Nearly three quarters of all Australians are either actively searching for, or are open to new job opportunities according to a new research report by the world’s leading job site, Indeed. These new findings from Indeed challenge employers to reconsider their recruitment practices towards employed candidates.

The research found that 92 per cent of Australians hired in the past year actively looked for a job within six months prior to being hired. The job search doesn’t end there either. Sixty-five per cent of people worldwide look at new jobs within 91 days of being hired and almost half of Australians (43 per cent) subscribe to mobile job alerts to stay on top of the jobs market in their field.

“Up until this point the common wisdom in recruiting was that a small set of people were active and most of the talent out there was passive,” says Paul D’Arcy, SVP at Indeed. “However, the data show that far more people are keeping an eye on jobs.

“What’s more, 65 per cent of people look for jobs within the first three months of starting a new job, and over 60 per cent of adults look at job listings at least once a month. The rise of smartphones and mobile recruiting has changed job search to an always on activity. We hope this research will help organisations understand the vast opportunity to reach skilled candidates in a more effective way.”

Given the right incentives, most people (91 per cent) would consider a new job. Salary, flexibility and location are the top three factors for candidates deciding to accept a job offer. Australians rank flexibility in working hours higher than other developed economies. And amongst tertiary educated workers almost half (44 per cent) responded that meaningful work is the factor that most attracts them to a new position.

Nearly two thirds (62 per cent) of those surveyed think that they would be more successful in a job they found on their own, versus a job they got through a recruiter or a company that contacted them.

“People want to be in control of their own job search. They are so engaged in their career that they opt to receive the latest job alerts directly to their inbox. However, companies still need to invest to attract the best talent in Australia. They must build a brand that brings talent to them to keep the recruitment pipeline full of great candidates,” D’Arcy adds.

Other key findings of the research include:
• 63 per cent of people look at jobs monthly
• Younger employees were more likely to be searching for jobs. Ninety-one per cent of employees aged 18-34 were actively looking for new job opportunities, versus an average of 77 per cent
• People who actively look at job opportunities are more educated. Ninety per cent of employees with a bachelor degree or higher actively look for new job opportunities
• Only eight per cent of new hires in Australia came from passive candidates