It’s a thorny issue that today is taxing many of those involved in the publishing and recruitment worlds. Are potential candidates now more inclined to search for their next career move online or is there still an important role for traditional print media? Digby Morgan’s latest research programme throws some light on the issue.

In an extensive survey which saw more than 200 HR professionals questioned, Digby Morgan questioned a wide range of HR specialists regarding their preferences as to just where they would consider looking to help identify their next career move.

Alistair Cook, Deputy MD at Digby Morgan, explained the thinking behind the research. “Understandably in this day and age, we all assume that the Web has superseded the more traditional print media but we were keen to ensure that this perception was rooted in fact and not just in spin. Subsequently, although most of our pre-research assumptions were in fact vindicated, our findings did throw up a few very interesting statistics.”

A staggering 89% of all survey respondents admitted that they would indeed turn to the web to look for their next job before they opened the paper. Understandably, this figure fell, albeit minimally depending on the seniority of the individual. 84% of senior level professionals would turn first to the web, this figure increased to 87% for junior to mid level HR professionals and then leapt to 96% for interim or contract staff.

“This is very easily explained,” adds Cook. “By their very nature interim professionals will always have an eye on their value and the next opportunity so the immediacy and speed of the net is perceived by them as crucial.”

However, in true ‘rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated’ style, there is plenty of life left in our more traditional print media.

“Indeed for certain positions the printed media can be by far the best way to attract the most appropriate candidates,” added Cook. “In fact, over the past 12 months when we have combined advertising with a database search, 75% of the appointed candidates responded to the advertisement.”

“In the right circumstances you can’t beat it. Advertising reaches passive job seekers, the ones that are simply flicking through the job ads in the paper and not trawling the net. Most importantly, the very act of placing an advertisement formalises the structure of the recruitment process. It establishes a timetable from 1st to final interview and creates a process that minimises the chances of an applicant losing interest along the way.”

Ultimately recruitment is all about finding the best candidate for the best roles and both online and offline have their place in this process. The skill lies in knowing which one to use when!

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