Key Takeaways:
- Rising job search activity: 45% of Americans plan to look for a new job within the next six months, but only 59% feel confident in securing full-time work, with Gen Z showing even less confidence (49%).
- Importance of networks: Job seekers place high value on personal connections, with 50% more likely to apply for a job if referred by a friend, surpassing other methods like LinkedIn postings or recruiter outreach.
- Social media’s growing role: Nearly half of job seekers (49%) use social media platforms beyond LinkedIn, such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, highlighting the need for a broader digital recruiting strategy.
Within the next six months, 45% of Americans plan to look for a new job, according to new research from TalentFusion. But many are finding it challenging to secure a job, particularly one that matches their salary expectations and experience.
Alongside the company’s official launch, TalentFusion surveyed 1,000 U.S.-based adults to find out how they feel about the job search and hiring process. They found that just 59% of U.S. adults were confident in their ability to find a full-time permanent job, with Gen Z being even less confident (49%). Respondents had very little confidence about finding temporary work, whether full-time (3%) or part-time (9%). And more than one in 10 (13%) said they weren’t confident they could find any kind of job.
Other than struggling with the lack of available jobs, survey participants also expressed concerns about finding jobs that deliver on their salary expectations and line up with their experience. They highlighted challenges with transparency in the hiring process and worried about prospective employers taking too long to get back to them.
Also among top concerns was not being considered for a job because they lacked company connections. That’s like why many survey participants (32%) said they start their job search by putting out a call to their network, and half (50%) of survey respondents noted that they’d be most likely to apply for a job if they were referred by a friend. This percentage is well above the likelihood of applying after seeing a job posting on LinkedIn (31%) or getting a message from a recruiter (19%).
Americans are also job hunting via social media — 49% of respondents (67% of Gen Z) reported using social media to look for a job, even using platforms outside of LinkedIn, including Facebook (33%), Instagram (21%), and TikTok (17%).
