Instagram the New LinkedIn for Young Workers?

Young job seekers prefer researching company culture and workplace life on Instagram

 

The job search has gone almost completely digital and increasingly social. In fact, a good portion of job seekers use Facebook and Twitter to research companies, while recruiters use LinkedIn to vet potential candidates. However, for younger job seekers, Instagram is becoming an important place for learning about the culture of potential workplaces.
Jobvite surveyed more than 2,000 American workers with the goal of demystifying the supposed rift among American job seekers. What it discovered was that the idea of the “divided America” was a myth, and job seekers are as diverse as the nation in which they live. There are, however, some distinct perspectives depending on race, gender and generation.

For instance, older workers are more optimistic about the job market than younger workers, and men are more comfortable negotiating their pay than women. Racial disparities persist, according to the survey: Non-whites are usually paid less and care more about workplace diversity. Rural workers tend to earn less than those in urban areas, but they are less concerned about their jobs being automated.
Job boards are falling out of favor. In fact, 60 percent of those surveyed said they had referred someone to work at their company. Recruiters are on board with this trend and, in the Jobvite Recruiter Nation survey, 34 percent said that referrals are the best source for high-quality candidates.

There remains, however, a big difference between where recruiters go to check out potential candidates and where job seekers go to find out more about companies. Recruiters still depend on LinkedIn for their candidate research, while more job seekers prefer researching companies on Facebook. 28 percent of workers aged 18 through 29 preferred using Instagram as a window into company culture and workplace life.
Check out the full report for more demographic differences and perspectives among job seekers and how the American workplace is evolving.