95% of Recruiters Anticipate Similar or Increased Competition for Skilled Workers in the Coming Year; 86% Expect to Expand Hiring
San Mateo, Calif., September 22, 2015 — Jobvite (www.jobvite.com), the comprehensive recruiting platform for emerging and enterprise companies, today announced the results of its eighth annual survey of recruiting professionals. This year, for the first time, Jobvite expanded the scope of its survey beyond social recruiting, gathering insights into all aspects of recruiting. The newly renamed “2015 Recruiter Nation Survey” gathered responses from over 1,400 recruiting and human resources professionals — both customers and non-customers — revealing the trends, challenges, and opportunities that they face when finding and hiring top talent.
This year’s data reveals a fiercely competitive market for talent — one where recruiters struggle to find high quality candidates. 56 percent of recruiters cite the lack of available skilled talent as a key stumbling block in hiring, while 95 percent of recruiters anticipate equal or increased competition for talent over the next year.
“Landing a highly skilled candidate can sometimes feel like hunting for an elusive unicorn,” said Dan Finnigan, CEO of Jobvite. “So, as this year’s Recruiter Nation study points out, recruiters need to get creative and take a multipronged approach using social media, insights gleaned from analytics, and mobile tools, while engaging the entire organization to help find and hire top talent. That’s how winning companies will stay one step ahead in this competitive career landscape.”
78 percent of recruiters report that they find their best candidates through referrals, up from 60 percent in 2014, indicating that the personal touch has become more effective than ever. The next most effective targeting methods are finding candidates through social and professional networks (56 percent), and intern-to-hire programs (55 percent).
Other notable findings are summarized below.
What Matters to Recruiters
- Over half of recruiters believe that cover letters and college GPAs are relatively unimportant in evaluating candidates.
- Among the qualities that leave the most lasting impressions on recruiters are culture fit (88 percent) and previous job experience (87 percent). Punctuality and appearance also carry some weight with recruiters after an initial interview.
- 96 percent of recruiters still count on face-to-face interviews, and 93 percent rely on resumes. But recruiters are now also diving deeper to connect with candidates using tactics like video interviews, personality tests, and sample assignments.
Tools of the Trade:
- Recruiters need to incorporate data into their work. 72 percent acknowledge data analytics as somewhat important or very important.
- A whopping 92 percent of recruiters utilize social media in either discovering or evaluating candidates.
- 87 percent of recruiters use LinkedIn, while 55 percent use Facebook and 47 percent use Twitter.
Watch Yourself! What Recruiters Notice On Social Media
- About three-quarters of recruiters view candidates positively when they post content relating to volunteer, professional, or social engagement work.
- 25 percent of recruiters report to have a negative perception of selfies, and 73 percent report that they’re neutral. Under 3 percent have a positive view of selfies!
- 54 percent of recruiters frown on social media posts showing candidates drinking alcohol, but posts that reveal marijuana use are viewed much more negatively at 75 percent.
- Don’t forget to spell check! 72 percent of recruiters respond negatively to spelling and grammar mistakes, so be sure to give that post a second read before hitting enter.
The Art of the Deal
- To help get quality talent in the door, nothing works better than a solid health care plan – 63 percent of recruiters say this is the perk candidates find most attractive. Also among the most attractive perks are 401k plans, casual dress codes, and “work from home” privileges.
- Of course, money still reigns supreme. An increased salary is one of the most effective ways to seal the deal and 69 percent of recruiters have increased initial salary offers in the last year.
Eight Years of Jobvite Social Recruiting Surveys:
About Jobvite
Jobvite is the industry leader in recruiting software that helps emerging, mid-market, and enterprise companies hire top talent easily, efficiently, and effectively. Our comprehensive and analytics-driven recruiting platform accelerates recruiting with an easy-to-use Applicant Tracking System (ATS), social recruiting capabilities, mobile-optimized branded career sites, a recruiting branding solution, on-demand video screening, advanced analytics, onboarding, and seamless integration with other HR systems. Focused exclusively on recruiting software since 2006, with offices in San Mateo and London, Jobvite has thousands of customers including LinkedIn, Schneider Electric, Amway, Zappos, and GoDaddy. To learn more and request a free demo, visit www.jobvite.com or follow us @Jobvite.