This is part of a series written by CEO Jeffrey Doucet. Click for Part 1 and Part 2.
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In our last blog, we looked at how hiring resources have changed, and how they are contributing to poor job seeker behaviour.
Next, we want to look at how social media has changed job search.
We all have heard the stat – 80% of jobs are filled via networking. This pace has accelerated with the rise of social media, in particular LinkedIn. The emphasis on networking is even accelerating as “millennials” become the dominant group in the labour force.
“Nearly 80% of millennials look for people and culture fit with employers, followed by career potential.” – GlassDoor
Commoditization of Networking
Social networks – LinkedIn in particular – have commoditized networking. What we mean by this is they have assigned a specific value to networking, and sell services to job seekers to improve their ability to network, while also pushing job seekers to network more in a way that promotes bad behaviour.
Let’s take a look at my LinkedIn.
When I click on my network, I am immediately prompted to connect with 9 different people that I may know. None of this networking is personalized and I am no longer even prompted to add a message when I add someone on LinkedIn.
As a result, my LinkedIn inbox looks something like this each week:
LinkedIn is facilitation, and pushing job seekers towards volume.
Business model drives product priorities
Similar to popular hiring resources – the business model of social networks like LinkedIn relies primarily on advertising and volume.
Microsoft’s acquisition of LinkedIn has accelerated the emphasis on volume. Microsoft is looking to tap into LinkedIn’s social networks to populate business data into Microsoft Dynamics. The more connections that the job seeker has – the more valuable you are to their database of business relationships.
LinkedIn’s incentives are not necessarily aligned with that of the job seeker, who may be using their platform to find job opportunities and build meaningful employment relationships.
Online Networking Driving Poor Behaviour
Instead of building meaningful relationship, job seekers are pushed towards volume. At CareerJSM we believe that job seekers should be researching meaningful potential relationships, and sending well crafted, and personalized networking emails. Networking shouldn’t be just a checked box on your job search to-do list. It’s an opportunity to meet and grow from real professionals in your field, as well as a chance to get excited about your future career.