Beyond.com recently released a survey showing that graduating college students rely heavily on their university career centers and prefer to use niche job sites over general job boards and social networking sites.
The survey, commissioned by Beyond.com and conducted by students of the Wharton Small Business Development Center, included participants from a variety of schools across the United States and select European and Asian Pacific countries. It showed that most college students use social networking sites on a personal level, but are hesitant to leverage these sites for career-related purposes.
The survey indicated that 98 percent of students visit Facebook on a regular basis, but less than 35 percent of students currently leverage this site for job search related tactics, such as becoming a fan of a potential employer or joining industry specific groups. It was also revealed that more than 35 percent of students are uncomfortable using social networking sites for personal branding and networking—both valuable tools in securing post-graduation jobs.
“It was surprising to learn that 75 percent of students are waiting to search for jobs until six months before graduation and are relying so heavily on their colleges to introduce them to employers,” says Rich Milgram, CEO of Beyond.com. “University career centers alone are not enough to compete in today’s competitive job market, which is why job seekers need to be proactive by starting their job search early and considering all opportunities to search for employment, especially those that enable job seekers and employers to create more targeted connections.“
In addition to other methods of traditional job searching—such as university career centers, corporate websites, and personal networking—survey participants ranked online job boards among their top choices to find employment. When searching for jobs online, most students prefer niche job boards over general job boards because these sites offer more targeted job search results and a greater variety of relevant job opportunities.
