Job Boards & Social Media

For years the conventional wisdom about job boards seemed to be more buzz than substance. Many headhunters derided them as a passing phase at best or a waste of time at worst. Less than a decade later, a lot has changed! Job boards, along with Social Media, have increased in importance, becoming primary tools for the job seeker.

Each year, CareerXroads compiles a Source of Hire report and some of the 2010 numbers are pretty surprising. Following are a few highlights, as well as some insights, as to what this means for your job search in 2011 and beyond:

Nearly 90 percent of companies used Monster.com to hire at least once and 25 percent of all external hires come from job boards.1 This number jumps to almost 45 percent if you include hires that originate online at company career sites.

What does this mean for the job search?

More and more companies are relying on the flexibility and power of job board searching and parsing systems to ensure access to the widest and most qualified candidate pool available. This means that it is that much harder for a candidate to stand out from the crowd without an effective resume because the traditional tools of cold calling, hand-delivering the resume, or following up with the hiring manager after applying are becoming artifacts of the past. A well-written resume that appeals to the hiring manager while also integrating effectively with parsing systems like Monsters 6Sense™ technology is a vital tool to ensure that you get the attention you are seeking.

As technology becomes more prevalent, it is natural that technology-driven hiring tools will absorb a greater degree of the hiring process. Clearly, job boards are alive and well!

Nearly 90 percent of companies acknowledged that social media was part of their hiring efforts. Almost 40 percent search for and manage prospects with social media tools.2

What does this mean for the job search?

The world is more connected than ever and hiring managers are going to use social media to find and research candidates or check references. Make sure that your social network is working for you and that you are presenting the professional image you want a hiring manager to see when they find your blog or profile on LinkedIn and Facebook. Additionally, a social-media-optimized version of your resume will be invaluable as you work to build your career network.

Almost three quarters of job openings never get posted or are filled quickly via referrals. Specifically, 50+ percent of jobs are filled by internal movement and promotions and 27+ percent of external hires are filled by referrals.3

What does that mean for the job search?

First of all, it means keep your eyes open for opportunities within your current company. If you are looking to make the transition from a hands-on role to management, or from management to executive, then your current company is the most likely place for that opportunity to emerge. It also means that one of the most important tools you can have in your job search repertoire is a well-developed professional network. This could involve LinkedIn, personal branding, and other types of online and traditional networking.

By carefully managing your online presence, effectively utilizing job boards, maintaining and expanding your professional network, and having an outstanding professional resume, you’ll successfully tap into the bulk of the opportunities available—more than 75 percent of external hires! Even better, the other 25 percent (college, direct sourcing, print ads, walk-ins, etc.) will benefit from the techniques you use to enhance your online search.