More than half of UK office workers can contribute social media to the success of finding their last job, and 73% of millennials have found a job directly through social media – joint research from StandOut CV and Job description library has uncovered.

The continual rise of social media users and platforms across the globe has driven huge increases in the amount of job seekers and companies turning social media for jobs and talent. In fact, 91% of employers are incorporating social media into their recruitment process and 79% of job seekers have turned to social media during their job hunt during the last year.

The study also found;

For job seekers;

• Millennial job seekers are the most active age group on social media with 85% incorporating social into their job search.
• 91% of freelancers use social media to search for jobs and clients.
• Hospitality workers are the most active social media job seekers with 84% of them adopting social media job search regularly.
• Tradespeople are the least likely to use social media for job search with only 29% incorporating it and only one in ten finding work through social media.
• Millennial job seekers are the most active age group on social media with 85% incorporating social into their job search.
• Millennial job seekers are the most active age group on social media with 85% incorporating social into their job search.

And for employers and recruiters;

• 45% of recruiters post content on social media to engage with candidates.
• The average UK company spends a quarter of their recruitment budget on social media.
• 21% of recruiters admit to rejecting a candidate after looking them up on Facebook.
• UK companies fill a quarter of their roles through social media recruitment.
• Searching for candidates is the most popular reason for recruiters to use a social platform
• 5% of recruiters say they have cancelled a job interview due to a bad social media impression.

StandOut CV director Andrew Fennell said, “Social media obviously plays a big role in many aspects of our lives, and job search is no different. Companies appear to be investing more and more into social media recruitment, and job seekers are responding accordingly by putting more time and effort into social media. Employer brand has become hugely important for big companies and many are using social media to show off their new offices and company culture, to attract more passive talent. As a result we are seeing more and more people attributing their latest jobs to social media.”

See the full study on Job Description Library.