Spring 2023 Job-Seeker Survey
In early 2023, rising inflation and recession concerns changed the dynamics of the employer/employee relationship. Companies appeared to be preparing for further economic uncertainty as hiring slows. However, the number of job openings continues to outpace the number of available workers and discovering what motivates job seekers can provide an advantage to employers.
Through our Spring 2023 Job-Seeker Survey we aimed to learn more about how recent economic trends are impacting what job seekers view as important when looking for new work. We surveyed 1,520 job seekers to learn what motivates them to accept a new job and what leads them to avoid applying for open positions.
U.S. job seekers remain strongly concerned about pay, but other motivators are becoming just as important. For the 65 percent of respondents that research the hiring company before applying, a positive and supportive company was seen as slightly more important than pay.
1,453 respondents shared what motivators they viewed as important when deciding to accept a job. Of those 1,453 respondents, 958 respondents said they researched jobs before applying.
According to a recent Monster survey of 868 workers in March, 61%, of workers say they’d rather have a four-day workweek than the traditional five, and 33% say they’d quit their job for one with a shortened week.
Among Aerotek's job-seekers, that wasn't necessarily true. The overall demand for a 40+ hour work week is strong among most respondents. Aerotek serves sectors including manufacturing, robotics and automation, facilities and maintenance, distribution and logistics, construction and other industries.
A total of 1,511 respondents shared how many hours they prefer to work.
Not listing pay information in a job posting led the reasons why a job seeker would avoid applying for a job. However, job descriptions that don’t provide enough information wasn’t far behind.
While 23.29 percent of respondents said they had been laid off in the past six months, only 33.41 percent stated that they agreed they would avoid applying to a job with a company that has a history of layoffs.
Survey respondents also made it clear that given the choice, they prefer in-person interviews over interviews on the phone.
While just 26.7 percent of respondents agreed they preferred phone interviews, 52.2 percent of respondents said they preferred in-person interviews.
Of 1,422 respondents who answered when asked, 581 (40.86%) responded they avoid applying for jobs that don't offer pay information.
Of 1,416, 531 (37.5%) said they avoid applying for jobs if the description of responsibilities doesn't offer enough information.
Of 1,345, 448 (33.31%) said they avoid working for companies that have a history of laying off workers.