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Follow UsBURLINGAME, USA: A new survey from Jobvite reveals more than 22 million Americans used social networks to find their most recent job opportunity — up 7.7 million from last year’s survey.
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With the national unemployment rate at 9.0 per cent in October, fierce competition has 54 per cent of all job seekers using Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter in their hunt for work.
Jobvite's Social Job Seeker Survey 2011 polled more than 1,200 members of the workforce in a national online survey.
More than two-thirds (69 per cent) are job seekers — people either actively looking for work or employed but open to a new job.
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The report further added that, Nearly nine out of 10 job seekers (86 per cent) have a social media profile. Facebook has the majority with 84 per cent of job seekers, followed by 39 per cent using Twitter and 35 per cent using LinkedIn. Nearly 1/3 of job seekers (31 per cent) have a profile on all three networks.
"Our new national survey shows that socially savvy job seekers have an advantage over their fellow job hunters and it's paying off," said Dan Finnigan, president and chief executive officer of Jobvite.
"While referrals are still the top source of new jobs, online social networks play an increasingly important role in job hunting today. The job referrals happening on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter benefit employers, job seekers and the economy overall," added Finnigan.
Next: Job seekers on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn
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Job seekers on Facebook:
Facebook has the highest volume of job seeking activity overall, with more people receiving job referrals, updating profiles and making new professional connections.
But more than 1/3 of job seekers that have a Facebook profile don't use it in any way to look for work. On the other hand, nearly all job seekers with a profile on LinkedIn and almost ¾ of those on Twitter leverage their networks for job hunting.
Job seekers on LinkedIn:
* 26 per cent of all job seekers (88 per cent of those with a profile) have used LinkedIn to hunt for work in the past year.
* 15 per cent have updated LinkedIn with professional information.
* 9 per cent received a job referral from a LinkedIn contact.
* 10.2 Million Americans credit LinkedIn as a source that led to their current job.
* 69 per cent of LinkedIn-using job seekers are male, 53 per cent are under the age of 40, 54 per cent earn more than $75,000 and 58 per cent are college graduates.
Job seeking on Twitter:
* 23 per cent of all job seekers (71 per cent of those with a profile) have leveraged Twitter in their job hunt.
* 8 per cent have updated Twitter with professional information.
* 6 per cent received a job referral through Twitter.
* 8 Million Americans credit Twitter as a source that led to their current job
* 65 per cent of Twitter-using job seekers are male, 69 per cent are under the age of 40, 48 per cent earn more than $75,000 and 49 per cent are college graduates.
Highlights of the survey:
* 48 per cent of all job seekers (63 per cent of those with a profile) have done at least one social job hunting activity on Facebook in the last year.
* One in five job seekers added professional information to their Facebook profile in the past year.
* 16 per cent received a job referral from a Facebook friend.
* 18.4 Million Americans credit Facebook as a source that led to their current job.
* 56 per cent of Facebook-using job seekers are male, 64 per cent are under the age of 40, 36 per cent earn more than $75,000 and 42 per cent are college graduates.