Hiring in Costa Rica? Recruiters here should take into consideration that one of every four job hunters considers a company’s reputation as the most important factor when deciding on an employment offer.
A study by consulting group Manpower released Tuesday found that people seeking jobs here increasingly prefer companies with a positive identity and reputation.
Manpower Latin America director Francisco Ortega Díaz said that current job hunters value the reputation of a company’s brand just as much as the actual work, a good salary or benefits package.
For new generations of professionals, especially Millennials, the study found that a company’s online presence is increasingly important.
Manpower’s Central America manager Tania Arita noted that for these job seekers a company’s website is the main source of information. Nearly 86 percent of people who apply for a job do it after reviewing the company’s website.
“Job applicants use corporate websites three times more than social networks or traditional media,” the study found.
For 43 percent of job seekers, a clear job description is the most important element. “The job description allows people to know what is expected from them once they are hired and applicants also believe it reflects the company’s culture,” the study found.
The third factor of importance for job hunters is information about the company available on social media, mainly on Facebook and LinkedIn. Those two sites were cited by one-third of people surveyed as their main source of information about a possible employer.
Even though would-be employees tend to find out information about employers via the Internet, a majority — 72 percent — here still prefer to have personal interviews with recruiters. Telephone interviews (16 percent) were second choice, followed by group interviews (8 percent) and interviews via Skype (2 percent).
Manpower’s study recommends companies develop strategies for boosting their reputation using the appropriate marketing channels. It also says companies should pay special attention to all their available feedback channels.
