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Web attracts 40,000 job hunters for universities
69% of university jobs are filled by online adverts
New trend: brand-building press adverts signpost to universities’ websites
Research by jobs.ac.uk into 63,000 university job applications reveals that 43,470 job applications (69%) result from adverts online, with press adverts accounting for 21%. [1]
Online recruitment sites including jobs.ac.uk and universities’ own recruitment pages on their websites attracted 69% of the applicants for university posts in 2007. However, 30,240 job applications (48%) were made directly from universities’ own recruitment pages on their websites. An emerging trend amongst universities is using press adverts to signpost candidates to the recruitment pages of their own websites in a bid to build their brand.
Andrew Gordon, director of jobs.ac.uk says: “In the current economic climate changing jobs can been seen as risky, so employers need to make more effort to attract the best, especially when needing to fill specialist roles.
“Our research reveals that universities are using press adverts more often to signpost candidates to their own website and other online sources of jobs. This marks a significant change in the way universities use adverts to attract high calibre staff, as part of an effort to increase their brand awareness. British universities are competing to attract the brightest candidates to fill specialist roles and there’s kudos associated with working for a recognisable brand with a good reputation.”
Linda Pettitt at The University of Derby says: “We always receive good responses from adverts placed online, which, together with the responses on our own website, form the majority of our applications for the vacancies we advertise.”
The research was conducted to provide constructive feedback to the Higher Education institutions on how to improve the effectiveness of their online recruitment.
Some universities have implemented employer branding strategies including creating campaign micro sites for high level jobs and posting videos of their institution online to attract jobseekers from further afield. A video posted online by The University of Nottingham was viewed 4,462 times in the first three months of it going live.
Andrew Gordon adds: “Universities who have led the way in targeted e-recruitment are now reaping the benefits of filling vacancies quickly and inexpensively. This has involved improving their own recruitment pages on their websites, as well as advertising on the most targeted online jobs boards.”
Notes for Editors
For further information please contact:
Kirsty Shaw at BOTTLE PR on 01865 882988 or email
Survey Results
Applications made:
48% from universities own website
15% from jobs.ac.uk
13% from national press*
10% from word of mouth
8% from local press
6% from other online sources
*Includes The Guardian, Times Higher Education, New Scientist, Nature and all national journals.
About jobs.ac.uk
jobs.ac.uk is the leading online jobs board for jobs in research, science and academic related professions.
At any one time there are on average 3,000 jobs listed on the easy to navigate website and 40,000 jobs are listed over the course of a year. jobs.ac.uk has over 220,000 registered users and 540,000 individual jobseekers visit the site each month, from over 125 countries (ABCE Audit January 2008).
Since launching in 1998, jobs.ac.uk has grown to become the leading recruitment site in the research, science and academic sectors, attracting the most qualified and talented people from the UK, Europe and across the world and often those who are willing to relocate for their ideal job.
Created by The Universities Advertising Group (UAG) - a collection of UK universities working together to procure cost-effective recruitment and course advertising, and with its web site operated by Warwick University, jobs.ac.uk has an inherent knowledge of the Higher Education sector. Current advertisers include the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge as well as large institutions such as the BBC and Google.
The jobs.ac.uk service offers a cost effective alternative to print media and has a wider reach. Job listings are emailed directly to potential candidates and the internet can be used daily in lunch breaks for example – this is easier to do when currently employed than reading the papers.
Jobseekers have an excellent chance of finding a quality job through jobs.ac.uk because of skilled categorisation and quality checks that are implemented. All adverts are checked in detail, placed carefully in the most appropriate sections and made live within two working days. Daily or weekly email updates are sent to each subscribed jobseeker about positions relevant to them and jobseekers are given direct access to the recruiters. These services offer jobseekers piece of mind that they are not missing any jobs or opportunities.
jobs.ac.uk has an open culture. They have an office webcam, answer jobseeker emails in person, use videos on the web site from recruiters and themselves and provide account handlers for customers. They also run training and networking events for clients on topical and practical subjects such as discrimination in recruitment.
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