Social media delivers jobs
Ignore that request from LinkedIn or Twitter at your peril — it might be a job offer, according to a global study released Wednesday.
The study, commissioned by U.S. human resources firm Kelly Services, found that 39 per cent of Canadians polled have been contacted through a social media website or network in the last year about a possible job opportunity.
Of those surveyed, 14 per cent of Canadians said they were hired after having been contacted via websites like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.
“Social media is rapidly revolutionizing the recruitment process because it broadens the access to an enormous pool of candidates,” Michael Webster, executive vicepresident of the Americas region for Kelly Services, said in a statement.
“We are also seeing the impact access to smart technology has on retention, as the work and personal lives of today’s employees (are) more commonly blended together.
“Suddenly employees have the flexibility to engage socially or accomplish work tasks at any given time.”
A majority (60 per cent) agreed that these networks were a good way for them to forward job opportunities to friends and colleagues and about half (48 per cent) said they would be interested in receiving such offers.
“Employees are more social and more flexible in the way they engage with trusted friends and work colleagues on social media and, increasingly, they expect to have access to technology in the workplace to enable that,” Webster said.