Social Recruiting Globally According to Jobvite. Really? Honestly?
Every year there is a social recruiting survey from Jobvite that is hugely quoted and cited everywhere (which is great marketing and branding, obviously) in the recruiting world. It is lauded by social recruiting people (software providers especially), as the demonstration that social recruiting has gone mainstream.
Some of their stats are as follows:
- A large majority of recruiters (71%) consider themselves savvy in social recruiting, having a sizeable understanding of what to look for in social profiles.
- 92% of respondents use or plan to use social media for recruiting, an increase of almost ten percent from the 83% using social recruiting in 2010.
- 73% have successfully hired a candidate through social networks, making social recruiting a highly effective source of quality new hires.
The problem I have with these results, is that they DO NOT reflect the many conversations I have with companies - both corporates and recruitment agencies - in the UK and Europe. Not even close!
There is definately an acceptance that social recruiting is the future, but not necessarily the immediate future for many (unfortunately).
I am not questioning the actual survey done from Jobvite (or in fact the Jobvite platform), but my question is whether their 1000 people global data set is, well, that global! I would expect these results from a US based survey (Jobvite are US based), but wider afield…… not quite. Also, who did they survey? Their customers or prospective customers maybe? In other words companies that have already taken their social steps. Anyway you get my point.
[If anyone from Jobvite reads this and wants to share their dataset in more detail, I am very happy to be proved wrong]
I appreciate that data and surveys can be subjective and manipulated any which way you choose to 'prove' whatever you need. Tell me what Jobvite are selling again………. oh yes a social recruiting platform/service ………… there you go!
I am a HUGE advocate of integrating social media into your recruitment strategy, but I would put the UK and European market at the 'we know we have to do it, but we are not sure how' stage (from my experiences). And as for the whole Facebook referral piece, Europe is no-where near the US with social media referral adoption levels, which I am sure is more of a cultural issue, and will no doubt increase with time.
I know this blog is read around the world, so it would be great if readers could provide their feedback below of these figures from the perspective in their country.
You can get a copy of the Jobvite survey here.
So, what do you think - are these Jobvite stats fair or not, in your experience?
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Comments 11
WP Strauss
Hi Andy,
Feel a bit like you regarding this years survey and slightly “bleh”. Nothing new
WP Strauss
@silversurferman
IBlume
Totally agreed: The survey results does not match “not even close” the situation we find in Germany.
BillBoorman
Andy,
I think you need to look at the questions as well as the dataset and headlines. If you consider LinkedIn, Vidao, Xing, Hives or whatever the local platform is, I think it is probably right. 73% hiring one candidate a year is probably not inaccurate, the real question is how many other people they hired to put it in context. Whilst there are some, I don’t find too many recruiters without a LinkedIn profile.
92% probably do have some kind of intention to do something this year. What, and if they actually do is a different question, but most will probably try something.
The 71% bit is perception. I meet plenty of recruiters who think they are savvy but the question is always “compared to who?”. The referral bit, I’m trying to get hold of some data on this. I’m not sure the US is well ahead of Europe from what I see. It really depends what you term a “referral”, for many this is really a job share. I don’t have an issue with the Jobvite numbers, it is the interpretation of what they mean that is more of an issue.
Bill
Andy Headworth
Thanks Bill for adding input to this.
It is a fair point based on the word, ‘intention’. But while they may have a LinkedIn profile, and ‘think’ they are recruiting via it, not as many as we would like to see are making it a useful channel for them (from my experiences).
Interpretation is in the eye of the beholder obviously - but it is frustrating when these figures keep being flung around.
As I said in the post - good marketing material!
Brenda Burch Dumont
Somewhere, somewhere yesterday amidst all the tweets and posts and updates on the Jobvite survey I read the composition of those 1,000 companies. Jobvite did admit the majority were in the US, although did state ‘some’ in Europe. And, if I remember correctly, they did state that ‘most’ were not their customers. Sorry, a little unvalid without a url.
As for my recruiting world in the Retail industry in Canada, I can say that if you removed the utilization of LinkedIn by many recruiters, (and many not correctly or fully) most would say they are just beginning and not sure how to strategize and utilize social recruiting.
(Disclosure: I do contract to a Retail-specific job board in addition to my social media consultant activities).
Andy Headworth
A big thanks Brenda. To be honest that is what I expected, as the alternative would be some strange figures
I think the same goes for everywhere with the recruiter/LinkedIn point. Many are still sticking to the old ways and not willing to embrace the fact that the industry is changing.
StephenTurnock
Looks like ‘perception’ at the responder end as well as intention of ‘interpretation’ at the marketeer end, makes for non-reliable figures – especially a small sample! I suspect jobvite could get some more realistic stats from their ATS data from clients regarding candidate source to hire all the way to placement – assuming it goes 360 to placement as usually there are disconnects along the way.
Some recruiters likely don’t know or have the facts on real source especially the ones operating high numbers which are coming from all directions and many in duplicate and also for the reliable referral ratio, reliability in tracking all the way to the actual placement – but as Bill says, is a probable perceived ‘job share’ in reality [which is a feature of the jobvite platform as well] and different from a real referral that drives a quality placement.
Jobvite itself would look attractive to some recruiters but it is a ‘broadcaster’ of adverts to anyone, rather than an ‘engagement’ with relevant community ~ unless a recruiter has really got to grips with their talent and channels to which it broadcasts and operates the means to engage right back.
I hope the 71% moderate to exceptional socialrecruiters do more than one hire per year
And what magic can increase both the quality and quantity of candidate response at the same time? That’s like the cigarette – where addicted users really believe it can relax them at the same time as it can make them more alert! Social-Stats on Super-Drug then!
AlastairBlair
I tend to agree: there are variations, not just by geography but also between different industries and by larger sectoral groups. And for all the huge interest in blogs such as this, the majority of recruiters are small c conservative…
The recent research that I conducted, along with the inestimable Tony Harding, looked at perceptions of social media as a recruitment tool, principally in Scotland and also considered the differences between private and public sectors. You can see this here: link to thepotentmix.co.uk
Andy Headworth
Thanks Stephen,
I spoke to a vendor yesterday that knows the stats are not necessarily the total picture, but is using them to ‘wow’ investors to get ££ backing.
As Bill said - all in the interpretation.
Andy Headworth
Alastair,
Totally agree that a large number of recruiters are conservative in nature. Many are great procrastinators as well!!
Just downloaded the report and will be reading on the train later. Thanks
Advisor Databases
Hi.
The blog is quite enlightening on the prominence of social recruiting and the recruiting agents’ focus on the same. Well, I must tell you that there is the pioneer in the market of Recruitment Solutions – Financial Media Group. As long as it exists the future of social recruiting is quite bright.