Workopolis has some interesting data to share on the Canadian job search in 2014. We know that over the past few years, since the recession, unemployment has been way up and slowly moved back down but remains very volatile. We also know that the job market looks very different today than only a few years ago with the increase in part-time work, self-employment and other precarious employment options. Employment tenures are shorter and the work place is becoming very diverse with more international and foreign born workers, more women in the workplace compared to any other time in history and multiple generations working together often at equal levels or reversed roles with younger employees supervising much older ones.

Although the unemployment rate, based on the number people actually looking, has finally dipped down below 7% there is still a lot of turn over and a lot of job searching going on. Earlier this year Workopolis conducted some research on the reality of today’s job search and what they found was kind of interesting.

Length of the Canadian Job Search

Finding a job is dependent on many factors; the type of job, level of employment, industry, geographic location, qualifications and a myriad of other tangible and intangible factors. The length of job search can range from a day or two to over a year and more. Many people who have dropped out of the labour market had been unemployed for 2 years and longer. What we learned from the Workopolis data was that for those people actively looking most people experienced a job search that lasted four months; in fact 50% of those surveyed reported a job search of four months.

During those four months those surveyed submitted on average 16 applications and participated in 2 interviews, although 30% of people indicated they needed 5 or more job interviews.

Applying on Monday is The Way To Go

Apparently the highest number of people apply for jobs on Tuesday but a Monday application increases success in obtaining an interview by 10%. People applying on Saturdays are the least likely to be successful. Since many jobs are posted on Monday this means that job seekers need to have their resumes ready and act fast.

80% of Applications Not Seen

You have heard it before and you are hearing it again, your resume has about 10-15 seconds to make an impression. In the Workopolis survey employers spent on average 11 seconds and selected only 2 resumes out of every 10 they reviewed.

If you apply on line for a job the odds of your resume being seen by an actual person are pretty poor. In fact of all the applications submitted only 2% are chosen for an interview.

The Waiting Game

One of the most often heard frustrations by job seekers is that they do not hear back from an employer regarding the fate of their application or the result of their interview. In turns out that after the interview only 24% of people hear back from the employer within a week and only 42% within two weeks. 44% of those surveyed said they never heard back from an interviewer after an interview.

Skills in Demand

Workopolis shared date on the skills most employers were searching for. Based on data collected by Employers searching Workopolis 16,000 times a day the most popular key search words were:

• Analytical/research skills
• Skills trade: Carpentry/Electrical/Plumbing/Welding
• Financial expertise
• Instructing/Coaching/Training
• Project management
• Programming/coding
• Sales abilities
• Search Engine Optimization/ Search Engine Marketing
• Web Design
• Writing/Communication skills

The process of searching for work and hiring can be a challenge. By understanding some of the realities you can adjust either your job search or your hiring process to try and increase your odds of finding the best job or candidate.