Both job seeking and the workplace are becoming increasingly mobile, according to the 201 Work Trends Study published today by global staffing firm Adecco Group. The role of social networks in the job seeking and recruiting processes is becoming more and more relevant.

Furthermore, new trends are emerging, such as “smartworking”, which will affect the work environments of companies and will require new thinking on the traditional relationship between employer and employee.

Over 31,000 jobseekers and more than 4,100 recruiters from 26 countries took part in Adecco’s survey, sharing their opinions and experiences on the use of social media for recruitment and job search practices.

The data analysed provides insights into the use of social media for professional purposes, its effectiveness in matching jobseekers with open positions. The relevance of web reputation and its impact on recruiting; as well as new emerging trends such as “smartworking”, whereby flexibility of the workplace will be key in the future of work.

Among social networks, LinkedIn remains the most popular platform for professional purposes, for both recruiters (61%) and jobseekers (34%). Whereas Facebook is the go-to network for all social activities including personal branding. For jobseekers, the probability of being contacted by a recruiter increases with the number of social networks they use. By being active on one network, the probability of being contacted by a recruiter is 16% but increases to 46% when a candidate uses all five of the main global platforms. 

The Study also highlighted that jobseekers are more “mobile” than recruiters: 65% of jobseekers frequently or sometimes use a mobile device for online job searches. Whereas among recruiters, this figure drops to 41% when searching for a candidate or highlighting open positions.

Finally, it revealed that flexibility in an individual’s place of work will become key to new styles of work in the future. Even though the majority of jobseekers and almost half of the recruiters have never heard of the “smartworking” concept, they showed strong interest in integrating smartworking solutions into their daily practices. While jobseekers are more open to smartworking solutions, recruiters are more cautious in appreciating them. The emergence of new concepts such as smartworking will create new interactions between employers and employee.