Traditional job-search methods still most popular

Young people, men more likely to use social media: Survey

Canadians rank online job boards and newspaper advertisements as the most common ways to find jobs, according to a survey of 7,000 people sponsored by Randstad Canada.

Online job boards (72 per cent) and newspaper ads (55 per cent) are still the most frequent channels people use to find a job.

Nearly one-quarter (22 per cent) of Canadians said they use social media sites to find jobs. However, of those that do, younger Canadians (64 per cent above average), those with a higher education (51 per cent above average) and men (22 per cent above average) are using social media in their search for job opportunities.

"In past years, there was a heavy dependence on job boards but now social media is becoming an integral part of finding a job. These days, recruiters who are not using these tools are falling behind. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter are key for jobseekers and can sometimes offer more traffic than a job board," said Jan Hein Bax, president of Randstad Canada.

Additionally, Canadians with a higher education (44 per cent above average) and men (26 per cent above average) are said to be more likely to use staffing companies in their search for job opportunities.

The survey results also show that Canadians with a higher education (119 per cent above average), men (61 per cent above average) and younger Canadians (19 per cent above average) are more likely to use networking meetings to aide their search for jobs.

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