Here are the facts on proactive job searching, starting with a big one.

This huge number is curtsy of Indeed.com, and was first reported in July of 2015, though the website reiterated this position as recently as today:

Job-Search Sites Are Expanding Their Scope

I’ve previously written on the rising values of an assortment of job search sites and apps. One interesting quote from that coverage: The Muse’s co-founder and CEO Kathryn Minshew revealed that here “are 50 million people using The Muse every year at this point.” The Muse is pivoting towards serving as a general job information service, rather than just a hiring service, in hopes of capturing the ongoing interest of the world’s proactive job searching workforce. The research also showed that those who actively look at job opportunities are more likely to be younger and better educated.” Today, I heard from CareerBuilder’s public relations firm: The company is acquiring WORKTERRA. They had this to say: So companies are expanding from hiring to “full-scale” HR management and services. They’re following their audience’s interests, going by those earlier Indeed percentages.

What Does It Mean?

Employees are only as loyal as their companies. It appears that the trend is moving towards constant, proactive job searching. Yet many still debate the benefits of revealing that you’re actively job-searching on sites like LinkedIn. Many see it as an understandable position, but a social faux pas to reveal. The shift might be tied to money concerns: People with looming bills and a low-paying job are wise to keep an eye out for more lucrative opportunities, and one just-released student survey found that “high future earnings” was the top priority among recent high-achieving graduates, beating out other factors like leadership opportunities and leader-mentors. Whatever the case, 65 percent of today’s workforce keeps a constant eye out for the next job, and we should stop acting like that’s an abnormal, improper move to make.