6 Tips on Using Mobile Technology to Attract Top Talent

by Steve Phillips, Client Solutions Director

Mobile recruiting has become one of the most popular subjects in the world of talent acquisition. The explosion of mobile technology has created a huge new audience of potential job-seekers presenting new challenges for recruiters and HR professionals to develop innovative ways of engaging with their targets.   

Currently,70% of all job seekers search for jobs via mobile devices. In addition, 20 % search for information about careers through these devices. The analysis of our own website traffic indicates that our mobile traffic has nearly doubled in the last three months with a growing number of applicants using our Recruitment App to apply for jobs. Furthermore, the LinkedIn infographic highlighting top global recruitment trends this year shows that 87% of businesses believe that they have not adequately invested in making their recruiting process mobile friendly.

  

It is clear that if you are not incorporating your mobile capabilities into your sourcing strategy, you are missing the trick! So what’s next?

Here are some tips from an IT recruitment business on how to make the mobile technology help you attract the best available talent:

Align your mobile recruitment strategy to corporate goals

According to the recent research by Aberdeen Group, despite the focus on mobile initiatives, talent acquisition functions still operate independently, and their strategies don’t support the overall business objectives. “One-size-fits-all” model won’t work, you should determine which approach will be best for your organisation.

Mobile-optimise your careers site

Increase your talent pool by making it easy for candidates applying for jobs through their smart phones, iPads and tablets. Ensure your mobile-optimised careers site can be viewed through a variety of mobile devices.

Make it as user-friendly as possible

Mobile job seekers are likely to have limited time and/or possible restricted bandwidth. A tiny screen to view content doesn’t help either! Make it as user-friendly as possible by only including the most essential information (e.g. big, clear font, prominent phone numbers) and avoid excessive imagery.

Enable referrals on-the-go

Referrals are a very powerful source of candidate attraction. Make it easy for your employees to use it. Equally give your candidates the ability to “share” your job listings through social networks.

Make your social sites mobile friendly

Increasingly job-seekers use networks like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook in their career search. Besides, 38% of organisations surveyed in Aberdeen’s talent acquisition research believe that LinkedIn will replace the resume over the next few years. 60% of Facebook usage is via mobile devices. How easy is it for your potential targets to view and apply for a vacancy you posted on your social networking sites through their smartphones?

Focus on candidate experience

First impressions count! Mobile recruitment strategies play a vital role in improving employer branding. If the initial candidate experience is poor – you are in danger of losing strong applicants. This is your opportunity to promote your organisation showcasing its strengths. Simple steps such as clearly explaining what happens after the application is completed, providing the name and direct line of the recruiter and  links to useful resources such as blogs & guides to assist the candidate make a huge difference.

What is your experience of managing mobile technology to attract talent?

 

Share your views in our comment box below. Get in touch if you would like to discuss how you could best develop a results-driven mobile recruiting strategy to expand your talent pool and increase brand awareness of your organisation.

Trends in Business Change Recruitment Survey

Are you involved in sourcing talent for "Business Change and Transformation" projects?

 

Then we would like to hear your views!

 

Sanderson, as Business Change Recruitment experts, are conducting a survey “Trends in Business Change & Transformation Recruitment” across a variety of industry sectors, with a large number of HR and Business Change professionals taking part. It should only take a few minutes to complete.

 

Complete the survey here. 

 

We would be happy to share the results of the survey with you. Please email: info@sandersonplc.com to register your interest.

 

Thank you in advance for your contribution!

 

Cowboys and Consumers - Who rules the Finance Industry?

RSG Debates is a series of round table events held throughout the year, which bring together industry leaders who are relevant to a central topic of discussion. As Head of Sanderson's Financial Recruitment division, Tim Donaghy joined some of the UK's leading CFOs to discuss: Can Business Self Regulate? To find out more about future RSG Debate events and how you can participate, please click here.

Is the Financial Services Industry run by cowboys making rash decisions with the hard earned cash of the unsuspecting public, or is this an industry that is regulated and genuinely consumer/customer focused? 

The rules and conduct of people in responsible positions within The Financial Services Industry are well documented in the FCA Handbook and the theme of the handbook is indeed consumer and customer focused. I would recommend a quick read as it is very simply written and specific in its purpose. 

A quick look on the FCA website shows that there are indeed implications to breaking the codes of conduct. On the home page the following headlines jump out at you:

“FCA fines Guaranty Trust Bank (UK) Ltd £525,000 for failures in its anti-money laundering controls”

“FCA fines compliance officer and broker whose actions enabled market abuse to be committed in October 2010“

So, if the rules are plain and simple and implications of breaking the rules are obvious, why are there still breaches and why is consumer confidence so low? 

Is the punishment severe enough? Or does the punishment fit the crime (Fred Goodwin et al)?

How many people were imprisoned on the back of the meltdown in 2008, or at any stage for that matter?

When does incompetence become negligence?

Maybe the answer lies in the level of punishment; maybe it lies in the expectation on returns demanded by an often ill informed public, or maybe it lies with the well publicised bonus culture of the industry. What is clear and certainly stressed at the event is that the challenges are complex, no one group is to blame for recent issues and that plenty of questions remain unanswered.