Those Who Sacrificed to Land Job Most Likely to Jump Ship

According to a press release, 44.6% of respondents said they are satisfied with their current job, but would consider a new job if the right opportunity came along, versus 38.2% of 2008 respondents who said the same. The remaining group — those unsatisfied and actively looking for new jobs (17% versus 23% last year) — is mostly made up of recent hires.

Among recent hires, 34% state that they’ve applied for jobs below their qualification level, and 30% have accepted a lower salary or fewer benefits. “For employers, the statistic about unsatisfied recent hires is a warning sign,” said Tom Musbach, managing editor for Yahoo! HotJobs, in the press release. “This is the same group that potentially took on the job while sacrificing salary or growth, and these are the people who could leave once the economy turns.”

More employees are planning to stay in their current job than they were last year (55% in 2009 vs. 43% in 2008), but the remaining half who are looking to leave their jobs are mostly doing so because they feel there is no career growth with their current employer, and because they feel they will be compensated better if they moved to a new employer.

The survey revealed that 40% of job seekers feel the job situation will get worse in 2010, and 35% of employers feel the same way. Almost 40% of respondents feel that it will take them more than six months to find a new job.

About 42% of hiring managers say they anticipate hiring activity for full-time, permanent employees to stay the same. However, 32% expect to see an increase in hiring activity in 2010.

Social Networking not the Way

Very few job seekers use social-networking sites for job hunting, and few employers feel social networks are an effective source for job posting, according to the Yahoo! HotJobs Job Satisfaction and Employer Outlook survey.

The survey found that only 9% of respondents have used social networking sites to find a job, and only 1% thinks it’s the most effective way to find a job. According to a press release, 38% of job seekers feel that using social networks doesn't improve their chances of finding a job, and only 23% of hiring managers and recruiters are using social networks to promote their job openings.

The top methods for finding jobs cited by survey respondents are in-person networking (50%), company Web sites (43%), and online job-posting sites (42%) - consistent with what employers said are the top ways to publicize their open positions.

Job seekers said that to get by until the perfect career comes along, they are:

• Moonlighting or taking on a second job (17%);
• Starting their own businesses (14%);
• Returning to school (11%); or
• Taking temp jobs, freelance jobs, using “get rich quick” tactics, and volunteering.

The Yahoo! HotJobs Job Satisfaction and Employer Outlook survey polled 2,100 workers, job seekers, hiring managers, and recruiters.