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December 7 2011 - A study by Hani Mansour, University of Colorado Denver and Peter Kuhn, University of California at Santa Barbara, recently found that using the Internet for job-hunting reduced time spent unemployed by an average of 25%.

Mansour and Kuhn looked at data collected from surveys of young job seekers, asking questions about the methods they used to find work. Their findings directly contradicted a 2004 study that showed that using the Internet actually lengthened unemployment. Hani Mansour said:

"In 2004 the researchers came up with two scenarios for their findings - the Internet was not an effective tool or that people who looked on-line for jobs were not as qualified."

Mansour said that the sweep and depth of the worldwide web has also changed dramatically since the late 1990s. The share of young unemployed using the Internet to look for jobs grew from 25% in 1998/ 2000 to 74% in 2008/2009. The Internet has impacted enormously on the length of unemployment, particularly when using personal contacts such as friends and family to help the job search. A decade ago this was not so easy.

The researchers argue that job sites are better designed now and are much more specific and user friendly than they were in the past. To quote the study:

"This hypothesis is certainly consistent with our findings that the Internet is highly effective when used to look at ads, to send out resumes and to fill applications. Simply because the Internet now connects each work to many more firms (and vice versa) in several new and low-cost ways it may be a more powerful tool in the job search process than it was a decade ago."

According to Mansour:

"What we don't find is that online job search increases wages compared to the worker's last job,"

Hani Mansour added that the findings help to solve the puzzling results of the 2004 study showing the Internet increased the time spent unemployed:

"We speculate that significant improvements in technology over this period, ranging from better on-line job sites to network externalities associated with greater overall Internet penetration itself, might explain this change over time."

Employment sites do the job

A study conducted in 2006 reported that recruiters and HR leaders found online job sites effective in filling openings, despite complaints that they generate too many unqualified applicants. Only employee referral programmes got higher marks, while print advertising trailed behind.

The first comprehensive American study of recruitment advertising effectiveness, conducted by ERE Media, Inc. and Classified Intelligence LLC, asked recruiters to rank the value of job sites, print, social networks, employee referrals and career fairs. The most important factor was found to be the number of hires compared to cost. Recruiters emphasized that all forms of advertising have a place in the spending mix.

Peter M. Zollman, founding principal of Classified Intelligence said:

"The big news is that recruitment sites are identified as an effective way to find and hire employees. Especially among large companies, recruiters are increasing their spending. This should mean real growth for the online job segment - most likely at the expense of newspapers."

Nearly half of the 353 recruiters who participated (45 per cent) expect to increase spending with job sites this year compared to 2005; more hires for more companies come from job sites than any other source. Niche and national boards are more effective than diversity, regional or executive boards. Of respondents who spend more than US$100 000 a year on advertising, 39 per cent use job boards.

More than half the recruiters expect to spend more on employee referral programmes, although less than one-third of hires come from this source. Social networks are used by 43 per cent, but the jury is out on effectiveness. Although dollar levels are low, 44 per cent said they expect to spend more in 2006.

Print received the lowest rating, with 58 per cent calling it ineffective and 43 per cent planning to spend less on it this year. One recruiter called print "less and less effective every year, as the new generations don't read the classifieds."

David Manaster, CEO of ERE Media said:

"This is extremely valuable information for recruiters who want to know what approaches their colleagues are finding successful, and consider how best to allocate their budgets. The report reflects HR professionals from a great cross-section of industries and company sizes talking about how to get the most for their money."