Mark my words, mobile recruiting is the only future. Actually, because 86 percent of applicants start their job search on a mobile device, that future forecast for mobile recruiting is more likely our predictable present. So what does all this mobile recruiting talk have to do with HR? A lot more than you think…
The employment landscape has evolved over the years and mobile recruiting is one of the latest offshoots of our society’s dependence on technology. If you were to analyze recruiting strategies ten or so years ago, the employers dominated and dictated where job openings were advertised and available (newspaper classifieds, wanted signs, etc). Nowadays however, it’s applicant traffic trends that determine where employers go to post their jobs. If you are looking to attract a high quantity of top talent, then you need to adapt your hiring process around the needs of job seekers – enter mobile recruiting.
When you say mobile recruiting, what devices are you referring to?
Let’s start with the basics. Mobile recruiting involves applicants looking for and applying for open positions on a mobile device. A mobile device ranges anywhere from a smartphone to a tablet. So how many people can you actually target with mobile recruiting? Well, let’s put it this way, there are more smartphones on this planet than there are people, so the chances of someone using this type of device to search for jobs is pretty much guaranteed.
There are more smartphones on this planet than there are people.
Why mobile recruiting?
The answer to why mobile recruiting surpasses traditional job searching methods is simple – because it’s mobile. Pretty much everything you could ever want to learn about the world now rests in your pocket. Wi-Fi is available everywhere. Our world functions on the go: you answer emails on the train ride home, you attend conference video calls 50,000 feet up in the air, and you receive doctor appointment reminders via text. Everything is mobile so it only makes sense that if you want to find top applicants, you’re going to need to adopt a seamless mobile recruiting strategy.
We already have an optimized mobile recruiting platform.
If you think that you have a streamlined mobile recruiting system in place, chances are you’re wrong. 80 percent of HR professionals believe their site is optimized for mobile recruiting when it isn’t. You may think you have all your mobile recruiting ducks in a row, when in reality, your career site looks great on one device, but is dysfunctional on an apple device. Or, your site works great from the web, but fails when someone tries to access your application on an app. The reason there is such a large discrepancy between what HR thinks is reality and what is really going on is that mobile recruiting optimization is not an easy task. There isn’t a one size fits all approach – even when you use really high quality programmers. It takes time to work out all the kinks. Additionally, as hiring apps continue to be developed and change, it’s your responsibility to stay on top of all the latest updates, so that your mobile recruiting strategy doesn’t suffer.
How do we identify our mobile recruiting holes?
The simplest way to determine if your mobile recruiting process is optimized is to apply for your openings on multiple mobile devices. This is a great opportunity to also identify any kinks in your hiring chain as you remove your HR hat, and take a walk through your hiring process as an applicant. How long does it take you to complete each step? Is there a field that is difficult to see on a mobile device? Do all of your dropdowns happen effectively? Would it be better to shorten your application or break it up into two steps? Once you’ve walked through the entire process, you can start forming solutions to your mobile recruiting hiccups.
Think your career site has what it takes to get an A+ for mobile recruiting? Let one of our hiring experts put it to the test (for free)! Contact us to learn more.
