LinkedIn has published its second annual report for human resources professionals. The North American part of the study, conducted among 1,600 people, allows for a better understanding of how talent perceives the job search as a whole.
The study’s first result is that the main pool of candidates is on the side of passive talent, as only 30% of users are actively seeking a new job. Almost half of these workers are still satisfied with their current job, while 30% reported being very dissatisfied. Percentages that rise to 76% and 11% respectively for passive talents.
Whether they are actively or passively looking for a new job, 45% of users explore job opportunities on the site and network for business purposes at least once a month.
When looking to improve their job situations, talents visit employment sites and social networks, but their first course of action will be to turn to their own networks. Sixty-five percent of them rely on word-of-mouth to learn about possible career opportunities, a figure which demonstrates the importance for companies to make employees their ambassadors.
Most hope to find a job offering them better compensation (56%), but also a better balance between their work life and their personal life (34%) and a better work environment (24%).
Prospecting
A sign of their openness, 71% of users expressed interest in being contacted by a recruiter of a company, and 61% by a head-hunter. They expect recruiters to tell them why they contacted them in the first place, and explain to them the position’s responsibilities, the salary scale, as well as the company’s culture and mission.
Data collected by LinkedIn shows that a company's LinkedIn page subscribers are 81% more likely to respond to InMail than non-subscribers. Hence the need for companies to reach as many people as possible on the social networking site. InMail messages are more likely to be responded to during the week than over the weekend and responses peak when messages are sent on Thursdays between 9 and 10 am.
During the interview
Unsurprisingly, the interview plays a major role in whether the candidate will accept the position or not. For half of respondents, an interview with their potential future manager is the decisive factor. That is who candidates want to meet! Not only do they want them to answer their questions, but it also enables a discussion on the current leadership in place and enlightens them on the company’s culture.
Post interview, the majority of talents prefer for the company to call them directly to tell them if they were selected. If they were not, however, they prefer to receive the news by e-mail.
Almost all of the respondents would like the recruiter to tell them how the interview went. This leaves a good impression about the company’s reputation, even for rejected candidates. The LinkedIn report states that even those who were not selected are four times as likely to continue applying if they receive constructive feedback.
The final choice
When making the final decision, the prospect of earning more weighs most heavily in the balance for 56% of respondents, followed by that of being able to enjoy a better balance between work and personal life (34%).
Another lesson from this study: a candidate will accept a job faster if their future supervisor calls them directly.