Main image of article Job Seekers Slow to Adopt Mobile Search Apps

Although networking remains the most effective way to find a job, online recruiting sites are gaining ground. Between 2012 and 2016, the market for job sites is expected to grow to $7.5 billion, a compounded 5.5 percent annual rate, according to a report by research firm TechNavio. Behind the momentum: Mobile job search apps and increased penetration of social media. Lost Mobile PhoneTechNavio says that more than 70 percent of job seekers have downloaded at least one smartphone search app, but only 15 percent are using the apps every two weeks or more. As a result, more job-search engines are developing apps for both job hunters and employers.

Social Media Recruitment

From the employer’s perspective, social media is attractive because of its cost: Where jobs sites can charge thousands of dollars annually for their postings, many social media outlets carry the jobs for nominal cost, or even free. Plus, TechNavio’s report notes, “Social media also offers a large pool of suitable candidates.” Despite that, employers apparently still prefer the more traditional approaches of referrals, job boards and company career pages. Only 5 percent of them would rather use social media when recruiting, compared to 24 percent for job boards. Candidates seem to mirror that sentiment, with only 6 percent preferring the use of social networks to land a job. Twenty eight percent preferred job boards. The bottom line, though, is that social media recruitment is expected to grow much more quickly than online recruitment over the next several years – perhaps at a compound annual growth rate of 30 percent between 2012 and 2016, TechNavio says.

Online Challenges

One challenge online recruiters face is users' concern over security. Although TechNavio’s research didn’t turn up evidence of any major breaches or data leakage, it notes that like all websites, “online and social recruiting platforms are also vulnerable to security threats." That’s a common thread: Job seekers, too, expressed concern over the confidentiality of their personal or professional data when they respond to postings.