New findings from the Candidate Experience (CX) Survey,* reveals consumer preferences about where and how they make career decisions. Data highlights how consumers find and search for job opportunities, what factors affect their decision to leave or stay with their current employer, and the outside influences that can positively or negatively impact their decision to apply and engage in the hiring process with an organization.

“As employers dedicate significant time, money and resources building recruitment strategies to attract and engage top candidates, it’s imperative they understand how consumers prefer to engage throughout the hiring process and what factors impact their employment decisions,” said Neil Costa, CEO and Founder at HireClix. “Employers have the opportunity to evolve with consumer patterns, engaging potential candidates where they spend time.  The idea is to create an opportunity to introduce their employer brand, share organizational values and tout benefits that matter most to future employees.”

Survey Highlights 

Job Boards vs Consumer Sites
As consumers think about searching for a job in the next three months, they rank the top resources for their job search Indeed (56%), Google (40%), LinkedIn (40%)), ZipRecruiter (31%), Facebook (29%) and corporate career sites (28%).

Out of those surveyed, 55% of consumers say that job board ads impact the decision for job seekers to apply, interview or join an organization

Job board ad influence jumps significantly for Millenials (69%)

While a company’s LinkedIn page does not have a big influence on older generations’ decision to engage with a potential employer (Baby Boomers 26% and Gen X 44%), it has a much stronger influence on younger job seekers (Millennials 64% and Gen Z 61%)

When researching a company, reviews on channels like Indeed and Glassdoor influence 57% of consumers.

• 44% of consumers said company reviews had a positive influence on their decision to apply
• 13% of consumers said company reviews had a negative influence on their decision to apply
• 43% of consumers said company reviews had a no influence on their decision to apply

While consumers are mainly seeing or hearing job ads on Indeed (47%), LinkedIn (33%) and Google (31%), other popular platforms for job ads and employer branding include Facebook (30%), ZipRecruiter (29%), YouTube (18%), Amazon (14%) and TikTok (13%).

Men are more likely to be influenced to engage with a potential employer by social and streaming channels like:

• Twitter – M 15%, F 6%
• Instagram – M 21%, F 13%
• YouTube – M 23%, F 13%
• Spotify – M 11%, F 6%
• Hulu – M 12%, F 5%

Influencing Factors in Candidate Experience
Career site experience is an important factor in whether or not potential candidates decide to engage with an employer – 61% of respondents say that an organization’s career site influences their decision to engage with an employer.

This percentage jumps up to 72% for Millennials and 67% for Gen Z

When searching for a job, consumers are most likely to conduct their search on mobile devices (68%), then desktop or laptop computers (54%), and a much smaller portion choose to leverage tablets (24%).

When looking at Millennials and Gen Z, the use of mobile devices for a job search increased significantly to 87% for both groups. Although not as high as the previous groups, Gen X is more likely to use a mobile device over a computer (65% vs. 55%) in their job search.  Baby Boomers are the slow adopters to the mobile job search experience, only half as likely to use a mobile device (34%) versus their preferred approach of using a computer (69%).

Older generations have a higher tolerance for a long application process (only 25% of Baby Boomers would abandon an apply) in comparison to Millennials (51%) and Gen Z (48%)

The vast majority of consumers surveyed didn’t see the current macroeconomic conditions as a factor when thinking about their compensation in 2023. Optimism abounds with seventy percent of respondents believing a compensation increase is on the horizon.

• 26% believe the economy is not a concern that factor into their compensation increase
• 27% believe they will get a good compensation increase regardless of the economy
• 17% believe they will get a compensation increase but it may be lower than past increases

63% of consumers have been referred to a job from a colleague, friend or family member of which 83% received that job serving as an encouraging sound to those who incorporate networking into their job search.

What Motivates Consumers to Stay or Leave OR

Factors for Staying at a Job Versus Searching for a new Opportunity
57% of consumers want to stay in their current jobs.

Consumers who are Single or Living with a Partner are more likely to leave a job for better pay and benefits (19% and 20% respectively) versus Married or Divorced (8%), Widowed (5%)

Gen Z is more likely to leave a job for better pay and benefits (23%) versus Gen X (13%), Millennials (13%) and Baby Boomers (6%)

When asked why consumers choose to stay or leave their current job at a company, the top three answers were on the opposite side of the fence in the same categories, regardless of staying or leaving:

• Stay: I enjoy the work I do / Leave: No longer enjoying the work.
• Stay: I am paid competitively / Leave: An insufficient raise or bonus.
• Stay: I have a good work/life balance / Leave: A negative change in work/life balance.

*Survey by HireClix