Only 10 percent of unemployed use Facebook for job searching

The MojPosao portal, during the 3rd regional Virtual Day of Careers and Knowledge, in collaboration with job advertising portals in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, Posao.ba and Infostud.com, compared the opinions of citizens from the three countries on whether social networks are a suitable tool for job searching.

The survey involved more than 1,600 respondents, nearly 500 of whom were from Croatia. Among Croatian respondents, 42 percent are unemployed, 32 percent are employed, while 26 percent are still in education.
Whether employed (83 percent), unemployed (85 percent), or still in education (85 percent), the majority of Croatian respondents have a profile on the largest social network, Facebook.
The professional social network LinkedIn ranks second in usage, while Twitter is most popular among respondents who are still in education.
The research showed that social networks are primarily used for connecting with family, friends, and acquaintances, and then for following information from professional fields or areas of interest. Only a small share of respondents (14 percent of employed, 10 percent of unemployed, and 7 percent of those in education) recognize social networks as a tool for building a personal brand.
Adhering to the rule that what is once published on the Internet remains visible forever, the vast majority of Croatian respondents are careful about what they post on social networks, regardless of the purpose for which they use them. 84 percent of unemployed and 81 percent of employed respondents pay attention to the content of their posts.
The majority of respondents who are still in education (58 percent) believe that social networks are a good ‘channel’ for job searching, but that the success of the search depends on the type of network. The same opinion is held by just under half of the unemployed respondents (45 percent).
A negative stance towards job searching via social networks is held by 25 percent of unemployed respondents and 20 percent of those in education.
Only 14 percent of unemployed respondents and 13 percent of those in education believe that all social networks are suitable for job searching, while 17 percent of unemployed and 9 percent of respondents in education have no opinion on this topic.
Facebook is the leading social network in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina as well. Overall, Facebook is most used by respondents from Bosnia and Herzegovina – 95 percent of employed and 93 percent of unemployed respondents have their profile.

Regardless of employment status or whether they are in education or not, respondents from Bosnia and Herzegovina use LinkedIn the least – only 17 percent of employed, 12 percent of unemployed, and 7 percent of respondents in education do not use this social network.
In terms of Twitter usage, Serbia leads – 25 percent of employed, 20 percent of those in education, and 19 percent of unemployed respondents have a Twitter profile.
Only 10 percent of employed respondents from Serbia and 7 percent of those from Bosnia and Herzegovina use social networks for the purpose of building a personal brand. Compared to their neighbors, Croats use social networks to build a personal brand to the greatest extent (14 percent).
Regardless of employment status and the country they come from, the vast majority of respondents ‘pay attention’ to the content of their posts on social networks, but unemployed respondents from Bosnia and Herzegovina lead in this regard. As many as 96 percent pay attention to their posts on social networks.
The most hope for finding a job through social networks is held by respondents who are in education from Bosnia and Herzegovina (28 percent). Less optimistic are respondents from Serbia (17 percent) and Croatia (13 percent).
Additionally, unemployed residents from Bosnia and Herzegovina (24 percent) believe that social networks are ‘convenient’ for job searching to the greatest extent. Only 14 percent of respondents from Croatia and 13 percent from Serbia believe that jobs can also be found in this less formal way.