This year we started improving our Job Finder service so it works better for job advertisers and job seekers. In July we made some changes to our job listing form to give employers more flexibility in location and hours when advertising roles. Adding more options also meant job seekers can search more flexibly to find roles that best meet their needs.
Keen to understand the impact of these changes we dug a bit deeper. Here’s what we learned, and an early view of further improvements planned for Job Finder in the coming months.
What we learned
Of the roles advertised on Job Finder July to November, more than 11% offered the option to work full or part time. This means hours can be discussed as part of the application process. Offering hours flexibly when advertising roles is a great way for employers to attract a wider range of applicants.
More than 16% of roles were advertised with locations that reflect the increase in home-working and hybrid arrangements. Hybrid working was most popular – offered on 8.5% of roles, while 5.4% offered a flexible location and 2.5% were home based. Citing benefits such as improved staff well-being, reduced overheads and increased productivity, Office for National Statistics research suggests these options are here to stay and offering them is another way employers can stand out from the crowd in a challenging recruitment market.
Where these are reasonably recent changes to Job Finder, we expect uptake for flexible options around hours and working location to increase. Monitoring these and other aspects of our job advertising service will help us build knowledge about the North East VCSE jobs market, which we’ll continue to share.
What’s next?
These improvements are some early steps on a much longer journey for Job Finder. Over the coming months we’ll be:
- Improving our website so it’s easier to use
- Working to support and encourage good practice in sector recruitment
- Working with partners to encourage quality jobseekers into the sector
- Building resources to help employers in a challenging recruitment market
- Looking at how we can help jobseekers find roles that best match their interests
About Job Finder
VONNE Job Finder is a sector-specific job advertising service for paid employment and trustee roles in the North East. It’s a well-used and affordable alternative to national charity jobs boards. Sign up for Membership+ to access exclusive member discounts on adverts.
When you advertise with us, your vacancy is live on our website for up to 90 days. Our Job Finder web page receives an average of 25,000 visitors each month. Your role is sent to more than 3,200 job seekers all over the North East in our weekly VONNE Jobs e-bulletin and shared on Twitter with more than 2,600 followers through @VONNEJobs.