. The cost of posting a job on the Internet is significantly lower than the cost of traditional methods such as newspapers, trade publications and job fairs. Many job posting sites charge around $200-$300 for a 30-day period. Internet recruiting may also have a positive effect on a company s overall recruiting budget. 37% of recruiters noted that their overall recruiting costs have decreased due to online recruiting. Efficiency is another important component of ROI. This can be determined by the quality of candidates produced by Internet recruiting. SHRM asked recruiters which source of hire generated the highest quality of employment applications, and 25% reported that online recruiting provided the highest quality of candidates. This was second only to employee referrals with 28%.

4 Also, a recent study by Eastern Kentucky University and researchers in Ireland found that companies that used online recruiting, rather than traditional media such as newspapers, received a greater number of applicants aged over 30 and better quality candidates overall. With the new screening and assessment technologies available, recruiters now have the tools to streamline the hiring process and reduce their workload for each new hire. The Internet enables recruiters to be more specific about their requirements and find resumes to match their specifications. This allows them to identify more easily the most desirable candidates and to allocate their budgets in the most effective ways. Internet recruiting can reduce both cost-per-hire and time-to-fill metrics. How to Select a Job-Posting Website Several options are available when it comes to online job banks, including the general purpose sites, commercial niche sites and association sites. With over 40,000 job boards on the Internet, how do you know which sites will be the best for meeting your recruiting objectives? Below are some factors to consider before selecting a website: Reach: It is important that the website targets the candidates you are seeking. The greater a site s reach among these candidates, the more qualified your responses are likely to be. Recruiters should ask for the site s traffic of possible candidates in specific occupations or industries such as engineers or nurses. Outreach: This includes the content of the site. Besides job postings, does the website offer additional information or features to attract potential candidates to the site? It is especially important when trying to attract passive candidates. Sites offering industry articles or peer discussion groups have greater outreach. Customer Service: What services does the site offer to employers and recruiters? Are banners or hyperlinks available to increase traffic to your job postings? Is there a resume database and/or services to manage resumes? The more services offered the more advantageous to recruiters. Persistence: This represents the length of time you have access to the site when posting a job or searching resumes. Most sites post jobs for a 30-day period. However, the length of time can vary from one week to 60 days. Some sites offer a one-time search of their resume database, while others allow recruiters to search for resumes for a certain period, such as 30 days.

5 Questions to ask before posting on a website: How long has the site been around? Does it have a verifiable track record? What is the site s traffic? Be sure to inquire not only about the total traffic on the site, but also the traffic of your targeted candidates such as engineers or nurses. What is the focus of the site? -- Industry-specific? General job board? Regional? Does the site have a resume bank? If so, how many resumes does it have and how does it obtain them? How much does it cost to post a job? Are package deals offered? How easy is it to post new jobs, as well as delete or update postings? Does the site offer additional advertising services such as banners or links to your corporate website? Your Corporate Website Your corporate website is an essential component of your Internet recruiting strategy. Up to 75% of all traffic to your website can come from people looking for job information, and employment information is one of the top three reasons people visit corporate websites. Therefore, it is imperative to develop a site that appeals to job seekers and is user-friendly. A recent survey of job seekers by CareerXRoads and CareerJournal.com is concluding that company websites are increasingly becoming candidates' first stop in their job search. The survey found 92.4% of respondents said they are likely or very likely to visit the corporate website to obtain more information on a company. Also, 85% of respondents had gone to company websites for other reasons and then visited the employment section. CareerXRoads latest Sources of Hire survey also determined that 49.2% of all Internet hires were made through the company s website. There are several steps you can take to harness the power of your corporate website. Use a simple navigation scheme. Ease of use is the single most important factor to job seekers. You should have a prominent link to your Careers section on the homepage. Also, you should use a clear and consistent navigation scheme within the Careers section and make the job postings easy to locate. Use pleasing and simple design. Sites that are simple and pleasing to the eye leave a positive impression and are easier to use. Overcrowding and flashing images make it harder for job seekers to find information. Never incorporate designs that require additional plug-ins which candidates may have to download.

