Full Survey Report
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Executives in most sectors are bombarded by mixed messages about the best approach to take when looking for a new role or conversely when looking to hire mid to senior level managers.
This confusion is fuelled largely by the rise of social media, the proliferation of job boards and the perceived lack of career opportunity, an offshoot of high unemployment. In this climate we wanted to discover what the best methods of understanding the job market are while simultaneously getting to grips with the best source of job opportunities and executive talent.
We approached 1800 executives to complete our survey and got 184 completed responses. The most surprising finding was the gap between the perception of what constitutes the best source of job opportunities versus the reality of achieving a job move.
Our respondents’ who were currently looking for a career move perception said that the most helpful sources of job opportunities were:
| Source of Career Opportunities- Respondents Currently Looking |
| Recruitment & Search firms – 71% |
| Friends and colleagues/networking – 52%, |
| Social media (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter) – 47%. |
| Job boards – 24% |
When asked how they actually found their new position the reality was as follows:
| Source of Career Opportunities-Respondents that Secured a Move |
| Recruitment & Search firms – 36% |
| Friends and colleagues/networking – 31%, |
| Social media (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter) – 9% |
| Job boards – 6.2% |
When the social media used was analysed we found that all 9% attained their role through LinkedIn while not one respondent obtained a job through either Facebook or Twitter.
We concluded that despite the onslaught of social media and increase in job boards the best methods of both gleaning market information and sourcing a job/executive talent for middle to senior managers, for now, is still networking and recommendations from friends and colleagues followed closely by executive recruitment and search firms .
In addition, the survey yielded interesting facts on lead times and interview processes. It also has useful tips on employer branding and recommendations for executive job seekers.
