Smartphones are nearly ubiquitous. As a result, retailers and employers are both trying to find better ways to reach their customers and candidates. Today we’ll explore how to incorporate mobile tech into you recruiting process.
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There are a lot of reasons why recruiters and HR professionals may want to better utilize mobile tech during the recruiting process. Here are a few:
- Using mobile technology competently shows the organization has attention to detail and has not neglected that aspect of the recruiting experience. Doing so makes the company appear to be organized and on top of current technology.
- Many candidates fully expect the hiring process to be available not just online, but on mobile devices—all seamlessly. Having a site that is not mobile-friendly can turn away applicants.
- Having a mobile-friendly application process may help the organization find applicants who are already tech-savvy, which is relevant for some jobs.
- Mobile recruiting may help the organization to find more qualified candidates, faster. Many people are online on their mobile devices more often than on other devices—employers can use this fact to their advantage.
- Using technology—mobile and otherwise—can save the organization money during the recruiting process, especially if using technology to your advantage can free up the recruiter’s time for other, more intensive tasks.
- Having an efficient recruiting process can help give candidates a good impression of the organization—even if they’re not hired.
How to Incorporate Mobile Tech Into Your Recruiting Process
There are a lot of ways that HR and recruiting teams can incorporate mobile and related technologies into the recruiting process. Let’s take a look at a few:
- Mobile applications. Make the application itself available and easy to use on mobile devices. The mobile application process should be easy and short. Consider incorporating the ability to upload a résumé or link to an existing profile (such as LinkedIn®) to allow candidates to more easily input their experience.
- Mobile site optimization. Optimize not just the application but the job post and entire company website for mobile:
- Mobile-friendly job posts. Ensure the job post is easy to view on a mobile device. This goes for the job post on third-party sites as well. The post itself should be easy to view and navigate. Even if it’s long, it should still be mobile-friendly; consider breaking it into sections in this scenario.
- Mobile-friendly website and career page. Ideally, the entire website for the organization should already be easy to view on any mobile device. If not, this is important, even if the applicants aren’t using the site to apply. The careers page is critical here—it should be easy to access, view, and navigate—including all selection boxes and the like.
- Mobile search functionality. Applicants should be able to easily search and find the job post and other pertinent information. They should be able to use search features seamlessly on mobile devices.
- Testing. The organization should conduct tests to ensure the site and all aspects of it function fully on various mobile devices and different Internet browsers.
- Company app. Consider creating an app for the company to assist with recruiting. This could be used by both employees and those who want to follow the organization. Followers could be able to see jobs posts here and apply directly via the app.
- Integration of other mobile apps. Use other apps, like chatting apps, as part of the recruiting process, too. Apps that allow instant messaging or voice or video calling can easily be incorporated into existing recruiting processes. These can allow the organization to have more ways to reach out to candidates and to communicate more frequently. Video calls can often be conducted via mobile technology, which can even take the place of in-person interviews in some cases.
- Social media. Utilize social media when posting a job. Social media is often viewed on mobile screens; by using social media as much as is practical during the recruitment process, the organization will catch those views that would otherwise be missed.
- Automation. There are a lot of examples of how automating parts of the process can help recruiters. One that is easily applied to mobile devices is the use of a chatbot (aka recruitment bot) to help answer candidate questions.
- Mobile follow-up. The recruiting process could include automated status updates delivered by text message. Text messages could also be used to follow up with candidates each step of the way, such as sending interview reminders or thank-you notes.
- Advertising. The use of an ad—especially one designed to be seen on mobile devices —could be used to help create more visibility for a job post. It could also allow you to better target the types of candidates you’re looking for.
- Sponsored job posts. No matter what platform you’re using to post your job vacancies, you’ll have even less time to get attention on mobile devices than you do otherwise. This can make it critical so that your job gets seen sooner. Consider sponsoring the job post to improve its placement in search results.
As with any change in the hiring process, just be careful to avoid the extremes. For example, when using automated follow-up via text message, be careful not to seem too impersonal or removed from the process. If job candidates perceive the organization as being robotic, or if it seems like they’ll never speak to a real person, that can turn people away. A balance must be achieved.
