The Unavoidable March of Mobile Recruiting

More than ever, people are using their mobile devices to access the Web—that includes jobseekers looking for jobs. Increasingly, those same jobseekers are using their mobile devices to find jobs and apply to them.

In today’s Advisor, we’ll seek to explore the current state of mobile recruiting, including some common myths about mobile recruiting, how many people use their mobile devices both to search for and apply to jobs, and what your organization can do to stay ahead of the curve.

Mobile Recruiting Myths

There are a number of myths out there that are getting harder to believe as time goes on. In an HR Daily Advisor article, expert Matt Adam, chief talent strategist at NAS Recruitment Innovation in Cincinnati, highlighted some of the common myths out there concerning mobile recruiting. Here is what he had to say:

• Myth #1: No one searches for jobs on mobile devices.
  Busted. For example, Google reported 300,000,000 job-related searches, and 50% of them were from mobile devices.
• Myth #2: No one visits career sites from mobile devices.
  Busted, says Adam. He is familiar with sites that get 25% of their traffic from mobile devices.
• Myth #3: Candidates don’t want to be bothered on mobile devices.
  False, says Adam. Candidates are willing (and some eager) to interact on mobile devices.

In fact, there are research reports that support Adam’s claims. For example, take a look at some of these figures published in a GlassDoor® study from 2014:

• Jobseekers overwhelmingly indicated that they will use their mobile devices at some point during their job search over the next year—the figure is 89%! That was up over the year before by 7%.
• When it comes to searching, 75% of jobseekers will use their mobile device to find jobs.
• Fewer people actually apply to jobs on their mobile devices, but it’s still a significant portion at 44%.
• Another large chunk of jobseekers (45%) say they use their mobile devices to look for jobs daily. A more recent poll by Jobvite® puts that number at 47%.

How Are We Doing?

A recent article on HR.BLR.com® discusses how HR professionals are doing when it comes to being mobile recruiting-friendly.

The ubiquitous use of mobile technology has fueled the expectation that the job search experience should be the same whether you are on a desktop or mobile device. However, nearly one-half (46%) of HR professionals don’t offer candidates the option of accessing their Application Tracking System (ATS) via a mobile device, mostly because of technical or resource constraints.

Although one-third (33%) of HR professionals reported that they saw a bigger drop-off rate because their ATS was not mobile-optimized, only 24% of all HR professionals think the ability to apply to a job via a mobile device should be considered part of the candidate experience.

We Aren’t Mobile Recruiting-Friendly, So What?

According to a HR.BLR.com article, when jobseekers can’t apply via a mobile device, 65% said they rarely return to their desktop to finish the application. Of course, 65% of those that do use mobile devices to apply doesn’t represent 65% of all applicants. How damaging can failing to offer mobile recruiting capabilities really be?

Given how many people are applying with their phones today, the consequences are actually pretty high. A report covered in a recent article on HR.BLR.com states that one in four candidates are deterred from applying to a job if a company’s career site is not mobile-optimized. That means that one-quarter of your potential talent isn’t even applying to your job opportunity. In an era where many companies are trying to expand, excluding such a large portion of the potential hires could really affect a company’s ability to expand.

Tomorrow, what can be done to help your organization be more mobile-friendly. Plus, an introduction to an interactive webinar, Digital Profiles—The New Résumé: How to Search Online Profiles for Recruitment Success.