ONLINE JOB search website Jobstreet.com said small businesses should compete for young workers with attractive workplace cultures and a social responsibility focus.

Jobstreet Senior Sales Manager Ryan C. Tordesillas told reporters Thursday that micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) struggle to hire as they cannot compete with the salary offerings of bigger companies.

“We’re encouraging them to take a look at the data… It’s not all about salary. There’s a lot of other things you can offer.”

Jobstreet last year released its Laws of Attraction report that found that job seekers prioritize compensation, career development, and work-life balance.’

According to Jobstreet’s new analysis, MSMEs can emphasize their leadership style to attract top talent. It found that potential workers seek professional, respectful, and collaborative leaders in smaller businesses.

Job seekers also look for corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, with Jobstreet noting that activities to protect the environment and support the employment of disabled people drive candidates to work for MSMEs.

He said young workers are more likely to apply for jobs in startups because they are willing to take risks. Older workers tend to seek more business stability.

Jobstreet said in a statement that jobseekers from certain industries are not drawn to startups, with significant lack of interest from those seeking positions in banking (50% not interested), healthcare (48%), computer information-technology software (47%), and engineering (45%).

“For start-up hirers to be able to persuade the reluctant job hunters especially the ones from the said industries, strategizing the employment process according to factors that these respondents are looking for in a job could be helpful in attracting them,” it said.

Meanwhile, Jobstreet is also working on improving access to job information outside Metro Manila.

Mr. Tordesillas said that people in the provinces are forced to go to Metro Manila or overseas because they cannot find work within their communities. He said that jobs in the provinces are often offered through referrals or announcements outside company premises.

“If you’re an SME, you can tell someone who’s tempted to leave their province, for example, na ‘di mo kailangan lumayo. May trabaho dito. (that you don’t have to go far. There is work here).”

The company has been working for the past two years on a project with local governments in the provinces to promote the website to job seekers.

He said the company has increased job postings in Bacolod, the site of the project’s initial run. Jobstreet aims to roll out the project in Laguna, Cavite, and Cagayan de Oro, among other areas.

Mr. Tordesillas said Jobstreet plans to conduct the Laws of Attraction survey regularly, in intervals of about three years. — Jenina P. Ibañez

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