Recruiters Reveal What They Look For In Applicants
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Recently, Jobvite, a recruiting intelligence platform, surveyed 1,404 recruiting and HR professionals from a range of industries on how talent is sourced and what current trends are being seen in the labor market. The survey, conducted in July 2015, reveals how recruiters find candidates, what stumbling blocks they encounter, what they notice most, and how they evaluate candidates. Additionally, the survey included advice on how to best utilize social media.

The top recruiting sources- Referrals still remain the #1 source of all hires at 78%. Social and professional networks represent 56% of hires and intern-to-hire programs come in at 55%. Although it is very tempting to spend the majority of your job search time applying for online positions, it is clear from this data that building relationships is a much more effective method to landing a job.

Stumbling Blocks- Internal bottlenecks appear to have a big impact on the time it takes to hire a candidate. Recruiters reported that the biggest challenge (49%) is the amount of time that a hiring manager takes to move a candidate through the recruiting process. The next biggest challenge (41%) is the time it takes for a hiring manager to review resumes. Salary negotiations hold up the process 19% of the time. Although recruiters are the ones that you most often interact with as an applicant, it appears that the hiring managers are the ones responsible for the extended process.

What recruiters notice most- The #1 thing that recruiters consider most on an online profile is the length of job tenure (74%) followed by the length of tenure with your current employer (57%). Other important considerations are mutual connections (34%), commitment to professional organizations (30%), and examples of written or design work (29%).

Evaluating Candidates- Most organizations still rely on resumes and in-person interviews to evaluate candidates. What really matters most is culture fit (88%), previous job experience (87%), and characteristics such as enthusiasm (87%), industry knowledge (85%), conversation skills (79%), punctuality (66%), and appearance (63%).

Advice for Social Media- A full 76% of recruiters recommend job seekers share details about volunteer, professional, or social engagement work. Spelling and grammar mistakes are noticed by 72% of respondents. Half of the recruiters (52%) suggest that you engage with current events appropriately. On the negative side, 75% view talking about marijuana use as inappropriate and 54% view alcohol use as a drawback. If you are looking for a job in communications or marketing, be sure to engage in social media because 33% of recruiters in this industry view limited engagement as a negative.

With social media, job search has become a little more complicated; however, it still boils down to the same basic principles- engage with your network, have patience in the process, and present yourself as an enthusiastic, well-informed individual.