The Jobvite annual Job Seeker Report is always a good source for data on the state of the job seeker. This year, they conducted their original survey in February and then went back and re-surveyed people in April to get their perception in a COVID-19 world - and the results are interesting.

We Are Not Relaxed

The data reflects a working population under stress:

• Employees, in general, are worried.
• All demographic categories have been affected, especially females: 48% think it is now ‘much harder’ to find a job than it was six months ago, compared to 21% two months ago
• 54% of workers are worried about losing their job, vs 30% two months prior

The Struggle Hits Home

Much of the workforce has been through economic disruption in their career. This one has been far deeper, and more personal. Lack of food becomes reality.

Impacts and Adjustments

How work is viewed begins to shift. According to HireClix's Kara Yarnot: "65% of respondents stated the remote work is very important or somewhat important in the decision to accept a job offer. Employers that don't currently have flexible remote work arrangements need to focus on developing options and policies. After this crisis, the expectation of being able to work remotely at least part of the time is likely to exist for most job seekers in roles that can be remote." Twitter and Square recently announced that, post-crisis, nearly all employees would be allowed to work from home. Facebook and Google are reportedly rolling out similar policies.

While some of the data is pre-crisis, it reflects efforts made to diversify the application process.

Referrals Matter

Yarnot continues: "If you combine the friends (45%) and professional connections (31%), you get 76% of respondents are likely referrals. Couple that with:

• 33% are very likely or pretty likely to share job openings via social media
• 39% say their company does not make it easy to share job opening
  

Employers should take a microscope to their referral programs and find ways to increase participation (making it easy to share is a key way). Referrals are often the most cost-effective source of hire. With an economic downturn, TA budgets will likely be slashed in many industries, so a more robust referral program will provide cost savings."

Preferred Communication Channels

They don't mind a text. But social - including LinkedIn - remains verboten.

This is a Chapter Mark

Historians love chapter marks. They use them to denote the beginnings and ends of epochs. 2020 and the following few years will be used as a chapter mark. These are uncertain times, and the shifting data reflects this. Job seekers have for a few years now become accustomed to choice and career growth. That is reflected in part of the Jobvite report. With double digit unemployment predicted to potentially carry through 2021, it is less clear is if the optimism of control and choice will be warranted in the coming years.