Brits Aloud ñ 89% of jobseekers want to speak out about their job hunting experiences

- 89% of jobseekers believe feedback is important
- 75% of jobseekers place a strong emphasis on positive feedback
- But 58% feel that their feedback is still currently ignored
- 85% of job seekers would be unlikely to use a recruiter again after a negative experience

Forget the stiff upper lip, we're now an empowered and confident nation that wants to interact and engage with the brands we deal with. Indeed, a huge 67% of us are giving regular feedback to companies on our everyday experiences but, according to research revealed today from Jobsite RecruitRank (www.jobsite.co.uk), when it comes to providing feedback on our job hunting experiences we are less forthcoming.

As the voice of the consumer continues to get louder, Jobsite RecruitRank - the recruitment feedback system that enables the jobseeker to comment on their job hunting experience - believes companies need to better understand how to respond to feedback or risk losing business. Research has shown that a whopping 85% of us would be unlikely to use a recruitment company again after a negative experience.

However, although job seekers may act with their feet after a negative experience the research shows that theyíre actually less likely to provide feedback to recruitment agencies than they would other organisations. With their sense of ëpower to the peopleí significantly lower in this area of their lives the survey highlights the need for jobseekers to become more transparent and confident if they want to improve their chances of getting the right job. Whilst 89% of jobseekers believe itís important to give feedback, only 38% actually have the confidence to provide honest comments to their recruiter. Of the remainder, 14% believe the decision making power still rests with the recruiter so would only ever tell them what they wanted to hear, whilst 15% would never consider giving negative feedback in case it jeopardised their chances of getting a job.

At the same time recruiters need to become more willing to engage in open feedback if they want to find their ideal candidate. An encouraging 41% of jobseekers said they had received a response to their feedback from their recruitment agency but 58% reported that their feedback had been ignored. Less than 10% of respondents said they had responses to feedback within 24 hours with 36% believing that their feedback made no difference anyway.

The RecruitRank research also reveals a dramatic shift in the way that we, as a nation, are feeding back. Where once customer feedback meant a complaints letter to customer services, there is now a growing trend towards positive feedback with 75% of jobseekers placing a strong emphasis on the value of positive feedback. At the same time, the trend for anonymous feedback is disappearing - 45% of those interviewed would prefer to give feedback in person, with just 10% of people opting for anonymous feedback.

Keith Potts, Managing Director, Jobsite, said: ìThe results of our survey clearly suggest that there is a growing generation of job seekers out there who expect to have a dialogue with the brands they interact with and for these consumers the role of feedback is becoming more important and integral to the job seeking process. Recruiters have a difficult job to do and there is a careful balance that they need to maintain between meeting the needs of both the client and the candidate. Through Jobsite RecruitRank we are empowering more jobseekers to give feedback ñ both negative and positive - which can vary from providing highly valuable insights to perhaps re-enforcing what recruitment consultants may already be thinking about.î

Potts continues: ìIn 2007 we are looking to double the level of feedback on RecruitRank, from the 200,000 pieces of individual feedback we have received to date, encouraging job seekers to focus on the positive elements as well as negative. At the same time, we are also going to be making it easier for our recruiters to respond to candidatesí feedback through a new dialogue channel helping them to respond to what the job seeker audience is saying.î

In the lead up to the 2007 RecruitRank Awards in November Jobsite is calling on the UKís 880,400[1] jobseekers to take ownership over their recruitment process. From the start of July, Jobsite is motivating its jobseekers to increase the level of feedback they are giving to the recruitment industry through RecruitRank. They are encouraging people to focus not just on the negative but also the positive experiences, to enable Jobsite and its recruiters to continue to improve the job seeker process and make it an easier and more satisfying one for all concerned.

Jobsite will also be introducing a number of innovations to RecruitRank to continue to help facilitate more effective communications and feedback within the recruitment industry. These new innovations include a new dialogue channel on RecruitRank to enable recruiters to respond directly back to any feedback they receive from job seekers. Jobsite will also be introducing a 5th question into the RecruitRank job seeker questionnaire. Bespoke to each recruiter the aim is to continue to build the level of market intelligence and insight RecruitRank provides to Jobsite customers.

The 2007 Jobsite RecruitRank Awards will take place in November 2007. All categories are voted for by the jobseeker.

[1] Office of National Statistics (May 2007)