Social media yet to become preferred mode of hiring: survey

Study also suggests hiring across various sectors may rise significantly, several jobs likely in BFSI sector

Contrary to popular belief, employers in India are yet to use the social media as a mode of hiring while job portals have retained the top mode of hiring during the current year according to a recent survey.

The study conducted by HR consultants, Career Builder and People Matters, also suggests that hiring across various sectors are expected to rise significantly with a number of jobs expected to be created in the banking and financial services industry and the insurance sector.

“New Jobs were not created in the past 4-6 quarters and there is more hunger to grow rapidly in India now. The outlook is very positive and a number of jobs will be created in the banking sector after new licences are issued. The insurance and hospitality sectors are also expected to create more jobs soon,” Premlesh Machama, Managing Director at Career Builder India said.

Sectors including Core Engineering, Health care and Pharmaceuticals and E-Commerce are also expected to create a number of jobs in the coming year.

The study based on 201 companies in India suggests that only 20 per cent of the companies use the social media heavily to hire employees with LinkedIn and Facebook as the most popular social media hiring channels. The print media, which was once the main channel for hiring employees has also now, lost its sheen with 63% of the companies staying away from advertising in the print media for jobs.

Employee referrals are also not seen as a viable choice by employers in India with half the respondents not using the mode for hiring employees. According to the study, employers have also started keeping talent pipelines with 61 per cent of the participating companies suggesting the need to keep a steady bank of talent to meet their requirements in future. ‘Talent Pipelines are emerging as a model for recruitment in India now”, Machama added.

Indian companies have already started a talent pipelines with many companies now building online platforms where employees can register to be part of the talent community. India’s job market has been witnessing a downturn since the past few years with fewer jobs being created, largely due to a paralysis in government policies, which have forced the private sector to stay away from investments.