Online Job Hunting fails to deliver the midas touch for candidates

Contract workers still prefer talking to a real person than going online to find a new job, according to research from Resourcing Solutions Limited a specialist recruitment consultancy in the rail, engineering and construction sectors.

According to its research over 90% of all UK job hunters have at one time or another looked for work online using any number of job notice boards and specialist online recruitment sites. However over two thirds of respondents stated that they never took it any further, citing instead that they would prefer to talk to a real person who had in-depth knowledge of the market and the company in question.

Despite this, todayís potential employee is more than happy to use the latest online technology in their working environment, drawing a very clear line between those who use the Web in work with those who use it to find work.

Key findings include:

91% of respondents stated they would be happy to go paperless and fill in timesheets online arguing that such paper intensive tasks could be eradicated to increase productivity

Accessing documents online was also top of the wish list for many of those people surveyed. A staggering 82% stated that remote access to documents and other work related material would transform their day-to-day working lives

HR was also singled out as an area that could benefit from automation, with online access to the latest health and safety information,

With Facebook, LinkedIn and other social networking sites now at the fore of the publicís consciousness, it came as no surprise that 60% of respondents felt that they would really benefit from access to one form of networking site or another in their working lives

Richard Lawrance, Managing Director, Resourcing Solutions Limited, commented: ìThere is a very clear divide here as to how people in the work place are using the Internet and Web based applications. On the one hand the overwhelming majority of people do check the Internet Bulletin Boards for jobs, but instantly revert to people when actually applying for a new job. This indicates to us the vitally important role recruitment consultants play in the job hunting market as they understand the human elements at play, the market and the employer. That is not to say that job notice boards do not have a part to play, particularly in promoting opportunities to a wider audience.î

ìHowever, once in the workplace there is tremendous demand for web based applications that can help people improve their own personal productivity. For employers the message is clear: facilitate access to documentation, HR, timesheets and other productivity tools and you will improve the morale and working environment for your employees,î he concluded.