Social media may be a big part of people’s daily lives in Malaysia, but it remains the least favoured way to find a new job according to a poll conducted by recruiting experts, Hays.
“Our latest Hays poll reveals that the highest proportion of respondents in Malaysia (50 per cent) rely on online job boards to find a job while 39 per cent turn to personal networking,” says Tom Osborne, Regional Director of Hays in Malaysia. “With Malaysia’s internet speeds rising year on year, job ‘shopping’ online could be described as easier than in many countries across the globe, but it’s interesting to see that personal networks still rank above virtual networks when it comes to job hunting,” says Tom. “Research released earlier this year revealed that 71 per cent of Malaysia’s populationare active on social media but only 11 per cent of respondents in our latest Hays poll turn to social to look for a new job opportunity,” he says.
“Job boards are a great way to get an overview of what roles and skills are in demand, but personal networks offer a way to hear about a job before it’s advertised as well as to learn about the work culture of an employer from someone with inside knowledge.” “Recruitment consultants should be part of a candidate’s personal networking efforts as they can offer insights on both, market trends and what opportunities are coming to the market. They are also able to share tips about what employers are looking for in their next hire,” says Tom.
Half of the candidates polled in Mainland China and Hong Kong nominated job boards as their preferred job hunting option while in Singapore and Japan, the figures were 45 and 40 per cent respectively. Personal networking was the second most favoured option for job hunters in Japan (35 per cent), Hong Kong (34 per cent), Mainland China (32 per cent) and Singapore (31 per cent).
Japan has the highest proportion of job hunters that use social media at 25 per cent with of course Malaysia the lowest at only 11 per cent. In Singapore, 24 per of respondents reported using social media to job hunt while in Mainland China and Hong Kong, the figures were 18 and 16 per cent respectively. The poll was conducted online at www.hays.com.my between June and September 2017.
Source: Hays Media Release
