Research: 33% of candidates use social networks to find employment in Spain

This article was written and published in Spanish and has been translated into English via Google Translate. Click here to read the original article.

New realities in the labor market have been revealed thanks to a recent study, 'Talent Linked Report', carried out by the transnational consultancy EY and the Infoempleo portal. The research focuses on the current state of talent selection processes in Spain, what degree of digitalization they have and whether or not networks are used socially. According to the findings, both candidates and employers acknowledge using channels such as LinkedIn and Facebook for the searching and posting of jobs, although companies have decreased their postings and the applicants question their effectiveness.

Online recruitment has begun to be very present in organizations that, by expanding their talent search channels, seek to win the war that exists in the current job market, focused on attracting those professionals who will allow these companies to mark the difference in their respective sectors and, especially, face the challenges that are bringing with them the different transformations - digital, culture, organizational etc - that are undertaking in order to maintain their high levels of competitiveness.

Within this new talent selection system, social networks have gained prominence, as revealed in the 'Talent Linked Report'. New realities in the labor market 'of Infoempleo and EY, that among the most used channels for the search of new opportunities cites employment portals, consulted by 98% of respondents, as well as corporate websites (95% ), selection companies (93%) or social networks (88%), especially LinkedIn (55%) and Facebook (54%).

However, when analyzing the effectiveness of these platforms, the report warns: only 48% of professionals with a profile in these social networks say they have been contacted through them, in relation to an offer of employment in, at least, one occasion. In addition, 63% of them state that they did not get the job at the end.

Along with this, the authors of the study also indicate that the use of social networks as a means to attract talent from companies has reduced their importance and has lost ten percentage points in two years, going from 84% in 2016 to 74% in 2018. A situation that could be explained due to the fact that while 71% of companies declare keeping candidates informed about the status of their job application, they claim that the most negative aspect in their experience is the lack of response (62%), followed by the excessive commercial use that companies give to their accounts in networks (31%) and the lack of job offers (22%).

In this line, the respondents say that they should substantially improve their selection processes, mainly in three variables: response time (70%), simplification in the tools for the nomination of candidates (39%) and dissemination of offers (39%).

However, despite the decrease in its use, for 60% of recruiters, the active candidate in social networks has more job opportunities than the inactive one, although 35% think that the candidates do not work properly with their personal brand. Important aspect to take into account given that 83% make sure to consult the social networks of the shortlisted candidates before making a hiring decision, especially before conducting an interview (45%) and given that 36% of the organizations acknowledge having dismissed any candidacy for the image he projects in one of his profiles in networks.

In the words of Jorge Guelbenzu, General Director of Infoempleo, "The shortage of professionals, the ability to sharpen a lot in the search through the new technologies that are emerging as big data and social networks require a new catalog of skills. Technology is the enabler of change but it is also a tool that must be handled by qualified professionals."

On the other hand, Jaime Sol, Partner of EY, assures, "The future of the labor market happens because the organizations transform and reinvent the experience of the candidate to attract the best talent. For this, an effective strategy is the development of a specific business approach that has a preparation, planning and execution of specific actions, based on technology and supported by social networks. While it is true that more and more is being invested in these processes, Spain still has a journey and many opportunities to discover."

In this line, consulted by this question, from Deusto Training indicate that "the construction of a strong personal online brand, working both a personal web and the profiles of social networks, is a very big competitive advantage in front of other candidates and is also seen as a very large asset for companies that need to incorporate new talent. " Therefore, the distance training center, in order to learn how to improve the online strategy and develop the skills in Digital Marketing, teaches the Advanced Course on Social Network Management and Community Management.

This article was written and published in Spanish and has been translated into English via Google Translate. Click here to read the original article.

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