Two-thirds take less than an hour to apply for a job

Two-thirds take less than an hour to apply for a job.

A new survey has shown that  two-thirds of people applying for jobs take less than an hour to fill in the application forms.

 

The survey of over 1,000 jobseekers undertaken by recruitment specialist staffbay.com showed that the days of taking a whole day filling in forms and writing covering letters to try and impress prospective employers could be at an end. Less than 10 per cent of respondents to the survey said they spend a day on a job application, with a mere 5 per cent saying they take more than a day.

 

According to staffbay.com co-founder Tony Wilmot, employers shouldn’t be alarmed at the figures, and should recognise that, these days, quality is better than quantity when it comes to jobseekers showing off their talents.

 

“I’m not surprised by these results at all,” he said. “These days, HR departments don’t have the time to plough their way through hundreds of pages of paper CVs. What they want is to be able to see if the person applying for the job is worth bringing in for an interview, and that’s why social media and video CVs have become so popular amongst jobseekers.

 

“It takes just ten minutes to build a profile on staffbay.com, and what we say to people looking to show off their abilities is: focus on what will truly set yourself apart from the competition, and don’t just concentrate on the quick and easy options or resort to box-ticking. Using the power of social media and video CVs, it should take less than an hour to make a prospective employer sit up and take notice, in which time you can leap to the front of the interview queue.”

 

The simple things work best, says Tony: “The message we hear from employers is that staff don’t have to be qualified to the hilt, just that they’ll invest some time and effort in their new job. However, not everyone has a strategy in place to identify good talent. Small businesses in particular don’t want to wade through hundreds of applications.”
According to Tony, now is the time to act if you are looking for a new career. He said: “There are definitely green shoots of growth in the employment market. At staffbay.com we have the ability to see behind the scenes, and we’re aware that employers are being very proactive at interacting with candidates and building a network and a rapport for when the economy truly recovers. Furthermore, the number of job applications via our website has doubled over the last six months.”

 

“Lazy” Brits? Over two-thirds would work for nothing to land dream job

Over two-thirds of the British public would be prepared to work for nothing for up to three months if it meant landing their dream job, according to a new survey of over 16,000 people from visionary social media-based recruitment website staffbay.com

The survey revealed that far from British workers being lazy and motivated by wages, as some have dubbed them, some 68 per cent said they would go without wages to get the job they coveted – with 10 per cent of them prepared for work for three months without pay.

Tony Wilmot, co-founder of staffbay.com, said: “These results tell us two things: that British workers are far from lazy; and that some people will go to extraordinary lengths to impress their employers. We certainly don’t think that Britain’s jobseekers want something for nothing, and this survey proves it. They’re obviously prepared to get Britain’s economy moving again – and for free.

“The ten per cent of respondents who would work for three months for nothing also shows that some people clearly think they are over-qualified for the job they’re currently in. With so many jobseekers now applying for the same position, many in the jobs market are having to settle for second-best.”

The news comes in the week after Geology graduate Cait Reilly successfully argued at the Appeal Court that her unpaid work placement at Poundland, which she had been required to do to continue to receive benefits, breached laws on forced labour.

Yesterday, Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan-Smith told the BBC that some people “thought Geology was more important than stacking shelves.”

Also in the news this week has been Adam Pacitti, who rose to prominence last month after he spent his last £500 on a billboard advertisement outlining his availability to work. Promoting himself in a new, innovative way has reaped dividends, as Pacitti has found work at a design agency. He’s since taken another billboard ad out to thank those who supported him during this jobsearch.

Elliot Kidd, co-founder of staffbay.com adds: “As Adam himself pointed out in the press: ‘Employers are bored of looking at a sheet of A4 paper. Do something different.’ We couldn’t agree more, and that’s why we allow jobseekers to upload multimedia files, including video, to our website.

“Adam’s original billboard advertisement alerted employers to his website where they could watch a video CV he’d put together. One and a half million people saw the video, and now Adam has landed himself a job.

“I congratulate Adam for the innovative way he’s gone about promoting himself – jobseekers everywhere should take note. Our survey shows that by going the extra mile to attract the attention of employers, jobseekers can find the job they’ve always dreamed of.”