Employee retention

What Motivates Professionals to Switch Jobs [INFOGRAPHIC]

Recruiters are modern-day Cupids. Think about it… You spend countless hours wading through profile after profile, mingling at events, sending emails and making calls to match candidates and employers. But when you find that perfect candidate, how can you ensure they’ll accept you and your advances?

We were wondering the same thing. So in partnership with Lou Adler, we surveyed more than 18,000 professionals in 26 countries to shed light on the workforce’s attitude toward job seeking, job satisfaction and career evaluation (we call it the Talent Trends 2014 Report). Here’s what we discovered; consider it your cheat sheet for wooing candidates:

Career Motivators Talent Trends

A few findings caught our attention. Only 27 percent of professionals say they’re “very satisfied” with their jobs. Plus, more than half of active candidates say they’re satisfied in their current roles, so satisfaction doesn’t guarantee loyalty. At any rate, only 15 percent of respondents claim to have no interest in discussing new job opportunities, which means there are plenty of fish in the sea.

So what should you do to woo “the one” into a meaningful relationship? Consider the following rules of attraction:

  • Strut your stuff. Showcase your company’s employer brand or your client’s employer brand. The first thing professionals consider when evaluating a prospective employer is whether or not it’s considered a great place to work.
  • Show them the money. The top motivator for candidates to switch jobs is excellent compensation and benefits. That said, the importance of compensation varies depending on who you’re asking, where they live and even where they are in their lives. For example, financial rewards are highly important to millennials, but far less so for professionals over 40.
  • Don’t miss the big picture. While compensation is important, there’s more to the story. Good work/life balance and challenging work round out the top three motivators to switch jobs. It’s also worth noting that certain motivators carry more weight in some countries than others. for example, a message about making an impact is more likely to resonate in the US, Denmark and Germany. But candidates in India, China and Brazil are more interested in a strong career path.

If you’re interested in seeing the full findings of the Talent Trends 2014 Survey, and/or receiving upcoming research, click here.

global recruiting trends

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