Job Seeking Becomes Ongoing Career Management Activity

August 5, 2015 – Seventy-one percent of people in the labor force are actively seeking or are open to a new job and 90 percent of people hired within the past year actively searched for work prior to being hired, according to Indeed’s Talent Attraction Study. The study, which polled more than 8,000 people, found that only 10 percent of people hired within the last year received a job offer without looking at all.

Nearly half of the 90 percent of respondents hired within the past year visited an online job board within six months of being hired, 47 percent looked at job listings on online job boards and 46 percent looked at company careers pages. Twenty-six percent of respondents said they explored a professional social networking site for job opportunities, 25 percent have used a mobile job search, 20 percent went to career fairs and 13 percent used the services of a recruiter.

“The strengthening economy has led to the tightest labor market in almost seven years—more people are employed and skilled candidates are even harder to come by,” said Tara M. Sinclair, chief economist at Indeed. “No one is passive about their career in 2015. While the industry has traditionally believed employed candidates are passive and not actively looking for new jobs, many employers have already moved on from this notion and dubbed it an antiquated way of thinking.”

According to the report, 58 percent of respondents look for new job opportunities at least monthly, 19 percent search for job opportunities monthly, 20 percent do so weekly, and 18 percent look daily. Another eight percent said they look for new job opportunities on a yearly basis, while 19 percent reported that they never look for new job opportunities. Sixty-five percent of respondents look at new jobs within the first three months of being hired and half of people who make between $100,000 to $110,000 view new jobs within 28 days of starting with the company.

The survey also found that candidates are more confident in the jobs they find themselves, rather than jobs presented by a recruiter. Sixty-four percent of employed adults say they would feel more confident that a job is the right fit for them if they picked the company and applied versus if a recruiter contacted them. Fifty-two percent say they think they would be more successful in a job they found on their own versus one they got from a recruiter or company that contacted them. And 78 percent agree that if a recruiter or friend proactively contacted them about a position, they would consider other available jobs as well.

Indeed’s research, which also polled 1,000 HR executives, found that 90 percent of recruiters prefer a candidate who actively pursues new career opportunities. Fifty-one percent feel that active candidates have stronger motivational drive after being hired, while 41 percent say passive and active have the same motivational drive. Only eight percent said passive candidates have better motivational drive. Seventy percent of talent acquisition leaders polled (directors and VPs) feel active candidates are more motivated to succeed.

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief, Hunt Scanlon Media

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