Looking for Jobs in All the Wrong Places?

Inc. magazine reports today on a new study by iCIMS, an employment software company.  They examined roughly 60,000 employment opportunities listed on various social media platforms.   Their results offered a few interesting surprises.  

Where do most candidates expect to find jobs on social media?  LinkedIn, of course.  Approximately 2/3 of job seekers expect to find job postings on LinkedIn.   Indeed, LinkedIn accounts for nearly a quarter of all employment opportunities listed on social media platforms.   In contrast, only 1% of job seekers look to Twitter to find job opportunities.  However, 51% of employment opportunities posted on social media platforms in this study can be found on Twitter!  

One key caveat:  This study examined job postings, but of course, a job search involves much more than finding a listed employment opportunity.   Companies may indeed post lots of employment opportunities on Twitter, but is that a primary recruiting tool for them?  How does it actually stack up against LinkedIn?  We would have to know much more about the entire recruiting process.  For instance, LinkedIn activity related to employment involves much more than job postings.  Much of the action pertains to networking and searching, often in cases where a job is not even posted.  Many firms use LinkedIn to search for attractive candidates, before they even list a job opportunity publicly.  Similarly, many candidates search for opportunities via LinkedIn without an actual position posted.  They are networking, seeking introductions, learning about companies, etc.    

The lesson for those seeking jobs:  A great employment search involves multiple avenues of investigation and exploration.  Don't restrict yourself to one mechanism or tool.