LinkedIn for job searches; FB defines reputation: Report

New Delhi: Both employees and recruiters are going mobile and using social media for professional purposes, with LinkedIn emerging the most popular platform for job searches and Facebook being used for personal branding,

says a report. According to Adecco's 2015 Work Trends Study, social media can be used for professional purposes and its effectiveness can be utilised in matching job seekers with open positions.

Among social networks, LinkedIn remains the most popular platform for professional purposes for both recruiters (61 per cent) and job seekers (34 per cent), whereas Facebook is the go-to network for all social activities,

including personal branding. While recruiters already stated in the Global Social Recruiting Study, 2014 that they have rejected candidates based on their social profiles,

now job seekers also make it a point to research the company they are applying to, the report said. Noting that job seekers are more 'mobile' than recruiters, it said a total of 65 per cent of job seekers frequently or sometimes use a mobile device for online job searches,

whereas among recruiters, this figure drops to 41 per cent when searching for candidates or highlighting open positions. Going forward, flexibility in an individual's place of work will become key to new styles of work in the future, it added.

"New trends are emerging, such as smartworking, which will affect the work environments of companies and will require new thinking on the traditional relationship between employer and employee,"

the report said. Over 31,000 job seekers and more than 4,100 recruiters from 26 countries took part in Adecco’s survey, sharing their opinions and experiences on the use of social media for recruitment and job search practices.

The study was developed in partnership with the Università Cattolica in Milan, Italy