The Social Media Job Hunt: Gen Y Likes Facebook Whilst Gen X Prefers Linkedin (Infographic)

The world of work, or rather the search for work, is under-going a revolution at the hands of social media. A recent study, Kelly Global Workforce Index, shows one in 5 of US respondents are using social media for their job hunt (see below for infographic).

The recruitment landscape is still dominated by online jobs boards, with word of mouth mouth, recruitment agencies and direct approaches proving the most widely used methods.

Whilst only 1% of the survey respondents found their jobs through social media (the survey ran Oct '10 to Jan '11), this looks set to change, with 24% of respondents searching for jobs using social media.

Services like Twitjobsearch, BraveNewTalent and BranchOut will be banking on the fact that this trend continues. And judging from the survey results, those prospects look rosy, with Facebook and Linkedin proving the most popular services:

• Facebook - 33%
• Linkedin - 32%
• Other - 23%
• Blogs - 10% (social media?)
• Twitter - 3%

Other notable results from the survey:

• Facebook is the overwhelming preference of Generation Y (18-29 yrs) participants, while LinkedIn is favored by Generation X (30-47 yrs) and Baby Boomers (48-65 yrs).

• More than a quarter of respondents (26%) are worried that material from their social networking page could adversely impact their careers. All generations share concerns about the potential career fallout from social networking content, but Generation Y is the most worried.

• More than a quarter of respondents (28 percent) believe it is essential to be active on social media in order to advance their careers.

And for those who like their data infographic-style...(click for full size version)

Photo (c) Kelly Services. Hat tip: TechJournal South.