Survey Reveals 89% of U.S. Companies Plan to Use Social Recruiting in 2011

Rapid Growth of Hiring Through LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter; Employers Plan to Invest More in Recruiting Across Multiple Social Networks As Competition for Talent Intensifies

BURLINGAME – July 12, 2011 – Jobvite, the leading recruiting platform for the social web, today announced the findings of its annual Social Recruiting Survey and introduced the Jobvite Index which tracks actual social recruiting results. This new data reveals that social recruiting continues rapid growth among U.S. companies with 89% planning to recruit through social media this year, up from 83% in 2010. Most (64%) have expanded their social recruiting programs to two or more networks. As competition for skilled labor grows, social recruiting tops respondents’ list two years running as the most popular area to increase investment.

The Jobvite survey, conducted in June, polled more than 800 U.S.-based human resources and recruitment professionals on their social recruiting activities and intentions. But to discover the actual results for companies, the Jobvite Index aggregates social recruiting data drawn from Jobvite customers. Social recruiting applications by Jobvite are used by over 500 companies, such as Whole Foods Market, Starbucks Coffee Company, Zappos.com, Inc., Yelp and Etsy.

Social Media and Referrals Top All Other Categories for Increased Investment

The fourth annual survey once again shows growth in social recruiting. Almost 2/3 of employers have now made successful hires through social networks, and a majority of companies plan to invest more in social recruiting in the coming year.

• 64% of survey respondents have hired through social networks in 2011, vs. 58% in 2010.
• 55% will increase their budgets for social recruiting and 30% for referrals, while only 16% will spend more on job boards.
• Survey respondents continue to rank referrals as the most highly rated source for candidate quality.
• Jobvite Index data confirms this quality assessment: 1 in 10 referral candidates are hired compared to 1 in 100 general applicants.

“The data show that recruiting departments, like marketing departments, are reaching and engaging their targets in multiple social networks,” said Dan Finnigan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Jobvite. “The fastest moving companies increasingly use the richness of profiles in LinkedIn, the power of online connections in Facebook, and the instant reach of Twitter to develop valuable talent pools and make new hires.”

Multi-Network Recruiting Gets Results

While almost all surveyed companies (87%) use LinkedIn for social recruiting (up from 78% last year), most target talent on at least two networks. More than half (55%) use Facebook and 47% use Twitter.

• 64% of surveyed companies use at least two networks in their recruiting efforts, and 40% use three or more.
• The Jobvite Index found that over the last six months 73% of all social hires came from LinkedIn, 20% from Facebook and 7% from Twitter.
• However, 43% of social referral hires on Jobvite came from Facebook; LinkedIn generated 41% and Twitter produced 16%.
• LinkedIn users received 52% of all social job referrals, while Facebook and Twitter each received 24%.

“Jobvite’s new data confirms our research that social recruiting has become an essential element of today’s corporate recruiting strategy,” said Josh Bersin, President and CEO of Bersin & Associates, a leading industry research firm. “The data also points out that referral-based recruiting is a new ‘secret weapon’ for talent acquisition. Companies that focus heavily on referral strategies, enabled by social networks, are delivering the highest quality of hire at the lowest overall cost.”

The War for Talent Heats Up With Increased Hiring – and Poaching

Proof that the labor market continues to recover, 67% of survey respondents said they plan to increase hiring over the next 12 months (up from 56% in 2010). They will almost universally employ social recruiting, and most companies anticipate more hiring competition.

• 77% of survey respondents expect increased competition for talent.
• Nearly 2/3 (61%) of companies intend to recruit from competitors in the year ahead.
• Nearly 2/3 (61%) of companies intend to recruit from competitors in the year ahead.

“Approximately 50 percent of our hires so far this year have been the result of employee referral,” said Ken Perluss, director or staffing at Coupons.com Incorporated. “With Jobvite, every one of our employees can quickly and easily share information about open jobs with their social networks and help find qualified candidates; it’s a powerful competitive advantage as we rapidly expand.”

Download the full report on the Jobvite Social Recruiting Survey 2011 or see the complete Jobvite Index.