Mobile Web Browsers – How Effectively do you Convert them to Job Applicants?

By Laura-Jane (Kerr) Sarkodee

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Smartphone Mobile Job ApplicationsAs a population, we are consuming mobile data at a staggering rate and this is set to increase significantly over the next 5-10 years.   The convenience of the smart phone means that many of us (myself included here) are never more than an arms length away from a wealth of information online.
 

As a typical job seeker or indeed ‘passive’ job seeker, when would I be likely to be using my smart phone to browse the web?

  • Whilst still in bed?

  • Whilst having my breakfast?

  • On the way to work? (Mobile internet consumption peaks between 7am and 9am)

  • On a coffee / cigarette break?

  • Lunchtime

  • Toilet breaks?  (It seems the smart phone may have replaced the newspaper…eh chaps?!)

  • On the way home?

  • Whilst watching television (82% of smart phone users browse the internet in this way)


You get the picture – we are checking in online at numerous points throughout the day and these are all great times to capture the attention of our respective target candidates!

The first question that springs to mind for many companies that I work with is “how can I get recruitment messages in front of this ‘mobile’ audience?”  Take a step back first of all if you fall into this category; the first question you should be asking is “do we have a mobile friendly apply process?”.


It’s all very well targeting your ideal candidates but if you do not make it easy for them to apply, then your hard work will go to waste.  So what should you consider as part of any mobile recruiting strategy?  Here are some points to consider:


1.  Most people do not have their CV / Resume readily available on a mobile.

  • Consider an alternative to the standard ‘upload your CV’ button from your career site. 
  • Make sure that you have a dedicated mobile career site or mobile responsive site. 
  • Consider an ‘Apply with LinkedIn’ integration or equivalent, which allows job seekers to apply with one of their social profiles.
  • Integrate with dropbox or google drive, to allow users to access their CV on their desktop, directly from their mobile! 
  • As a last resort, simply incorporate a ‘Forward this Job’ button to allow seekers to send themselves the vacancy and apply later, when they have access to a desktop.


2.  Statistics tell us that the average mobile web user spends 2.7 hours per day browsing.  Due to the high volume of data consumed and the small screen associated with a mobile device, we tend to scan information.  Bear this in mind when preparing recruitment advertisements.  Less is more!  Be concise, use bullets and break text up with headings.


3.  49% of people use their smartphone for social networking.  It therefore makes sense to ensure that you not only consider your mobile strategy, but you combine it with a robust social recruiting strategy.  Your ideal candidates often claim to be too busy to search for jobs…. but they do have time to spend on social media sites, so get in front of them during their social networking time!


4.  Video accounts for 69% of mobile data traffic.  This makes sense – it is a more pleasant experience watching a video on a small screen rather than having to stretch, pinch and scroll through lots of text.  Consider using a video job to market your vacancy and have fun with it!  Where I have incorporated video to recruitment campaigns for clients historically, we have seen engagement with the page increase from 1 minute to up to 6 minutes and applications increase by 25%!


5.  Don’t just focus on web browsers!  SMS and e-mail are still great ways to share your jobs with your target audience and are both picked up directly from mobile.  Recipients can then click through directly to your vacancy and apply from there!  Remember that SMS will get the most immediate response for urgent vacancies, but don’t overuse this tool, as it could be viewed as an invasion of privacy.


6.  Recruit Graduates or attend Career Fairs? Why not incorporate QR Codes into your marketing material, as a fun way to drive traffic to your online jobs via mobile?  You can also track your response!

If you are serious about engaging with potential applicants online, then you need to start incorporating these ideas to your business now!  It is predicted that by 2014, mobile internet usage will overtake desktop usage – is your resourcing strategy ready?

If you would like some help getting mobile, then go ahead and schedule a free strategy call with me HERE. There is absolutely no obligation to work with me after the call and the worst that can happen is that you will get some great, bespoke ideas for your own resourcing strategy.  My passion is helping businesses like yours to thrive and grow, as a result of introducing awesome talent attraction methods that really work, so it would be my pleasure to help you...

Happy Recruiting!

Laura-Jane


Image credit: Johan Larsson

 

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