6 Give candidates the basic information they need. Potential candidates want to know what your company does, what opportunities you offer and how to apply. These are the basics that all corporate websites should include. Give this information freely without requiring log-ins or registration. Write compelling job descriptions. Well-written job postings are essential to selling your company as an employer of choice. Tell applicants what they can expect to gain from joining your company instead of just listing your requirements. Tell candidates what they really want to know. Provide information about your company culture, compensation and benefits, and opportunities for advancement. It is also important to inform candidates about your recruitment process. Let them know how you choose among applicants and how long the process will take. Automated notifications are great, along with listing contact information for real recruiters. Provide an online application. Candidates should have the option of filling out your short application or cutting and pasting their resume into your form. Your application should include basic demographic information and a few screening questions to target qualified candidates. Remember that many of the people browsing your job postings are passive candidates and do not have a prepared resume to submit. Another important aspect is an -a-friend feature. Job seekers can refer a posting to a friend or receive notification of future openings. Include your Privacy policy. Respect for a candidate s privacy is very important. Before candidates respond, they want to know what data your company will collect and store and how that data will be used. Having a customer-friendly website is great, but you also have to market your listings so potential candidates can find your website. Register your URL with a variety of search engines and anyone related to your recruiting needs. List your URL on all of your print media such as brochures and business cards. Include your corporate website when you advertise in other media such as newspapers and direct candidates to the site for additional information.

7 Developing an Online Recruitment Strategy Once you have determined your overall recruiting strategy, it will be easier to plan your online recruiting strategy. Online recruiting includes both posting/advertising jobs online and actively sourcing or searching the Internet for resumes. Your strategy should also center on driving traffic to your corporate website. It is important to remember that the Internet is just one of the many tools available for recruitment. In most cases, it is impossible to staff your company solely via the Internet. Traditional recruiting methods and online recruiting can and should be used together to complement each other. No one job posting can satisfy all of a company s hiring needs. Therefore, it is important to: Take advantage of the large audience on the general job boards. Target qualified candidates in specific industries, occupations or diversity groups using the niche sites. Search resume databanks using key words that describe your open position. Sponsor and/or become involved with sites relevant to your industry, such as associations or trade publications. Actively market your own corporate website. Internet Recruiting Trends & Demographics Who s Online? About 72% of American adults or 145 million people are online. 44% of those online (over 63 million people) are looking for information about a job. Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project Tracking surveys Demographics of American Internet Users Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project Tracking surveys Education Men Women No H.S. diploma 32% 27% H.S. diploma 58% 56% Some college 79% 79% College grad or graduate degree 89% 89% Race Men Women White 70% 67% Hispanic 67% 66% Black 50% 60% Other 72% 66%

8 Annual Household Income Men Women Less than $30,000 49% 48% $30,000-$50,000 66% 76% $50,000-$75,000 84% 87% Greater than $75,000 90% 66% Who is most likely to search online for jobs? Different generations use the Internet differently. However, it seems that most have embraced the Internet as a tool in their job search. % Using the Internet for job hunting: Online Teens (12-17 yrs.) 30 Generation Y (18-28 yrs.) 62 Generation X (29-40 yrs.) 51 Trailing Boomers (41-50 yrs.) 40 Leading Boomers (51-59 yrs.) 36 Matures (60-69 yrs.) 17 After Work (70+ yrs.) 2 Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project Tracking surveys How do job seekers use the Internet? The Conference Board reported that while newspapers remain most popular with job seekers, the Internet is a close second source. 75% of job seekers still use newspapers to look for employment while 60% search the Internet. Of those online job seekers, 88% read help-wanted ads posted online, and nearly 60% submitted a resume or application online. About half of these job seekers also researched potential employers on the Internet. What are the trends in Internet job postings? The Conference Board also tracks online job ads posted each month. Online job ads increased dramatically in January 2006 to 2,162,000 new, unduplicated online job ads posted. The January total was up 529,000, an increase of one-third from the December 2005 low. January s total was slightly higher than the August 2005 monthly peak of 2,131,000. Regionally, the strongest month-over-month increases in ad volume were in the New England (40%) and West South Central (37%) regions. Other regions were in-line with the one-third rise for the nation as a whole, with the East South Central and Mid Atlantic regions rising 34%, East North Central and the South Atlantic up 32%, and the Pacific and Mountain regions up 31% and 30%, respectively.

9 Best Practices for Online Recruiting Keep applicants informed about their status when they apply. You can borrow from online retailers who keep their customers updated with tracking information. Let applicants know that their application has been received and how long your recruiting process takes. Your corporate jobs website should: Be easily accessed from the home page. Be user-friendly with simple navigation and design. Include engaging job postings that target your desired candidates. Provide an online application. Include your privacy policy. The top online job boards offer: Easy access to the job postings from the home page. Simple navigation and design. An easy-to-use job posting search engine. Engaging and targeted job postings. Free access to job postings with no login or registration required. Resume databanks and resume managing services. A privacy policy. An -a-friend feature. Feedback from both employers and candidates.