How People And Employers Really Connect

WEDDLEís announced the results, today, of its first Source of Employment Survey.

Conducted between July and August of this year, the poll drew over 1,500 responses to the question: Where did you find your last job? Hereís what respondents told us:

More than one-third (34%) of the respondents said they found their last job online, at a job board. That was more than three times greater than the second place source, which was receiving a call from a headhunter. It was cited by 10% of the respondents.

Networking came in a close third at 9.3%. There are many kinds of networking, however, so we also asked which was most helpful. According to our survey participants, networking at a business event was twice as effective as networking at a social event Ö if youíre looking for a job.

Fourth on the list was a referral by an employee of the company at 8.7%. While this could be considered a form of networking, we set it apart in order to deter-mine specifically its usefulness.

And in a surprise finishógiven all of the commentary about how Americans donít read them very much any moreónewspapers rounded out the top five most effective sources of employment with the votes of 8% of the respondents.

What were the least effective ways of connecting employers and job seekers? Our respondents pointed to the following:

An ad posted on a companyís Web-site, which was identified by just 2.6% of those in the survey, and

An ad listed in the publication of their professional association, which was reported by an almost invisible 0.6% of the respondents.
In fact, neither of these job search methods was even as effective as starting your own company and creating your own job; that strategy garnered 3% of the votes.

Equally as important, people seem to be learning from their experience. When asked where they expect to find their next job, they overwhelmingly gave the nod to the sources that were most effective in finding their last job. According to our respondents, theyíll use:

Ads posted on an Internet job board (69.7%), and

Networking at work or another business location (7.8%); just 1.9% said they would rely on networking at social events.

All of the other methods and sources of employment each garnered less than 4% of the responses. For example, responding to ads posted on a companyís Web-site was selected by just 3.2% of the respondents; that was even less than the 3.9% who said they were simply going to mail their resume to the employer.

Why is this information important? WEDDLEís CEO, Peter Weddle, puts it this way: ìWe all have limited time and resources. Knowing which strategies work bestówhich actually bring the right candidate and the right employer togetheróenable us to make smart choices.î

For individuals, that means the Source of Employment Survey identifies which job search methods are most likely to help them find and land their dream job. As Weddle puts it, ìthis information is the key to maximizing your ROI Ö your return on the Internet.î

For recruiters, the Survey will help them avoid the potential misperceptions of traditional ìsource of hireî studies. For example, if a candidate is hired after submitting their resume through an organizationís Web-site, the recruiter thinks that site is the source of hire. It could just as easily not be, however. Perhaps the individual heard about the opening from a friend who works at the company, and would never otherwise have even visited the Web-site. The misperception caused by the source of hire information could then lead to less than optimal recruitment advertising and strategy choices by the employer.

WEDDLEís 2005 Source of Employment Survey is the first empirically-based poll of what strategies are most effective in bring job seekers and employers to an outcome they both want: the right person in the right job. Individuals could select from among 16 different job search strategies ranging from ìAd posted on an Internet job boardî and ìAd posted on a companyís Web-siteî to ìResponded to a notice posted in the storeî and ìSocial networking site.î In addition, they could also select ìOtherî and identify a method that was not included among the alternatives. In this last category, the most frequently mentioned source of employment was a college or university placement center.

For additional information about WEDDLEís 2005 Source of Employment Survey, please contact Peter Weddle at 203.964.1888.