It may not come as a surprise that ‘accountant’ was the top keyword search for candidates in 2018, representing 6.9% of all searches for the sector. ‘Graduate’ was another high-ranking search term, so employers wishing to attract junior talent would be wise to include this term in their job ad, as well as the motivations that influence their employment choices. SEEK's Laws of Attraction study shows graduate accountants are motivated by salary / compensation, career development opportunities and the location of the job.

Terms such as ‘part time’ were among the top searches for this industry, along with the obvious choice of ‘admin’. Candidates were also searching for specific roles, with ‘receptionist’ and ‘executive assistant’ proving to be among the more popular terms in 2018. Employers offering flexible conditions should include this in their job ad description – ‘work from home’ ranked number five in search terms.

Employers offering part time work should include it prominently in their job ad as it proved to be the most popular search term for the industry in 2018, accounting for 3.4% of searches. It may also be wise to include specific job roles, as terms such as ‘marketing’, ‘project manager’ and ‘communications’ were also among the high-ranking search terms.

‘Graduate’ was the top search term for Banking & Financial Services in 2018, accounting for 4.1% of searches. Employers looking to engage graduates should consider what they want from their next role and promote this in their job ads. SEEK's Laws of Attraction study shows Banking & Finance graduate candidates are looking for roles that offer career development opportunities, salary / compensation and job security.

The search terms 'part time', 'casual' and 'work from home' were among the top keywords for Call Centre & Customer Service candidates. This result is reinforced by SEEK's Laws of Attraction study, which reveals that work-life balance is the top driver of attraction for candidates in this industry. Including workplace benefits such as flexible working hours and compensation for overtime in job ads may help employers to engage top talent.

Senior role types, such as ‘CEO’, ‘manager’, ‘project manager’ and ‘general manager’ were among the top search results, accounting for 18.4% of the all searches. However, employers would also be wise to highlight their sector in job ads. Terms such as ‘sport’, ‘health’, ‘automotive’ and ‘education’ were also among the popular searches for 2018.

Flexibility appears to be a high priority for candidates in this industry with ‘work from home’ taking out the top search term, accounting for 6.5% of all searches. Employers should also consider using specific and relevant terms in their job ads, as ‘aged care’, disability’ and ‘support worker’ were among the popular terms in 2018.

To attract the top Construction candidates in 2018, it’s wise to include role-specific keywords. Construction candidates chose search terms that best reflected their role, such as ‘project manager’, ‘supervisor’, ‘electrician’ and ‘labourer’. ‘Graduate’ and ‘junior’ were also popular search terms, so employers should be sure to specify experience levels within their job ad in order to be discovered by the most relevant candidates.

‘Project manager’ accounted for 6.1% of searches for Consulting & Strategy talent, however they may also be looking to use their analytical skills with ‘analyst’ appearing in their top five search terms. Employers would also be wise to include keywords specific to their sector within their job ad as candidates also searched for terms such as ‘environmental’, ‘energy’ and ‘marketing’.

In addition to industry roles, like ‘architect’ and ‘graphic designer’, candidates used keywords that matched industry technology, such as ‘revit’, which suggests they may be searching for roles based on their specific skillset. Search terms such as ‘graduate’ and ‘junior’ were also among the popular keywords, so employers looking for new industry talent should include these terms in their job ads.

The most obvious keyword – ‘teacher’ – was also the most popular, accounting for 5.7% of all searches. However, in addition to ‘teacher’, employers should consider including specific industry terms within their job ad as candidates also selected keywords that reflect their skills and experience. These included ‘child care', ‘primary teacher’, ‘music’ and ‘early childhood’.

‘Graduate’ was the most commonly searched term for candidates in Engineering, accounting for 6.7% of all searches. In fact, it was more popular than the ‘engineer’ keyword, which represented 2.8% of searches. Employers wishing to engage graduate engineers should consider what they really want. SEEK's Laws of Attraction study shows they are motivated by career development opportunities and job security.

The broad term ‘agriculture’ was the top search term for the Farming, Animals & Conservation industry in 2018. ‘Part time’ and ‘casual’ also proved to be popular terms among candidates and ‘no experience’ was also highly ranked. Employers looking to attract unskilled or entry level candidates should consider using this keyword in their job ads.

Specific, role-based keywords were the most popular among candidates in Government & Defence for 2018. ‘Manager’, ‘administration’, customer service’ and ‘policy’ represented some of the highest-ranking search terms. To help candidates with an effortless search, employers should consider including the most logical, relevant and specific keywords for roles in this industry.

