A personal contact already working in a company is the most common route by which professional jobseekers in Ireland find their job, but almost half of professionals switch jobs due to lack of promotional opportunities where they work.

So says the latest Talent Trends study from LinkedIn, the professionals’ version of Facebook, which says that 45% of participants highlighted a lack of career advancement opportunities as the main reason why they left their previous employer, and 43% claim they found their job through someone they knew already working at their employer’s company.

Among the other findings are:

• Other factors for leaving a job include dissatisfaction with work culture or environment (33%) or looking for more challenging work (39%)
• Professionals in Ireland are more likely to be contacted for the wrong roles by recruiters, compared to global professionals. 31% of research participants were contacted for the wrong job by recruiters
• Irish employees want to know what it’s like to work at an organisation before making the switch. 67% of Irish professionals say that culture and values are the most important thing they want to know about a company
• And 90% of Irish professionals are interested in hearing about new job opportunities

Wendy Murphy of LinkedIn commented: “The good news is that an overwhelming 90% of professionals in Ireland wants to hear from prospective employers. Based on our research, their biggest challenge is not knowing enough about your company or jobs.

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"If you want to hire top talent, then you have to make sure that they are aware of the opportunities at your firm and to let people know what a great place your company is to work. 43% of Irish professionals landed a new job through someone they knew at the company. So make your colleagues are aware of open roles and make them brand ambassadors for your company.

“The number one roadblock candidates in Ireland face when changing jobs is not knowing what it’s like to work at a company. Two thirds of Irish professionals say that culture and values are the most important thing they want to know about a company. So instead of simply posting a job ad with a role description, make sure to tell potential employees about your company’s culture as well.”

One of the main strategies Irish organisations should employ when recruiting is to help potential employees discover opportunities before they even apply. Irish professionals are more interested than their global counterparts in a company’s office locations, employee perspectives, and open jobs.