Technology is in a constant state of flux and changing the way we live, our decision making and also playing a huge role in the way business’s function. Businesses that want to stay competitive must ride the crest of technology or face the prospect of redundancy.
The great thing about technology is it plays no favorites. There is a tech solution available for just about any and every business process you can think of; yes, this includes ‘hiring’ as well.
A look back in time:
There was a time when job advertisements were published in newspapers and candidates would send in their resumes to the postal address mentioned in the advert; the recruiters would give them a call back if their qualifications and experience fit the job profile.
- Enter the World Wide Web: It facilitated the rise of ‘digital recruitment’, something that is still commonly used today; jobs are posted on job sites or job boards. Candidates can apply through these sites or send in their resumes to the email ID of the recruiter.
- Enter Social Media: The recruitment process underwent a dramatic change with the arrival of social media and its rapid adoption by users. It has given an added impetus to the process of recruitment, making it very easy for recruiters to get in touch with qualified candidates. Social professional networks are becoming the top source of recruitment.
- Enter Mobile Technology: Before hiring managers could get used to social recruitment, the world of recruitment has received another massive transformative boost in the form of mobile technology. The use of mobile apps is all set to revolutionize the practice of recruitment.
What we are staring at is a ‘Mobile App Recruitment’ revolution. Recruiting agencies and companies that have kept pace with the latest developments in technology and adopted what suits their needs and requirements best, are way ahead in reaching out to potential qualified candidates as compared to their competitors.
But, as is the case with any technology, there are always doubts in the mind of users about the potential deliverables of a particular tech solution. Questions like ‘why should I use it’, ‘what if I use it wrong’, ‘what if it involves a steep learning curve’ etc. act as barriers to seamless adoption.
These doubts persist even in the case of mobile apps and many recruitment professionals are skeptical of using them.
Let’s take a look at the reasons stopping them from leveraging mobility to improve their recruitment process and why these reasons need to go into the nearest trash can:
1) Apps are complex:
Hiring managers are not in favor of using recruiting apps as they presume these apps are difficult to understand and use.
But, nothing can be farther from the truth.
There are many recruiting apps (for e.g. LinkedIn) that offer a fantastic UI and UX, which guarantees users can navigate app functionality with relative ease. These apps are so designed that even non-tech savvy recruiters can use them easily.
2) Apps are a waste of money:
No, they aren’t.
You don’t have to dig deep inside your pockets to buy an app and what’s more, the right app can deliver solid value for money. It can help get your hands on the right candidate quickly, before your competitors.
A large number of individuals who want to join the workforce are searching for opportunities on their mobile phones. The use of a mobile app helps you keep up with this mobile generation, otherwise you run the risk of being ignored by them.
However, if you still think you don’t want to spend money on an app, there are many free recruiting apps available on the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store. Even for the paid apps, mobile application vendors usually offer free trial for a few days, where you can use specific app features; this helps you decide whether spending money on the app makes sense or not.
3) Apps are time-consuming:
On the contrary, apps can save your precious time!
Today’s hiring managers are increasingly strapped for time. They have a truckload of responsibilities on their plate like posting jobs, scheduling interviews, organizing career fairs and much more!
They can save a lot of time by downloading an app on their smartphone. They can not only use this app on the go but also use it to engage with target candidates in a more immediate manner.
There are certain apps that even let you post openings on your company website, your social media channels and job boards simultaneously; this saves valuable time that can be spent elsewhere in other recruitment activities.
4) Apps keep sending notifications:
Receiving a gazillion notifications a day can definitely be annoying for recruiters.
But then most apps provide easy options for people to turn these notifications off. They even offer the option of selecting the kind of notifications you would like to receive on your smartphone or tablet.
So, rather than annoying, push notifications can actually prove to be highly beneficial as you will receive well-timed relevant messages.
For instance, think of a situation where you are about to schedule an interview with a candidate when you receive a push-notification saying a worthier candidate has shown interest in your job opening. This is just one of the benefits offered by recruitment apps and is far more relevant and timely, than an email that is read 2 hours after short listing the candidates.
5) Apps are buggy:
No software or app is 100% bug free, but this should not be an excuse offered by hiring managers for not using it.
A good quality app can crash for freeze, but only in rare instances. Reputed app vendors take great care to ensure that an app is fast and doesn’t drain your battery. Moreover, they come up with upgraded versions from time to time and ensure that bugs have been resolved in the new version of the app.
If you are still not convinced, a mobile app needs to be an integral tool of your mobile app marketing strategy, take a look at a few more benefits that might change your mind:
- Communicate in Real-time – Leverage push notifications to push your jobs to the candidates’ inbox (app inbox). It is an extremely effective means of instantly communicating open positions to job seekers.
- Convenience – Recruitment apps come with diverse features like applicant tracking, interview scheduling, web-enabled candidate search etc. These features provide different benefits to recruiters, thereby making the whole process of recruitment easy and convenient.
- Work Offline – You are also able to access and collect your data whilst offline. Certain recruitment apps automatically synchronize data in the background and store it on the device, so that recruiters can access data in the app without connectivity.
- Collaboration – There may be times when multiple team members are handling the recruitment process. For instance, a hiring manager may not have any idea of the skills to look for when hiring a web developer and would be required to keep the project manager in the loop. By using the right recruitment mobile app, they can collaborate easily and effortlessly find the ideal candidate for the position.
The wrap:
As you can see, a mobile app has the ability to play a mission critical role in the hiring process. You will have to embrace this technology sooner, rather than later. So why wait? It will be a good idea to start using this technology, immediately.
There are great benefits to be had if you start using a mobile app to shore up your recruitment efforts.
Author Bio: Vivek Patel is the content marketer at MoveoApps, an android app development company. He writes about mobile applications, technology and analyzes current technology market scenarios and loves to share his ideas on the web. You can follow him on Twitter @vivekrpatel.
