Thu, 24 May 2012

Staffing firms are the most effective mechanism for jobseekers to find jobs – but only 3% of candidates seek them out as their first source for job hunting, according to the results of a new CareerBuilder/Inavero survey.

Speaking this morning [24 May] at the International Confederation of Private Employment Agencies’ (Ciett) World Employment Conference in London, CareerBuilder’s Eric Gilpin called on staffing agencies to take advantage of “the huge opportunities” to increase awareness of their brand and services to attract jobseekers to their doors.

“You’re not where they start [their job search] – but you are the most effective,” said Gilpin, president of the US-headquartered job board operation’s Staffing and Recruiting Group. Candidates who engage with agencies get 45% more interviews than those who do not, he said.

Today four out of five candidates are actively looking for a job. In the CareerBuilder/Inavero survey, nearly 80% responded that they were actively looking, Gilpin said.

Applications from mobile devices for jobs posted on CareerBuilder have increased by 4,000% “in the last couple of years”, Gilpin said.

The company will be investing to build its data capability in Western Europe by the end of the year. Gilpin also said that CareerBuilder is looking into ways to reduce the skills gaps, which are preventing businesses such as his from being able to grow at the pace they want.