Most Job Seekers Prefer Facebook to Other Social Media Alternatives

That's not a valid work email account. Please enter your work email (e.g. you@yourcompany.com)
Please enter your work email
(e.g. you@yourcompany.com)

job seekers prefer facebook According to a small group study by ManpowerGroup, nearly twice as many job candidates said they depended primarily upon Facebook rather than LinkedIn when researching companies that had job openings they were interested in. Facebook outpaced all other major forms of social media as a research tool, including Google+ and Twitter.

But when asked about interviewing preferences, nearly three-quarters voted for an in-person interview with a hiring manager. High tech alternative interview tools such as Skype and video resumes received significantly lower rankings.

“Even as technology — and the awareness of new tools — continues to rapidly advance, the tried, but true methods of in-person and phone interviews, and more frequent, personalized interactions with hiring managers or recruiters remain the clear preference of job seekers across generations. Organizations should evaluate their talent acquisition strategy and customize job seekers’ experiences based on their preferences,” said Jim McCoy, vice president of ManpowerGroup Solutions and North America RPO practice lead. “The impact that high-touch — or human contact — has on a candidate’s recruiting experience cannot be overstated.”

Nearly all candidates said they visited the websites of companies that had attractive jobs dangling before them. More than one-third (36 percent) said employer sites “lack clear and relevant information.” Most popular choices for social media research include:

  • Facebook: 72 percent
  • LinkedIn: 43 percent
  • Google+: 43 percent
  • Pinterest: 22 percent
  • Twitter: 13 percent

Other key findings about candidate preferences include:

  • 52 percent use search engine results, and 45 percent use peer recommendations, to gather information about prospective employers and positions;
  • CareerBuilder and Monster top the list of most frequently used online job sites ;
  • 72 percent said they prefer an in-person interview with a hiring manager;
  • 16 percent prefer an initial phone screening interview with a recruiter;
  • 8 percent said they prefer a telephone conference job interview;
  • 2 percent said they prefer to be interviewed via Skype or a similar video conferencing tool.

By Joshua Bjerke