‘Registered nurse’ was the top search term, accounting for 7.3% of all searches. To broaden their appearance in candidate searches, employers should avoid using industry abbreviations such as ‘rn’ within their job ad, which only represented 0.6% of searches in comparison to the full job title. Beyond nursing, keywords included industries such as ‘aged care’, as well as specific roles such as ‘dental assistant’ and ‘physiotherapist’.

‘Chef’ was by far the most popular search term for 2018, accounting for 10.8% of all searches. This was more than double the search for any other keyword in the Hospitality & Tourism industry. ‘Casual’ and ‘part time’ were also among the top search terms and employers looking for non-full time candidates should include these keywords within their job ad to increase their discoverability.

The term ‘human resources’ was searched 6% more often than the abbreviated ‘hr’, however these terms represented the top two keyword searches for candidates in the industry. Other popular search terms included ‘part time’ and ‘contract’, suggesting that candidates in the industry may be looking for flexible roles.

Employers in the Information & Communication Technology industry would be wise to include specific technology, industry terminology and acronyms when writing job ads. Keywords such as ‘java', '.net' and ‘sap’ appeared in the top 20 searches for 2018, which suggests candidates may be basing their search on a specific skillset.

In addition to obvious keywords, such as ‘insurance’ and ‘superannuation’, candidates in this industry searched for specific roles, including ‘project manager’, ‘analyst’ and ‘claims’. The 2018 results also show that ‘part time’, ‘contract’ and ‘temp’ were among the top 20 keyword searches for the industry, so employers looking for a flexible workforce should include these terms in their job ads.

The term ‘graduate’ accounted for more than 7% of keyword searches for 2018. SEEK's Laws of Attraction study reveals that the top three drivers of attraction for graduate candidates to apply for a role are career development, work-life balance and job security. If employers can match these motivators, they would be wise to include them within their job ad descriptions.

‘Driver’ was the top search term for candidates in Manufacturing, Transport & Logistics, accounting for 3.9% of all sector searches in 2018. Candidates also searched for specific roles that reflect their skillset, such as ‘forklift driver’, ‘machine operator’ and ‘truck driver’. Keywords that reflect seniority were also among the most popular, including ‘operations manager’ and ‘supervisor’.

‘Work from home’ was among the top search terms for candidates in Marketing & Communications, representing just over 6% of all searches for 2018. This suggests that flexibility is high on the list for talent and employers may wish to emphasise this in their job ads where relevant. They would also be wise to highlight their industry as candidates also searched for specific industry terms, such as ‘fashion’, ‘sport’ and ‘automotive’.

‘Operator’ was the most popular search term for candidates in Mining, Resources & Energy, representing 3.7% of all searches. More specific roles were also popular, including ‘electrician’, ‘fitter’, and ‘boilermaker’. The acronym ‘fifo’ was also among the top keywords for 2018, coming in at third place with 2.2% of all searches.

The most effective ads for this industry are those that include the kinds of logical terms that candidates in Real Estate & Property use to describe their work. These include ‘property manager’, which was the top search for 2018, accounting for 4.7% of all searches. Other popular keywords included ‘sales’, 'administration’ and ‘development’.

Employers offering casual or part time work should be sure to highlight this in the short description of their job ad as these search terms are more popular than ‘full time’ in the Retail & Consumer Products industry. Those looking for entry level talent would be wise to include the search term ‘no experience’ as it ranks in the top 20 keywords for candidates.

Sales candidates value flexibility with ‘work from home’ among their top three search terms for 2018. As they also searched for specific industries such as ‘fmcg’, ‘automotive’ and ‘food’, employers may be wise to include a prominent mention of their industry in their job ad to help the right candidates find them even faster.

‘Food’ and ‘project manager’ were the top two search terms for candidates in Science & Technology. This was closely followed by the keyword ‘graduate’. Employers looking to attract graduates in this industry should promote career development opportunities, work-life balance and job security, in line with SEEK's Laws of Attraction findings.

With 'part time' and 'work from home' both registering in the top three most-searched terms in 2017, work-life balance and flexibility is key for candidates looking to work for themselves.

‘Part time’ and ‘casual’ ranked more highly than ‘full time’ for candidates in Sport & Recreation, so employers offering these kinds of roles should consider promoting it prominently in their job ads. Other popular search terms included ‘fitness’ and ‘personal trainer’, which ranked more highly than the more general term ‘gym’.

‘Electrician’ led the way for popular search terms in Trades & Services, representing 8.2% of all searches. Candidates were more than twice as likely to search for ‘electrician’ than for ‘apprentice’, which was the second-most-popular search term. Trades & Services talent are also more likely to use keywords that clearly describe their role, such as ‘carpenter’, ‘boilermaker’ and ‘labourer’, so employers should keep their job ad description clear and to-the-point.