The Future of Recruiting Is Mobile
It wasn’t even half a decade ago that top-of-the-line smartphones were out of the question for most. Today, we reach for our phones as a reflex. Faced with an unanswered question, a moment of free time, or virtually any unmet need, we turn to our smartphones.
Because we shop, pay, talk, meet, and learn on our phones, it only makes sense that we would start to look for new jobs on our phones as well. Indeed, the future of recruiting is mobile.
What Is Mobile Recruiting?
Mobile recruiting is simply the practice of engaging your candidates through their mobile devices. That means setting up your careers page and application process to be device-friendly, being open to communication via text, entertaining the idea of a recruiting app, and using social media to connect.
Why Does Mobile Recruiting Matter?
According to research from Beyond.com, 77 percent of job seekers are turning to phone apps to facilitate their searches. It’s not just that people enjoy using their phones – it’s that mobile makes sense for a job search. It lets job seekers respond quickly to openings in a competitive landscape and offers more privacy for those who want to be discreet when they’re on the market.
Mobile recruiting is only going to get more important as time goes on. In Beyond.com’s study, entry-level and recent graduate job seekers accounted for the majority of job app downloads. Because the younger generation is so reliant on their phones for everyday tasks, you can bet that mobile is going to become the predominant method of application and communication for job seekers going forward. Without a strong mobile strategy, your company will miss out on a large pool of valuable talent.
Three Things to Look for in Mobile Recruiting Software
1. Mobile-Friendly Career Pages
Job seekers closely scrutinize potential employers to make sure their core values align with their own. In fact, 46 percent of millennials said they would rather make $40,000 per year at a job they love than $100,000 per year at a job they find boring. Because of this emphasis on culture fit, it’s vital that your careers page (where most candidates start their research) be a hub of excellent information. It should be beautifully designed and easy to navigate on any device. Great mobile recruiting software will make it simple for you to set up and maintain such a site.
One of the major reasons job seekers are turning to mobile is because it gives them a leg up in applying to positions as soon as they open, hopefully ahead of other applicants. This also means job seekers value speed in employers’ responses. Mobile recruiting software that offers SMS/text support lets employers and candidates keep the process moving by asking for and responding to missing documents, scheduling interviews, providing status updates, and more.
3. Mobile Document Sharing
Anyone who has ever tried to open a document on mobile without the right apps knows how frustrating it can be. During the recruitment process, you need access to resumes, cover letters, interview notes, and more. Beyond that, you also need to be able to collaborate on these documents with your team members. Excellent mobile recruiting software should facilitate simple document uploads, sharing, editing, and collaboration. With these tools, you can keep the process going on both ends without the hassle of a thousand emails.
If you remember getting your first job by walking into the building, asking for an application, and filling it out with a pen, it may be hard to wrap your mind around an entire application process executed on mobile devices. However, the prevailing market trends and even basic powers of observation make it clear: The future of recruiting is mobile.
Karri Bishop is a marketing communications specialist at TechnologyAdvice, a B2B marketing firm that connects buyers and sellers of business technology.