Darrin Grella – Interview Guru

A recent Forrester Report outlined the top three media sources people use to find a job. I was shocked at some of the results.
The report indicates that there is a targeted sample size of just under 4,000 people ranging in ages 18 – 64. The question posed to this group of people was, “Please indicate the top 3 media sources you currently depend on most for obtaining information on jobs”

The #1 media source used to find information on JOBS was the “newspaper“. 43% of the surveyed group indicated that they used the newspaper to find info about jobs. Really? When was this survey done, the year 2000?

The #2 media source used to find information on JOBS was the “none” category. 38% of people use mediums other than media. In dissecting this data, I discovered that this was friends, referrals, personal references and networking.

The #3 media source used to find information on JOBS was the “Internet“. The Internet, what is that? The Internet was used on 32% of the time to find information about a job. To me, that number is absolutely amazing. We are firmly planted in the information age and only 32% of the people use the most powerful informational tool ever created? Let’s take a little closer look at the data and it may make more sense. First of all, this data is a combination of a large age span from 18 to 64.

• With the Gen Y age group (18 – 28) 59% uses the internet. That is still distorted as I feel it should a lot more than only 59%, and it means that 41% do not. Can anyone explain that?
• Gen X peeps (29 – 42) use the internet for job search only 44% of the time.
• The Younger Boomers (43 – 52) use the internet 33% of the time follow up by a respectable 26% internet use by the Older Boomers (53 – 63).

This information makes a little more sense when you look at the descending percentages based on age groups. I can understand that one of the best tools to get a job is through personal networking and “other” media sources however the Internet is being underutilized for job search. To the individual seeking a job, the playing field is not flat, you have so much opportunity to separate yourself from your competition by exposing you to much more information around your job search no matter what your age.