Find Qualified Candidates, Wherever They Are

In this increasingly mobile world, the ideal candidate is on-the-go and interacting with a company’s employer brand – and its competitors – at any given time and in any given place. Today’s candidates want what they want, when and where they want it. And, most of them are using their mobile devices to get it.

Candidates expect recruiting strategies to reach out to them where they are, whether it’s on their smartphone, tablet, laptop, iPad or even a traditional mobile phone. Companies angling to win the war for talent must find new strategies and better ways of connecting with new talent using mobile devices. And those that don’t will struggle to keep up with their competitors and fail to connect with today’s mobile-enabled workforce.

It’s not surprising then that recent research from the Aberdeen Group shows that more organizations are recognizing the value in mobile recruiting tools to help them reach their recruiting and hiring goals. The research firm found that “the adoption of mobile tools for human capital management functions has grown significantly in the past year – nearly doubling in the case of mobile tools for recruiting.”  Moreover, a recent survey from Glassdoor found that 89 percent of employees who plan on looking for a new job over the next year acknowledge that their mobile device will play a key role in their job search.

That’s why companies are reaching out to candidates – both passive and active – in a combination of ways to gain the edge over the competition. According to the Aberdeen Group’s report, most companies (75%) make their job listings and company information available on mobile websites, as well as allow external applicants to apply for jobs via mobile websites or mobile apps (67%). Among today’s “single click” generation, successful companies must be able to engage quality candidates across any platform, including social and mobile.

The growing need to engage candidates on mobile devices is ushered in by the rise of millennials in the workplace. As these candidates have grown up with technology in the palms of their hands, they increasingly expect to be able to conduct more of their personal and professional interactions on their devices, and the job search is no exception. But it’s not just about millennials – ensuring that all candidates can apply how and when they want to is crucial to creating a more diverse and inclusive hiring strategy.

At the same time, developing a mobile-optimized apply process can also significantly improve the candidate experience, which continues to emerge as a key differentiator. By enabling candidates to apply from their favorite devices, the company can deliver a more favorable experience to candidates, thereby enhancing its reputation and ability to attract additional top candidates.

Mobile recruiting solutions aren’t just about making candidates’ lives easier, however. They also help recruiters and hiring managers with the day-to-day tasks associated with hiring new employees. Recognizing that hiring managers and recruiters can be more effective when utilizing talent acquisition systems that have been designed and built for use on-the-go, more global organizations are beginning to implement mobile solutions that meet these critical needs. For example, effective mobile applicant tracking systems (ATS) enable an automated approach to assessing, processing, and tracking candidates.

These next-generation recruiting capabilities can pay off for organizations that leverage them appropriately – companies using mobile talent acquisition tools had 35 percent lower turnover among high potentials than those that didn’t, according to the Aberdeen report. So, figuring out how mobile fits into an overall recruitment strategy has become more critical than ever before and those employers able to provide their candidates with a consistent employment brand, no matter the device, are at a distinct advantage.