Study Finds Most Canadians Found Jobs Via the Internet

Nearly one-third of Canadians found their most recent job via the internet according to a recent study released by Kelly Services Inc. Kelly, an international temporary staffing company, released the results of their Global Workforce Index January 2008. The index is a result of a survey of 115,000 respondents in 33 countries, including 11,000 Canadians.
According to Kelly 32% of Canadians found employment online, more than any other medium, with 'word of mouth' the second best strategy accounting for more than one-fifth of successful job searches. Interestingly, only 8% of respondents found their jobs from newspaper ads.
The survey also reported that online recruitment is considered by candidates to be a better way to find a job, with 71 percent pleased with the outcome compared with 57 percent of respondents satisfied with traditional written and posted applications.

"With the popularity of online job boards, social networking sites, and technology-driven recruiting systems increasing exponentially, people are now very confident about applying for jobs online while employers are becoming much more skilled at managing online recruitment," said Karin French, vice president and managing director, Kelly Services Canada.
For Canadian employers, this means that utilizing the internet will be an important factor in their search for quality staff. There are a large number of job posting sites available to employers, offering a range of services at a broad range of prices, from free employment advertising sites to much more expensive, multifunction service providers. A single monthly online employment ad can range anywhere from zero to $700 dollars, depending upon the employment site selected.
French contends, "Although online recruitment eclipsed all other forms of hiring including 'word of mouth,' direct approach, and newspaper advertising, candidates should use multiple search methods as competition increases in the job market."
Likewise, job seekers are well advised to examine a variety of online and offline job sources while conducting their job search. Small to medium-sized firms that offer excellent employment and growth opportunities may not consistently be able to afford more expensive newspaper and internet-based advertising. "Check a variety of job sites when searching for employment to make sure you are finding all of the opportunities available to you," urges www.TorontoJobClassifieds.com associate editor Maddie Woods. "Checking only one or two sources limits the number of jobs you will find. Using smaller, local web sources to find jobs may also mean less competition than for postings found on the highly promoted national and international sites."
The bottom-line is on-line for both Canadian employers and job seekers, as the ever-more pervasive internet dominates the job search horizon.