The Internet: First effective channel for finding work

Each year, about 20% of workers around the world change jobs. You may be a serial job hopper, or really your contract just ended – whether predictably or unpredictably, and you find yourself back in the market once again. While some of us may dread the job search experience, and rightly so, most job seekers would agree that the whole process is now easier with the Internet as it is now considered the main source of work opportunities.

Job Seeker Trends 2015: Channels, Search Time, and Income Change is the latest report by The Boston Consulting Group and Recruit Works Institute released on December 16, 2015. The report reviews findings from over 13,000 job seeker respondents from 13 different countries, covering 59% of the 3 billion people employed globally. Considered one of the largest global surveys of job seekers, the study shows that 55% of job seekers use the Internet to look for employment and 33% rate Internet job sites as the most effective channel for finding work, even before referrals with 19% of survey respondents considering it top channel.

According to the same report, the average Internet job site user is younger and more educated than the average job seeker while the average referral user is older and less educated. Another recent survey by the Pew Research Center shows 79% of U.S. job hunters used online resources and information in their most recent job search which makes the Internet top channel for finding work.

“One of the key capabilities that differentiates the Internet channel from referrals from family or friends is the Internet’s ability to process a much higher volume of applications,” said Kazumasa Sakurai, a BCG partner and a coauthor of the report. “We believe that key difference will drive the continued growth and evolution of Internet job search, and we look forward to seeing how future technological developments can continue to drive down the time job seekers spend searching for a new job without limiting—and in fact expanding—their employment options.”

This report shows just how much job search behavior is changing around the world and gives a better understanding of the global job market. The Internet drastically changed the way we live, work and look for jobs. About 30 to 40 years ago, job seekers only had a few options between paper media, referrals and networking to find work. Today, more and more people have daily access to broadband Internet, whether from home or on the go.

And among all the job search channels available today, the Internet is clearly the favorite with 55% of survey respondents using this medium, which is good news for the online recruiting professionals and all our fellow job boards. Looks like the online recruitment industry has good days ahead!