Why your company needs mobile friendly job applications
Mobile platforms are evolving everything from how we communicate to how we consume media; so it’s no surprise they would have an impact on your recruitment process. Today, job seekers expect to not only view jobs seamlessly on their mobile devices but apply to them quickly and easily as well.
And still, not all companies’ career sites have jumped on the mobile friendly bandwagon. “There are all kinds of excuses why companies aren’t doing mobile recruiting, says Michael Marlatt, head of Cognizant Technology Solutions’ Talent Innovation Lab and founder of MREC, an annual mobile recruiting conference. “But it’s a must to remain competitive.” Here’s why — along with the who, where, when, and how — your firm should lead the way with mobile friendly job applications.
The Why
These days, mobile job search is less of a perk and more of an expected convenience. And not all job seekers have the time to come to you, so you need to cater to the lifestyles of candidates on the move.
“If I’m waiting to pick up my daughter from a music lesson and I see all these jobs on my smartphone, I want to be able to apply from my phone,” says Barry Wu, director of product management at Monster. If you truly want to select from the best-of-the-best job candidates, you want to make it as easy as possible for them to find you and create a mobile friendly job hunting experience. “Apply with Monster, a one-button apply solution, is smart enough to determine what’s the best experience for the particular mobile device that the user is on,” says Wu.
The Who
Resist the temptation that you’ll only be missing out on some internet-spoiled millennials by not having mobile friendly applications. First, you don’t know how young the most qualified candidate will be.
Second, if you neglect mobile, you may miss out on diversity and your workforce demographics may suffer. “Hispanics, African-Americans, and women are the heaviest users of mobile technology,” according to Marlatt. “So, when you think about diversity recruiting, mobile is key.”
The Where
Decide which parts of your hiring process exist in mobile and in person. On the one hand, consider the nothing-but-mobile applications. Can you decide which applicants to screen with a phone interview, based solely on their input via mobile? Make this your next goal.
On the other hand, avoid trying to fully vet the candidate from her mobile friendly job application. You don’t need to front-load your application workflow with processes that can wait. Details like background and reference checks often can be covered during the interview process.
The How
First, ensure that your site is smartphone ready with Google’s test for mobile responsiveness. “If you realize you’re not mobile friendly, you need to consider a mobile responsive design,” says Marlatt. “It may be too much for IBM to rebuild their site from the ground up for mobile — that’s a huge undertaking. The workaround is to have a redirect to a simplified mobile site.”
Second, complexity kills candidate interest. Mobile job seekers, on average, successfully complete fewer applications and take longer to complete each application. How do you respond?
- Pare down your career site to bare essentials;
- Remove any excess obstacles between the candidate and the application;
- Refine your mobile career site for all the devices used by your target candidates; and
- Make it as easy as possible to complete the application process.
Finally, test-drive your career site on your phone. Play the part of the online job seeker and experience your mobile recruitment firsthand.
The When
No one wants to be the last to adopt a basic convenience job candidates have come to expect. And Google has been penalizing websites that fail its mobile responsiveness test since 2015. The result could downgrade your placement in search results served to mobile devices, and therefore your candidate reach.
“If you care about your ranking, and want to be seen as innovative, you want to be mobile ready,” Marlatt says. So, if your company hasn’t revamped its online recruiting process to include mobile friendly job applications already, it’s time.
Update your candidate search with mobile friendly job applications today
Getting the most out of your mobile recruitment means making it as easy as possible for candidates to apply. And mobile job applications are one piece of that puzzle. For more resources on creating the best job applications, as well the latest in hiring trends and expert recruiting advice to help you find and hire the best job candidates out there, sign up for Monster Hiring Solutions today.