What Is Mobile Recruiting? Definition, Tips & Benefits

Mobile recruiting is the process of reaching out to job seekers and taking them through the application process via their mobile devices. It seems simple, but to do this well takes more than just a mobile-friendly website. The best mobile recruiting process takes advantage of all the benefits mobile provides, enabling a smooth process and quick and easy communication for job seekers and your hiring team.

Mobile Recruitment Strategies & Tips

Finding employees on mobile requires many of the same job advertising skills as any other recruiting style. Start with a clear job ad with strong keywords to make it easy for interested people to find it in a search. Make sure your “About” page and social media feeds showcase your company in its best light. Also, especially on mobile, take out any unneeded steps that lengthen the application process or otherwise make applying difficult.

Consider these specific tips to make your mobile hiring experience its best:

• Mobile-friendly recruiting pages: While an obvious first step, mobile optimization goes beyond making sure your recruiting tool is good for mobile. You should optimize your keywords, keep job descriptions simple and direct, avoid complex application processes, allow buttons rather than typing where possible, and avoid making applicants have to move from webpage to webpage to get things done.
• Geo-conquesting: This tool takes advantage of mobile’s location data. When you place job ads on media, you bid higher for the locations you want, so your ads show up more often in the locations you are targeting.
• Optimize applications for mobile: Glassdoor found that mobile-friendly job applications receive up to 12% more applicants. In some cases, job seekers use mobile because they do not have ready access to a desktop or laptop computer. A mobile-optimized application will widen your pool to include these people.
• Simplify that application: In addition to optimizing the application for mobile, keep the information to the essentials. It’s been shown that 60% of applicants will give up on an application that is too long or complex—and that’s not even considering mobile.
• Ability to express interest before the full application: Sometimes, applicants want to know more before going through the process of applying. Those using mobile especially expect a way to reach out and communicate before going through the application process. This can be an advantage to you as well, as you may be able to screen some candidates before putting them in the application chain.
• Ability to send documents via mobile: Making it easy for applicants to upload information using their mobile phone can speed up the application process. This could mean attaching a resume to an application or being able to text a photo of proof of ID.
• Text messaging: According to HireVue, some 60% of applicants favor texts over other forms of communication. Texts generally get immediate attention, where emails can be lost or ignored—and even if someone has email on their phone, it’s still a process to get to, whereas texts are one tap away.
• Mobile from beginning to end: It can be annoying to an applicant to start on mobile, only to have to move to desktop for communication, applications, or other parts of the process. Make your entire recruiting process, from job posts to offer letters, mobile-friendly.
• QR codes: QR codes are becoming popular for payment processing and item information, but they can be used for hiring, too. A great tool for restaurants and retail, having a kiosk or even a sign at the counter with a QR code that leads to your application site can increase applicants. Further, these are people who already love what you do and are familiar with your business.

Social Recruiting & Mobile

Mobile and social media go hand in hand, so it’s important to include social outreach as part of your mobile recruitment strategy. Look for recruiting and job posting software that include social media features and be sure you have company pages in the most popular business-oriented platforms as well as some up-and-comers. For example, LinkedIn is a standard, but if you are reaching out to women in the workforce, Bumble Bizz, the professional networking arm of the popular dating app, is worth considering.

Speaking of LinkedIn, smart job seekers will make sure they have a strong profile, so consider letting them apply via LinkedIn rather than filling out a complex application online. Social also provides a great, COVID-considerate alternative to recruiting fairs. You can host live events via Facebook Live, WhatsApp, and others. According to CareerArc, 86% of job seekers search for jobs through social media.

Last, but by no means least, make sure your social media pages are up-to-date and reflect your company culture as well as your product. Social media is one of the primary ways job candidates evaluate your company. And Glassdoor, for example, says more than half its visitors are coming from mobile devices.

Mobile Recruiting Benefits

Indeed notes that 75% of job seekers are accessing its site via mobile. Other sources, like Glassdoor, report nearly 90% of job hunters are doing at least some part of the process, whether searching for jobs or actually applying, on their smartphones. Not only is mobile recruiting important for reaching candidates, but it shows your company as forward-thinking and technology-minded.

Here are some other benefits:

• Reach younger candidates: Pre-COVID studies showed nearly 60% of millennials searched for jobs using mobile devices. For Gen Z, the expectation for mobile is even higher, with 69% expecting mobile job applications.
• Quicker communication: Gen Z also expects text communication. Two-thirds say that texting shows a company is tech-savvy, a quality they expect. Regardless of generation, however, applicants are expecting faster replies. Texting makes it easy—plus, you’re more likely to be heard as most studies and surveys indicate an open rate for text messages of nearly 100%.
• Recruiters can work anywhere: Mobile recruiting isn’t just about convenience for the candidates. It allows managers and hiring authorities to work via mobile as well, so they can work even when not near the computer. For example, a restaurant manager who was too busy during open hours to get to the computer can quickly review candidates and send texts over the phone from home. It also makes it easier to quickly react to a new applicant no matter when they submit.

Mobile Recruiting Tools & Apps

Bottom Line

In 2020, mobile applications surpassed desktop applications for the first time. Your business cannot ignore mobile recruiting, especially if you are looking for the next generation of employees (54% of Gen Z candidates will pass by a business if they think you have outdated recruiting methods). Consider the tips we discussed above—including simplifying the application process, allowing documents to be sent via mobile, and communicating through text—to get the most out of your mobile recruitment strategy.