A Review of 2022

They say that life cycles last for seven years and 2022 was our seventh.  I remember 2015 like it was yesterday.  The first steps.  The free service (hence the name – Gratis).

Last year, like every year, we helped thousands of people to find the right job for them.  Helped hundreds of employers fill their vacancies.  It’s thoroughly rewarding.  Occasionally we receive a message or email to say thank you.  That always makes my day.

2022 was probably the first year since COVID that Gratis managed to stand tall again.  There was a feeling that we had survived, where so many had fallen, and come out the other side relatively unscathed.  Recruitment is one of the most competitive industries out there and yet here we remain.

But ironically, 2022 also marked our last year.

Back in April we launched our new website  Wonder Jobs

Gratis is now our legacy, it’s where we have come from.  It’s not where we are going.  

Wonder Jobs will embrace and retain all of the values that made Gratis so special.  

So it is particularly poignant to look back.  

Although launching the new website must rank as our greatest achievement of 2022, there were many others.  Affiliate marketing accounted for 15% of our income in 2020 but last year that reached 80% – we successfully adapted to changes in the marketplace.

We have some amazing affiliate partners but I would particularly like to thank – 

  • CV Library 
  • JobsBoard.com 
  • Total Jobs 
  • What Jobs

The third highlight for me was our relationship with new and existing advertisers.  Too many to mention really.  Some, like Big C and Norwich City Football Club have been with us since the beginning.  Others, like Broad Horizons Education Trust and Bridgend College more recently.  But we value them all and hope they will join us at Wonder Jobs in 2023.

Some interesting facts about 2022 – 

  1. The first company to advertise with us on the Wonder Jobs website was jewellery brand, Monica Vinader.
  2. The last company to advertise on the Gratis website after seven years was Home Instead 
  3. Between our two websites we maintained an average of 334,000 listings at any one time 
  4. 165,000 people searched our social media posts or website listings every week
  5. Facebook remained our largest social media platform – as of today we manage 37 jobs Groups and Pages all across the UK

What would life be like without a little competition?  Which of the following job vacancies was the most viewed on the Gratis website in 2022?

  1. Store Assistants at ASDA in Bristol 
  2. Scene Guards with Norfolk Constabulary 
  3. Cabin Crew with easyJet at Gatwick Airport 

To enter all you have to do is send your answer to us via the Wonder Jobs Contact Page and we’ll announce the winner on the Wonder Jobs News Section on 10th January 2023.  If you are a jobseeker then the prize will be a free professionally written CV and if you are a recruiter the prize will be a free Premium listing.

Finally, I want to thank everyone who has worked for and supported Gratis this past year.  My Number Two, as he is officially named, Stewart Preece, and James Price who manages our website.  Without them the show would have been a lot more difficult to put on.  Someone else too, but that (as they say) must remain between us.

From me and from everyone at Gratis Jobs – a happy New Year – let’s hope that 2023 is a success and full of wealth and happiness (but mainly happiness).  

Gary Barnes

Director – Wonder Jobs Ltd

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