Sixty-Nine Percent of Full-time Workers Regularly Search for New Job Opportunities, CareerBuilder Study Finds

Half of Workers Say They Just Have a Job, Not a Career

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Oct 10, 2012, 06:00 ET

CHICAGO, Oct. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Having instant access to so many digital resources has turned today's workers into perpetual job seekers, according to a new study by CareerBuilder and Inavero. Sixty-nine percent of full-time workers reported that searching for new job opportunities is part of their regular routine. Thirty percent said job searching is a weekly activity. The survey included 1,078 full-time workers across industries and company sizes in the U.S. and Canada.

Infographic: http://cb.com/SytzW8

"Digital behavior has blurred the distinction between an active and a passive job candidate," said Brent Rasmussen, President of CareerBuilder North America. "The majority of workers are regularly exposed to new job opportunities and are willing to consider them. They may not leave their jobs right away, but they're keeping aware of possibilities and planning for their next career move."

In addition to heightened awareness about job openings, the ongoing pursuit of other positions is also driven by the perception of the overall work experience. Fifty-three percent of workers said they feel like they just have a job, not a career.*

Millennials Vs. Baby Boomers
Comparing age groups, Millennials are much more likely to seek greener pastures than seasoned workers. Seventy-nine percent of Millennials actively search for or are open to new jobs compared to 67 percent of Baby Boomers. Baby Boomers tend to stay in a position for eleven years on average while Millennials typically stay for three years.

How Workers Shop for Jobs
Workers often utilize more resources in job hunting than in some other activities that impact their households. On average, workers reported they use approximately 15 sources when searching for a job. This compares to an average of 12 sources for researching insurance providers, 11 sources for researching banks and 10 sources for researching vacations.

"Workers approach their job search much like a consumer purchase, using multiple avenues to evaluate potential employers months before they take action and apply to positions," Rasmussen added. "It's important for companies to engage candidates at every touch point."

The majority of workers primarily come across new jobs in three ways:

Online search – 74 percent
Traditional networking – 68 percent
Job boards – 67 percent

Once they've discovered job openings, they'll check out social media and company Web sites and conduct general searches to dig deeper into the company's culture, market standing and new developments. Prior to applying:

81 percent will research companies on social and professional networks
74 percent will read news about the company online
74 percent will read the company's Web site

For more information, visit www.careerbuilder.com/candidatebehavior

*CareerBuilder and Harris Interactive^© survey of 3,976 full-time U.S. workers completed in September 2012.

Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the U.S. and Canada by Inavero on behalf of CareerBuilder among 1,078 job seekers (employed full-time, not self-employed seeking a job or non-employed seeking a job). The study was fielded between March 28 and March 30, 2012 (percentages for some questions are based on a subset, based on their responses to certain questions). With a pure probability sample of 1,078, one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/-2.98 percent. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies.

About CareerBuilder®
CareerBuilder is the global leader in human capital solutions, helping companies target and attract their most important asset - their people. Its online career site, CareerBuilder.com®, is the largest in the United States with more than 24 million unique visitors, 1 million jobs and 49 million resumes. CareerBuilder works with the world's top employers, providing resources for everything from employment branding and talent intelligence to recruitment support. More than 10,000 websites, including 140 newspapers and broadband portals such as MSN and AOL, feature CareerBuilder's proprietary job search technology on their career sites. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI), Tribune Company and The McClatchy Company (NYSE:MNI), CareerBuilder and its subsidiaries operate in the United States, Europe, South America, Canada and Asia. For more information, visit www.careerbuilder.com.

Media Contact
Jennifer Grasz
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[email protected]
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SOURCE CareerBuilder