The Rise of Mobile in Talent Acquisition: Part Two

The talent acquisition process has begun to evolve with the rise of mobile devices. Almost half of job seekers are now leveraging their smartphones and tablets daily to look for job postings on-the-go, with 75% of people saying they were planning on using their mobile device as part of their job search within the next year. In the coming months, mobile talent acquisition will likely continue to grow.

But with every innovation there is a growing process that brings about pain points. In the case of mobile job searching, those pain points are evident in the application process itself. Here, the challenges associated with building a mobile talent acquisition strategy are examined, as well as solutions to these problems.

The Challenges of Building a Mobile Talent Acquisition Strategy

Although the mobile job-seeking trend has taken off in the past year, the application process is lagging behind. Even with three out of four people planning on using mobile devices to look for a job, only 44% are likely to use a mobile device to apply for that position. And, while LinkedIn found that companies saw a 75% increase in applications coming in from a mobile device from 2013 to 2014, that only made up 28% of total applications received. So, while mobile job hunting has seen a dramatic up-tick, the application process itself still takes place away from mobile devices.

The reason for this is the difficulty that comes with using a mobile device for something so important and, at times, technical. Most candidates find applying from a mobile device to be difficult, with 49% of applicants feeling this way according to Glassdoor, with 37% saying that they were worried about making a mistake on their mobile device while applying.

Furthermore, Indeed.com found that 53% of people struggled with applications on small screens, and 38% noted that it was challenging to tailor resumes to specific jobs when applying on mobile.

Overall, Glassdoor found that 69% of people still prefer to use a laptop or desktop when filling out the application itself, relying on mobile devices to discover new opportunities and save them for later. The demand for screen real estate, having to change from application to application, and difficulty performing tasks more easily done with a keyboard and mouse make the traditional computer a much better option for the application process.

Overcoming the Obstacles of Connecting with Mobile Job Seekers

As mobile job-hunting continues to grow, the best way to stand out and acquire the best talent is to optimize your career center and job postings for mobile devices. LinkedIn found that in 2014, 30% of companies optimized their job postings for mobile devices (up 67% from 2013), and 34% did the same for the entire career section of their website (a 70% increase). Although there has been a large growth, there’s still plenty of time to be on the forefront of this movement.

Make sure that a candidate visiting your career center or job posting will be able to read through the posting without any rendering issues on their smartphone or tablet, ensuring that the posting fits well on the screen. Also, make sure that potential candidates can easily save the application for later; even though some candidates will apply with a mobile device, chances are more likely they will save the application process for a more traditional laptop or desktop setting.

Make sure that you review part one of The Rise of Mobile.