CareerXroads has released their 10th annual Source of Hire study. The study surveys large companies to see where they find their new employees. The Source of Hire study surveys 36 large U.S. companies with over 1.3 million employees. These companies hired over 130,000 job seekers in 2010.
For the firms in the study the number one source of new hires was internal candidates and promotions, as you would expect. The top sources of external hires were:
- Referrals 27.5%
- Job Boards 24.9%
- Company web sites 18.8%
As ClearedJobs.Net is a job board, we were heartened to find ourselves following closely behind referrals! CareerXroads also notes that job seekers often end up at company web sites by clicking on job postings on job boards or search engines.
If you’re a job seeker this survey affirms the importance of networking as well as the importance of utilizing a job board as part of your job search strategy. To help you get started, check out this video:
Asking “good” questions of our network is the best strategy, but not always easy to do (especially if you’re shy).
Patra has some good tips here other than asking, “Do you know of any job openings.” One question that helps me get conversations going is asking a variation of the “What’s New?” question, such as, “What’s keeping you busy these days?” You might also ask simply, “What are you working on?”
Then listen carefully without thinking about the next thing you want to say. Your genuine interest in the other person is what helps begin to build and strengthen your link with them. If there is an insight or resource you know that might be helpful to them, ask if they know it and share it. (Give before you Ask).
They won’t always ask about you. So listen for a link in what they are doing to what you are looking for. That may be a contact in your area of expertise, it may be their knowledge or opinion of a project you want to work, on, etc. The goal is to find something in common so they will remember your interests.
There are some great blogs, links and books for developing authentic professional resources. Start with Patra’s video (and check out her whole series).