Most would accept that the smartphone is influencing the way we interact in business, and the recruitment sector is no different - as recently demonstrated by Sodexo, the leading FM services provider. Since the implementation of its mobile-optimised website back in 2010, the company has seen mobile job seeker traffic jump from 4% up to 17% - quite a considerable leap considering the infancy of the technology at the time. In addition, Sodexo reports that one in three of its hires has looked at Sodexo careers on mobile.
These figures are positive for the wider recruitment industry, as mobile offers an additional channel for candidates. Despite this, companies still face problems when it comes to converting mobile traffic into applications. Smartphones’ small keypads are notoriously difficult at the best of times but even more so for those job seekers looking to complete online forms.
While many companies are now spending considerable time and resource to ensure their mobile sites are compatible with smartphones and facilitate job browsing on the move, most devices do not support Microsoft Word documents – still the most popular CV format. As a result, candidates are not completing the final step in the application process and uploading their CV via their device.
Optimising mobile websites goes some of the way towards streamlining the mobile recruitment channel. However, in order to bridge the gap between browsing on a mobile and actually submitting an application, companies and recruiters alike need to implement intuitive technology that ensures job roles are not simply forgotten about because the candidate was unable to apply at the time.
There are companies that provide the technology to create and store CVs online, but employers or their sites need to be integrated in order to take advantage of this increased desire to handle the recruitment process in a mobile environment. However, there are also providers that offer a “quick-fix” to this issue, by allowing job seekers to register their interest in vacancies (prompted by an in store experience or when visiting their site) and later receive are minder via email or text message that includes a link directly to the previously browsed job opportunity.