The bad news: dot-com layoffs. The good news: the Internet is a pretty useful tool if you're looking for a job. More than 40 percent of job seekers who used the Internet to post their resume or retrieve job listings got interviews as a result, according to Lee Hecht Harrison.
More than 40 percent of job seekers who used the Internet to post their resume or retrieve job listings got interviews as a result, according to a survey of 753 outplaced managers by international outplacement consulting firm Lee Hecht Harrison.
Even at the highest salary levels — those making more than $150,000 in their last position — 42 percent landed interviews as a result of their online effort.
“There’s a perception that online resume posting and listing retrieval isn’t appropriate at the very senior level, but that isn’t reflected in our findings,” said Bernadette Kenney, executive VP of Lee Hecht Harrison. “While there’s a higher rate of interviews among individuals at lower salaries, there’s not the drop-off one might expect.”
The survey also found it wasn’t only technology workers who used the Internet to their job seeking advantage. While for most functions, the percentage of job seekers who landed interviews were in the low-40-percent range, 69 percent of HR prospects got interviews, possibly because they know where to look for job information on the Web.
| Has Use of the Internet Led to Job Interviews? Salary Range |
||||||
| $30,000 40,000 |
$41,000 60,000 |
$61,000 75,000 |
$76,000 100,000 |
$101,000 150,000 |
More than $150,000 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | 56% | 49% | 49% | 38% | 43% | 42% |
| No | 44% | 51% | 51% | 62% | 57% | 58% |
| Source: Lee Hecht Harrison | ||||||
Almost all (97 percent) of respondents used the Internet to research organizations they were interested in, 96 percent used it to find out about job openings, and 76 percent to post their resumes online. Only 2 percent didn’t use the Internet in their job search. Nearly half of those who didn’t post their resumes on the Internet express concern about confidentiality, and 43 percent were not convinced of the value of doing so. Eighteen percent said it isn’t appropriate at their professional level.
A study by Web development and Internet marketing firm Hanrick Associates found that corporate recruiting Web sites have become the leading influence on job seekers’ perceptions of a company. The study, “E-Recruiting: Using the Internet to Win Top Talent” found that more than 90 percent of graduating MBAs check company Web sites before submitting their resumes, and that nearly 70 percent say recruiting-specific material on the Web influences them “very much” or “significantly.”
Other attributes prized by Web surfing job seekers include simplicity and hard news over flashy multimedia and softer features like employee testimonials and company culture. Also, regularly updating the material drew strong approval, suggesting that many job seekers return to company Web sites multiple times as they move through the recruiting process.
