There are some things in life which are easy to predict - like no matter how fast you’re driving in the fast lane of the M1, there’s always a Volvo stuck up your rear end with its headlights on (and the only reason you were out there in the first place was to pass the dawdling Rover hogging the middle of the road).
You also know, that try as you might to get to the bottom of the linen basket, there’s always one sock that never quite makes it to the washing machine (here I am showing off my new man “I do the washing” credentials).
And as far as I’m concerned (and, please, excuse the imminent gloat), the role that the internet has in job hunting has always been equally easy to predict. And here’s why:
Let’s start with the fact that you’re reading this column. Like the majority of people, you’re interested in your job and career - in fact, in the main it only ranks behind partners, family and friends. Your career is one of your most significant life forces and indeed tends to define what you can afford (both in money and time) to commit to the rest of your life.
However, although you’re reading this column, you’re unlikely to be in active job-seeking, CV-mailing mode. If readers of this magazine reflect studies of the population as a whole, 68% would say that they would change job if they could, 32% plan to do something, but only 3% are likely to be actively doing anything about it right now.
So, if that’s the case, why do advertisers fill hundreds of pages with job ads every month when only a tiny fraction of people are active job seekers? Because they’re after the people who aren’t actively looking for a job. They’re after the people who are “just browsing” to “keep up with the market”. They’re after people who are happy (well, happy-ish) and successful in their current roles.
In other words, they are trying to get some of the 68% to become some of the 3%.
And that is the beauty of the printed product. You can flick through the pages of this magazine far more quickly and easily and in far many more places than any web-based version could ever achieve.
But that’s not to say there isn’t a role for the internet - quite the reverse; it’s critical to the future of recruitment. For a start, the better ads in this magazine will not be cluttered with all that situations-vacant-small-print nonsense - because all that data, and more, will be found in the online support to the advertisement.
That’s part of the reason that the revamped www.grocerjobs.co.uk works so well (okay, that reeks of sycophancy, but it’s true).
What’s more, for the 3% who are actively looking, that also acts as a great archive and resource tool for job seeking in this industry.
And then when it comes to applying for a job, online is also the place to be. Some employers and consultants may complain about the ease of e-mailing and being deluged with too many applications, but there is no doubt that, used correctly, the e-mailed CV and covering letter is quicker and more convenient. There are also some employers using online selection procedures, which again, when used correctly, are a real boon. But sadly, right now too many take too long to complete and are not sensitive enough to the needs of candidates. However, despite those niggles, online selection and candidate management will be the way of the future.
Which, all in all, is why this columnist has consistently predicted that there will always be a role for both the printed medium as well as the online product - and that those roles are different. If anyone is casually interested in seeing what jobs are on the market, then the jobs section of a trade magazine is a great place to look - and a great place for the advertiser to lay down temptation. But beyond that - whether providing more information, acting as an archive or physically applying for the job - then online is the place for recruitment to be.
To paraphrase Mark Twain, predictions of the death of recruitment advertising have been exaggerated.
n Simon Howard is a founder of Work Communications and writes the Jobfile column for The Sunday Times.
You also know, that try as you might to get to the bottom of the linen basket, there’s always one sock that never quite makes it to the washing machine (here I am showing off my new man “I do the washing” credentials).
And as far as I’m concerned (and, please, excuse the imminent gloat), the role that the internet has in job hunting has always been equally easy to predict. And here’s why:
Let’s start with the fact that you’re reading this column. Like the majority of people, you’re interested in your job and career - in fact, in the main it only ranks behind partners, family and friends. Your career is one of your most significant life forces and indeed tends to define what you can afford (both in money and time) to commit to the rest of your life.
However, although you’re reading this column, you’re unlikely to be in active job-seeking, CV-mailing mode. If readers of this magazine reflect studies of the population as a whole, 68% would say that they would change job if they could, 32% plan to do something, but only 3% are likely to be actively doing anything about it right now.
So, if that’s the case, why do advertisers fill hundreds of pages with job ads every month when only a tiny fraction of people are active job seekers? Because they’re after the people who aren’t actively looking for a job. They’re after the people who are “just browsing” to “keep up with the market”. They’re after people who are happy (well, happy-ish) and successful in their current roles.
In other words, they are trying to get some of the 68% to become some of the 3%.
And that is the beauty of the printed product. You can flick through the pages of this magazine far more quickly and easily and in far many more places than any web-based version could ever achieve.
But that’s not to say there isn’t a role for the internet - quite the reverse; it’s critical to the future of recruitment. For a start, the better ads in this magazine will not be cluttered with all that situations-vacant-small-print nonsense - because all that data, and more, will be found in the online support to the advertisement.
That’s part of the reason that the revamped www.grocerjobs.co.uk works so well (okay, that reeks of sycophancy, but it’s true).
What’s more, for the 3% who are actively looking, that also acts as a great archive and resource tool for job seeking in this industry.
And then when it comes to applying for a job, online is also the place to be. Some employers and consultants may complain about the ease of e-mailing and being deluged with too many applications, but there is no doubt that, used correctly, the e-mailed CV and covering letter is quicker and more convenient. There are also some employers using online selection procedures, which again, when used correctly, are a real boon. But sadly, right now too many take too long to complete and are not sensitive enough to the needs of candidates. However, despite those niggles, online selection and candidate management will be the way of the future.
Which, all in all, is why this columnist has consistently predicted that there will always be a role for both the printed medium as well as the online product - and that those roles are different. If anyone is casually interested in seeing what jobs are on the market, then the jobs section of a trade magazine is a great place to look - and a great place for the advertiser to lay down temptation. But beyond that - whether providing more information, acting as an archive or physically applying for the job - then online is the place for recruitment to be.
To paraphrase Mark Twain, predictions of the death of recruitment advertising have been exaggerated.
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