More British job seekers are using employment Web sites than ever before. Most are just looking, however, with only 10 percent applying from the site for an advertised job.
A Forrester study found that more than 60 percent of Britons who are on the Web and looking for a job “will use career Web sites as part of their job hunting,” said William Reeve, author of the study.
One result is that newspapers and the trade press are used less often than in the past. Another is that a broader array of job seekers are looking for work on the Internet.
Middle and junior managers in manufacturing and the public sector “are showing a higher willingness to use career Web sites,” Forrester said. But the researchers criticized the sites for attracting mostly browsers.
“For these sites to encourage more interactivity from users, they must better understand and react to their candidates' needs,” the study said. “Three fundamental criteria appeal to these candidates: locality; industry specialization; and personalization. The addition of searchable databases in a secure environment is also key to encouraging user confidence and greater interactivity.”
Forrester interviewed 7,000 United Kingdom job seekers and 200 employers for the study.
