More jobseekers go online

Forget newspapers for job leads. Those wanting to get a better paying job are looking online, and marketers should take note of the new trend.

by Kristina Knight

According to the JobCentre Plus database, a record breaking 6.5 million job searches were performed on the site during a single week in March. More than 2 million jobseekers hit the site, looking for a new job. So far in 2007, more than 70 million job searches have been performed on that website.

Lesley Strathie, Chief Executive, Jobcentre Plus said, "The Jobcentre Plus site has handled a steady increase in traffic since the start of the year as more and more people put their New Year's career resolutions into action. This growth reflects a wider trend amongst individual people and employers to use the Internet to find and fill jobs."

And it isn't just jobseekers who are going online. More employers are also signing on with online job databases. Since the beginning of the year, JobCentre Plus has received an average of 10,000 job listings each week.

How can marketers take advantage of these record breaking numbers? Simply by advertising with high-traffic job boards. Sites like Monster and CraigsList in the United States and JobCentre Plus in the UK are seeing more people creating free accounts every day in search of a great new job. Targeting marketers' products and services within these sites is a good way to increase brand recognition.