The Impact of Mobile on Recruitment

Your next rock-star recruit is likely staring at their mobile screen right now. And you can capitalize on this fact to hand that candidate an offer before your competitors can.

People use the desktop mainly for work. But when it comes to browsing the internet, accessing social media, and hunting for a job, mobile devices are always the first choice. People even carry their phones into the washroom. What could be more telling?

According to Statista, “as of 2021, 59.5% of the world population is active on the internet. Out of this total, 92.6% actively use the internet on a mobile device.” These figures are bound to keep increasing.

A Glassdoor study states that “9 out of 10 job-seekers reports that they’re likely to use a mobile device during their job search in the next 12 months.”

Passive and active job-seekers prefer the convenience of job hunting on mobile. However, companies are left far behind in this trend. Only 13% of leading recruiters say they invest in mobile-friendly recruiting. This neglect is striking.

Does this give you ideas about how to attract quality candidates to your company? (Hint: It has to do with optimizing your recruitment process for mobile.)

A Mobile-Friendly Experience is Essential

The biggest turn-offs for candidates are things like:

• Slow loading speeds
• Not being able to customize their CV
• Having to do a lot of typing
• Difficulty navigating the Careers page
• Difficulty in completing the job application

Think about it! What will you do as an HR professional when you come across an application that takes three minutes to load, glitches when you scroll and starts reloading when you zoom in to read the minuscule text? No thanks, next, please! Even Elon Musk’s job application wouldn’t stand a chance.

And yet, companies don’t seem interested in tightening things at their end.

Do you see the potential here? You can tap into the colossal online talent pool by investing in mobile optimization.

How to Make Website Mobile-Friendly for Recruitments

If you greet job applicants with a responsive website and an easy-to-complete application form, you’ve already won the candidate’s heart, because this experience is rare.

Poorly optimized and buggy websites are a mood-spoiler, yet common. Most job applicants complaint of:

• Small text and buttons
• Text running off the screen
• Pop-ups covering a big chunk of the screen
• Having to type the same things written in the resumé
• Completing a test for a minimum-wage job
• Session time-outs
• Receiving no status updates about their job application
• Having to fill in redundant information
• Too many steps in the application process

You can get those highly motivated, all-rounder, team-player candidates rushing to fill out your job application:

• Optimizing your website for cross-platform or investing in a mobile-first experience
• Making it easier for job applicants to sort through the open positions
• Optimizing the site for touchscreens
• Providing crucial details such as the pay, start date, hours, compensation, benefits, and perks on your Careers site
• Shortening the application process
• Removing redundant fields from the job application
• Setting up automated texts or email alerts to notify applicants about the progress of their application
• Being present on social media sites (especially LinkedIn) to increase credibility.

Respect Candidates’ Time

A job hunt is time-consuming. Submitting a customized cover letter to every company, digging for dates related to their education and previous jobs, and having to type in the same things from the resume is mind-numbing.

How can you stand out? Simple! Reduce the number of fields. Ask only for crucial data, such as the candidate’s relevant experience, contact details, and resume.

It’s impractical to type out long answers on mobile. The question, “Tell us about yourself in 300 words”, will deter applicants from filling out the application on the spot because of the fear of making a typo and ruining their first impression.

Use a solution that saves a ton of time for both parties. Whenever a candidate lands on your Careers page via a social media ad or organically, ask them to apply by filling a short Typeform questionnaire.

Candidates can fill the form on their mobile. This in turn will increase the number of applications you receive. You can quicken the first screening by capturing the most relevant data (i.e., relevant skills and salary expectations) and proceed from there.

Communicate via Mobile

It’s a no-brainer to use social media and text messaging to contact potential candidates. Why? Because it can save your job post from drowning in the bottomless sea of job postings on job boards.

People spend almost 3 hours daily on social media on average. You can reach them via highly targeted social media ads. Moreover, if you have a decent social media following, the word about the newly open position will spread like wildfire.

And don’t forget good old texts and emails.

With automated text and email updates, you can have applicants post in real-time. It will hold their interest and stop them from eloping with your competitor.

You can also send text and WhatsApp reminders to remind applicants to complete their application if they abandoned it for some reason.

Be mobile-compliant by following these simple rules, including having an opt-out option for the candidate.

Mobile Recruitment is the Future

Do you have enough coffee at your office? Because, after optimizing your recruitment process for mobile, high-quality candidates will bombard you with job applications — and the vacancies are going to be filled swiftly.

Happy hiring!