Around 95.5 per cent of job seekers in the Mena region claimed that they use online job sites to find and apply for jobs in a survey conducted by Bayt.com, a leading job site in the Middle East.

Almost all of those surveyed (81.1 per cent) said that job sites are an easy and user-friendly way to apply for jobs, compared to only 7.4 per cent who disagreed. 11.5 per cent of job seekers were neutral in response to this question in the poll titled ‘Job Seeker Journey in the Middle East and North Africa’.

Further, the majority (83.4 per cent) of respondents also agreed that they can find many relevant jobs online related to their background and experience, while7.7 per cent of respondents were neutral in response to this statement and only 8.9 per cent disagreed.

When asked why online job sites are effective, nearly two thirds (66.2 per cent) of respondents said that online job sites are useful because they “group all available jobs into one easy to access place”. In addition to this benefit, more than one in five (22.2 per cent) respondents said that online job sites are useful because they help job seekers “improve their CV and professional profile”, allow job seekers to “track their application” and “provide them with “job alerts”.

When respondents were asked about how useful they find online job search tricks, tips and information, more than three in four respondents (76.5 per cent) said that they find them “very” useful, compared to 14.0 per cent who said they find them “somewhat” useful, and only 9.5 per cent who said they don’t find them useful.

“As the leading job site in the Middle East, it is important for us to regularly conduct thorough research regarding job seekers’ opinions and experiences and share that information with the region. The ‘Job Seeker Journey in the Middle East and North Africa’ poll has allowed us to collate highly useful data on the way job seekers go about applying for new career opportunities. For instance, the majority of respondents believe online job sites, such as Bayt.com, to be very effective, user-friendly, and easy for finding and applying for jobs,” said Suhail Masri, vice president of Employer Solutions, Bayt.com.

“At Bayt.com we want to be there every step of the way for job seekers in the region, and we are proud to provide the necessary tools and technologies for nearly 30 million professionals. It is important for us to regularly check in with job seekers and find out that they are, in fact, making great use of our technologies and information.”

Managing the job seeker journey

When it comes to creating a CV more than four in five (80.7 per cent) respondents claimed that they have a picture on their CV and five in eight (62.5 per cent) respondents claimed that they “always” send a cover letter with their application. 22 per cent of job seekers said that they “sometimes” send a cover letter, while only 15.5 per cent said they “never” send one.

When it came to looking at how often job seekers search for jobs online, more than seven in ten (71.8 per cent) respondents claimed that they look for jobs on a daily basis, this was followed by respondents saying that they look for jobs two to three times per week (16.5 per cent), and 6.9 per cent who said they look only a few times a month.  

More than half of job seekers (56.9 per cent) also claimed that they wait up to one week before applying for a different job, whereas 23.5 per cent of them said that they don’t wait at all. Moreover, almost all (96 per cent) respondents agreed that it is useful to know if their application has been viewed by the employer or not. This way they can more strategically plan their search activities.

When respondents were asked about whether they research a company before going to an interview, more than four in five respondents (85.4 per cent) said that they “always” research the company, compared to 11.4 per cent who said they “sometimes” do, and only 3.2 per cent who said they “never” do.

Preferred job search device

Discussing the device that job seekers like to use when searching for a job, the majority (81.6 per cent) of respondents said that they prefer to use a desktop or a laptop computer, this was followed by 13.5 per cent who said they prefer to use a smartphone or a tablet, and 4.9 per cent who claimed that they have no device preference.

However, when applying for jobs more than six in 10respondents (61.6 per cent) said that they like having a job search mobile application because they can “search and apply for jobs on the go”. About 25.4 per cent of respondents agreed and also said that a job search mobile application gives them “24/7 access to their application status”, “sends them job alerts”, and is “easier and more efficient to use”.

“Job seekers like to have many options. Some prefer using their computers, while others relish the efficiency and convenience of Bayt.com’s job seeker application. On top of that, the region’s job seekers are stepping up their game by focusing on all the elements they have to add to their CV and application when they apply for jobs online. They are also heavily utilizing technologies such as automated job alerts, and ‘who viewed my profile’ and applications on Bayt.com,” Masri added. – TradeArabia News Service