Is the Internet Actually Making It Harder to Reach Younger Job Seekers?

We live in the age of unobstructed connectivity. Thanks to the internet, everyone you could ever hope to reach is just a tweet, chat, or email away.

Which, paradoxically enough, might actually be bad news for recruiting firms hoping to connect with younger job seekers.

According to a recent survey from international recruiting consultancy Renaix, job seekers older than 45 are 137 percent more likely to start their searches off by contacting a recruiting or executive search firm, compared to younger generations. But why?

It could have something to do with experience: Older job seekers are more likely to hold highly specialized positions of high seniority, which means they’re less likely to find their next gig through a search on Indeed. It could also have to do with the internet itself: Younger job seekers grew up in an always-online world. They’re used to turning to Google for help with everything else — so why not turn to it for a new job?

Indeed, it appears they are: According to a Renaix’s survey, Google and online job boards are the No. 1 starting points for most job seekers under 44. In fact, across all generations, 27 percent of candidates start their searches on Google, and 25 percent start on job boards.

That doesn’t mean recruiting firms are out of luck — it just means they need to be more proactive about connecting with young talent. As Renaix Director Paul Jarrett puts it, “A lot of the people we contact for new roles are not actively seeking a new job, and therefore agency and in-house recruitment is larger if we factor in reach via direct contacts, LinkedIn, Google, and other sources.”

For more information on the habits of modern job seekers — including everything from how they feel about cover letters to how often they lie — check out the infographic below, which highlights some key results from Renaix’s survey: