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Stuart Gentle Publisher at Onrec

UK is five times more successful at generating applications - 07/2001

Five times more applicants find jobs through online recruitment than previously suggested

Online recruitment in the UK is five times more successful at generating applications from quality candidates than has previously been suggested by industry surveys and press reports. This finding has been revealed in the third wave of the Online Recruitment and Employment Survey (ORES), the UKs largest ever piece of research on employment and the Internet, commissioned by workthing ñ the online employment network ñ and conducted on a six monthly basis by independent research company BMRB*.

Todate, research into this area has judged the success rate of online job postings by the number of online applications completed, ignoring the fact that far more applications come from different routes. However, the latest ORES data shows that only 20% of jobseekers apply by filling in the form online, but four times as many apply by other methods such as postal applications, telephone calls or other online methods such as emailing the contact at the employer.

The latest workthing results also show that the industry is still feeling the benefit of strong growth. There are now 6.3 million Internet users who have used an online recruitment site ñ a growth of over 50% in the last 12 months.

The findings also demonstrate that Internet users are embracing the benefits of searching for jobs online. When asked about its advantages, they rated it above trade magazines, recruitment consultants and newspapers in terms of use, convenience, selection of jobs and the ability to remain anonymous. These benefits are clearly driving people online to manage their careers; online recruitment is the second most popular method through which people think that they will find their next job, behind only word of mouth, and ahead of national newspapers, local newspapers, trade magazines and recruitment consultants.

Andy Baker, managing director of workthing, commented: ìOnline recruitment has become an extremely effective, cost-efficient tool for recruiters that is capable of delivering quality candidates across all industries. The latest ORES research shows that we are five times more effective than has been suggested by recent press reports, in which data on the industry has been misunderstood.î

He continued: ìThe best online recruitment sites provide a win-win situation for recruiters and career-minded job-hunters alike, allowing the best candidates to be matched with the best jobs that are suitable for them. The HR industry should be focusing on the benefits of using the Internet rather than criticising online recruitment based on misinterpreted data. We would like to see all Internet recruiters introduce ad-marking to give an accurate measure of exactly which candidates have been delivered through the Internet to ensure that there is no doubt over its effectiveness. This way, we can concentrate on continuing to deliver the best possible service to both recruiters and prospective employees.î

www.workthing.com