Monday, April 13, 2015

Looking For A Job In UAE? Let The 'Biggest Recruiter' Help

Social media fast becoming biggest recruiter, with both employers and candidates frequenting it.

Your chances of landing a job in the UAE will be stronger and brighter if you keep yourself busy on social media as thousands of jobs are posted on this medium on a daily basis.

Fast becoming the biggest recruiter in the country, social media has become a place where employers come scouting for candidates and vice-versa.


A new recruitment survey from Reach Employment Services, a company into executive recruitment and white collar outsourcing, reveals that more than 85 per cent of jobseekers who responded to its survey said that they have thought about how their digital footprint can affect their employability, underlining the importance of social media.

Figures reveal that a vast majority of respondents (76.84 per cent) engaged in social networking sites on a daily basis, with 62.11 per cent regularly checking on their online identity in the region.

The survey reveals that social media and digital footprints of candidates were often or always checked during the interview process by almost half of the polled hiring managers (48.35 per cent).

Two out of five managers (42.22 per cent) also used social networking sites to recruit potential hires. Almost a third (30.86 per cent) said they have rejected prospective candidates due to questionable personal and/or professional traits observed about them online.

As for jobseekers, 68.09 per cent said that they had researched their hiring panel online prior to their interview, with 25.88 per cent admitting to have left the recruitment process due to something they read about the panel online. Almost all candidates (94.74 per cent) said that they use social networking sites to find potential jobs.

Of such social media websites, LinkedIn scores high here. Top companies come looking for potential candidates on this website and many are also re-shaping their recruiting strategy as the medium evolves.

And to brighten your chances of meeting the right recruiters, it’s advisable to have a good online presence on LinkedIn and elsewhere whether you are an active or a passive jobseeker.

But at the same time, be wary of what you’re putting on your social media profile as most employers are likely to sneak into what you believe is your personal space and come across information that may put you out of favour. This can be detrimental if you were gunning for a job at that very company and you will only end up with regrets.

A previous study by Robert Walters, a recruitment firm shows that one in two companies would be prepared to search for information about individual job applicants on personal social media websites.

A further 64 per cent of employers say they have used professional social media to inform hiring decisions, with one quarter using the information gained from these sites at the interview stage and 35 per cent when assessing new applications.

You could also try online blogging as it goes hand-in-hand with a job search. While doing so, it’s advisable that you create a blog that is professional and one that can work as a marketing tool for you and serve the purpose. 

The Reach survey polled over 1,000 employers, job seekers and residents across the GCC in March 2015 to gain key insights on the impact of social media and social networking on recruitment in the region.

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