The Changing Recruitment Landscape.
Presented by Gillian Meier, CEO of Jobs.co.za - South Africa at RecruitX'11.
With the emergence of Mobile, Social Media and in particular Local Search technology, the traditional recruitment landscape has been revolutionised.
Anyone in recruitment will know that social media has become a standard fixture of the recruiting process. We're constantly seeing data come out showing that sites like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook play an increasingly common role in hiring and this is a trend that is sure to continue to rise.
In the US about 89% of companies are currently using social media for recruiting with LinkedIn being the most popular. While the stats are far lower in South Africa, there is a definite trend towards local companies adopting a social recruitment strategy. A survey conducted by Jobs.co.za at the end of last year reflect a 32% increase since the previous year in use of social media to find talent, also with LinkedIn being the most frequently used by both agencies and employers.
Job Seekers are also starting to rely more on social media and referrals from friends for jobs. The recent Avusa work-in-life survey indicated that 17% of their readers turn to social media to look for a job, while 69% use the internet to search for jobs.
With the introduction of Mobile platforms, Recruiters can now extend their services to those Job Seekers who are continuously "on the go", as well as to those who do not have direct access to the Internet. Access to the web through a mobile device offers convenience and a cost effective means to relevant content, and far exceeds the usage of the internet through personal computers.
Did you know that 65% of Google Search in SA takes place over the weekend via mobile web? Mobile has the largest reach of all mediums in South Africa, and as an online job portal we know that we cannot afford to ignore it and neither can you.
For approximately 4 million South Africans, the mobile device is their only connection between their reality and our online world.
The way in which search behaviour has evolved affects both job and candidate hunters.
Local search is considered the most significant area for growth in online user behaviour as internet users move towards searching for things in a geo-location (town or city) as opposed to the previously broader search terms. In March 2010 studies showed that 20% of all searches on Google were related to location, however it is said (www.urbanmappinc.com) that searches done with local intent has now shifted to 40%, where 5% specifically include the city or state/ region name in the search query.
These statistics reiterate what we have known for a while, that location search optimisation should become a crucial part of every companies recruitment strategy. If 40% (or even 20%) of all searches are for location specific information, then we could be losing out on 20 to 40 percent of our potential traffic if we don't adapt our strategies to accommodate these users. With Google investing more time into local search, it seems fitting, if not essential, that we do the same.
Technology has enabled us as recruiters to demand absolute ROI in every step of the recruitment process and from every medium used.
Whether you are using a job portal, a Recruitment Management or Application Tracking system, an advanced technology driven screening facility or simply your own website to attract, screen and filter talent, the Internet has dramatically changed the way we do it and companies are rapidly adapting their recruitment methodologies to meet this fast-changing innovative industry.
Jobs.co.za prides itself in keeping itself (and its clients) up to date on the latest trends in Recruitment Technology, Advertising and Sourcing techniques which is why we thought it fitting to host an event such as this today. We hope that RecruitX will offer you as recruiters an interactive platform for open discussions with experts and other recruiting professionals.
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RecruiterGuy - The 'WHAT' before the 'cloud'by RecruiterGuy424 views
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