Mobile Recruiting: It's Here to Stay!

When Apple launched the iPhone 4 in 2011 it made headlines by selling over 4 million units in its first weekend of sale. Fast forward two years, and the latest 5S and 5C handsets sold over 9 million within three days.

Apple doubled their sales in two years, and we’re just talking about iPhones. Compare the figures to the latest stats in mobile recruiting, and you might begin to wonder why you haven’t hauled yourself onto the bandwagon yet:

Mobile recruiting – not just a phase:

According to a recent survey by LinkedIn, 59% of candidates are using mobile to search for vacancies and 52% are using mobile to apply but (and it’s a BIG but) only where they’re given the opportunity to do so.

Everyone and their mother has a smartphone, tablet or laptop. People were spending up to four nights camping out on Fifth Avenue to get their hands on an iPhone 5, and yet a whopping 98% of Fortune 500 companies still don’t have a mobile optimized application process.

Time to jump on the bandwagon:

By the end of the year, 80% of Americans are predicted to have a Smartphone, most of whom will want to use them to search and apply for jobs. If you happen to be an employer who hasn’t gotten around to making your recruiting platform mobile friendly, it’s time for a makeover.

Mobile recruiting – the facts:

1 in 7 internet searches are currently made from smartphones.
By 2014, mobiles will overtake PCs as the most-used tool to access the internet.
86% of current job seekers would use their smartphone to search for jobs.
Only 13% of today’s employers are adequately investing in mobile recruiting.

Why the delay?

Given the rampant and steady growth of mobile users searching for jobs via mobile, it figures that the next step for candidates is to apply with their handsets too. Statistics however, show that the number of people viewing jobs is almost double that of the job seekers who actually apply via mobile. The reason why? Well, they just can’t.

Roadblock:

When it come to recruiting, mobile optimization is more than making a website look pretty on the small screen. It needs to function. At the moment, job seekers can search for most jobs via Smartphone, but they can’t always apply.

The general assumption held by many employers is ‘why can’t people just wait until they get home?’ but the fact is that candidates are looking for jobs on their commute, on their coffee break, or even on the sofa. The employers who let them apply at the same time are the ones attracting the extra talent.

Why mobile recruiting?

Now, a one-click application might not exactly be necessary if you’re looking for your next CEO, however there are plenty of professionals out there who would appreciate the opportunity to apply on the move (particularly those elusive passive candidates).

Someone casually browsing jobs during their lunch break probably won’t head home after work and immediately reload the page on their PC. Give them the opportunity to apply straight away however, and you might have just caught yourself your next employee.

Make it simple:

Short and sweet is the key to modern day recruitment and mobile recruiting is no different, no one wants to spend 40 minutes fiddling about on a small screen. The best way to attract direct applicants is to allow candidates to upload their pre-prepared resumes in seconds.

Professional networks and job boards such as LinkedIn, Monster and Indeed have already made it easier for job seekers to apply on the go. In July this year for example, LinkedIn introduced it’s first app to let job seekers apply via mobile. Users with pre-prepared resumes can simply click and apply within 60 seconds.

Mobile recruiting – the basics:

Essentially you want to make sure that the talent that you are attracting to your site via social and mobile, end up applying directly to your jobs with speed and ease. The basics require you to do the following:

Optimize your career page for mobile use.
Share your jobs on your social networks with links to apply on your site.
Post your ad to job boards with mobile application apps.
Allow applicants to sign up to job vacancy text-alerts.
Test run your mobile application process for maximum candidate experience.

Mobile recruiting – not just for the candidate:

Something we haven’t discussed up until this point, is that mobile recruitment doesn’t just mean a better candidate experience. The recruiter can benefit too, after all it’s not just job seekers who own smartphones!

These days there is a wide range of software and apps which allow recruiters to track, assess and communicate with candidates via mobile, making their lives easier too.

What’s to lose? Get ahead of 97% of your competitors by jumping on the mobile bandwagon now!