Data reveals where candidates go first on their job search

Today’s calamitous jobs market means millions of Brits will be looking for a new job this year – and Startups’ research suggests they won’t look far and wide to find it.

Google Trends data from the past five years reveals that the most popular online jobs board by far is the careers site, Indeed.com. On average, searches for ‘Indeed jobs’ have been 15.2 times as popular as the second most-commonly searched keyword, ‘LinkedIn jobs’ since 2019.

Indeed’s apparent monopoly over internet job searches is useful guidance for employers designing a hiring strategy. But are job seekers shooting themselves in the foot by ignoring other opportunities for work?

Indeed preferred site for job search

To find the most popular job site amongst UK workers, we compared searches for job posting from the five best-known career websites: Indeed.com, Reed.co.uk, Monster.com, LinkedIn, and Adzuna.

The Google Trends data indicates universal approval from UK job seekers for Indeed.com. Since 2019, the term has trended on average 7.6 times more than searches for all four rival job sites combined.

Data source: Google Trends (https://www.google.com/trends)

Searches for ‘Indeed jobs’ reached 100 (the value Google recognises as the peak popularity for a search term) at the start of January 2022. This supports the long-held theory that the start of the year is when most people start looking for a job. 

At this time, job hunters were 20 times more likely to look for jobs on Indeed than on LinkedIn, the networking site which has become known as a hub for connecting companies with talent. But the site might be used more by headhunters than job seekers themselves.

On average, job search engine Adzuna has scored ‘0’ on Google Search since 2019, indicating that search interest for the platform is at the lowest level it has ever experienced.

Record job searches signal Great Resignation isn’t over

That search terms for all five career websites increased again at the start of this year is telling. Searches for ‘Indeed jobs’ remain at similarly high levels to the pandemic, when millions of employees voluntarily resigned from their job en masse.

Experts had argued that this period, known as the ‘Great Resignation’, came to an end last year. This is supported by official government data, which shows that job vacancies are falling month-on-month.

However, a rise in the UK unemployment rate – in-part caused by an uplift in the number of companies making redundancies – indicates that the recruitment chaos will continue in 2024 as fired or anxious workers seek out stable employment.

Businesses are preparing for a hiring drive this year. In a Startups survey of 546 businesses, conducted at the end of last year, 20% of respondents said expanding the workforce was their main business priority for 2024, including 25% of hospitality and finance firms.

Where should you post a job ad this year?

For companies planning a recruitment drive, the Google Trends data would suggest that posting a job ad on Indeed.com is the most cost-effective route to finding applicants, given this is the website that job hunters prefer.

That’s literally true if you compare each website’s pricing. Reed.co.uk charges £150 + VAT for a month-long job listing, while Monster charges £7 a day. A job posting on Adzuna, the platform with the lowest search interest according to Google, costs £80 for a 30-day ad.

In comparison, the two most popular job sites, Indeed and LinkedIn, allow businesses to set specific budgets (typically £4 a day) based on engagement.

Nonetheless, there is a danger that focusing on one jobs site might result in your listing appealing to a less specialised pool of candidates. In today’s competitive landscape, hiring managers who look further afield for talent can be well-rewarded.

Beyond the job board: how hiring is changing

Job adverts are also becoming old hat in the modern workforce. Hirers are dumping requirements like a university degree or the traditional Q&A, in favour of a multi-pronged approach to recruitment.

Many HR teams are now on TikTok, for example, as younger people search for roles using hashtags like ##jobopportunity and #jobvacancy.

Candidates must also exercise caution. Ignoring alternative job sites could give applicants tunnel vision, and see them miss out on opportunities shared on less popular career portals.

Indeed.com might rule Google Search. But in an uncertain jobs market, casting a wider net, both online and beyond traditional methods, is critical to securing the perfect fit.