In a recent publication, Deloitte claimed that 28% of Australians own a laptop, a tablet and a smart phone. Cisco goes further and predicts that the number of mobile devices will surpass the world’s population by 2016, citing an 18-fold increase.

There is no denying that the rise of mobile devices has revolutionised business and the way it works. Obviously, the Human Resource function is not exempt. A decade ago, recruitment was relatively simple with only newspapers, word-of-mouth, phone calls and face-to-face interviews involved.

Fast forward ten years and newspaper ads are no longer the primary medium of recruitment. Even desktop computers and laptops are second to mobile devices such as tablets or smart phones.

Consider the following statistics on mobile recruitment:

• The 2012 Simply Hired Job Seeker Report highlights that 70% of job seekers look for job information on mobile.
• The same report shows 60% of job seekers using social media as part of their job search with LinkedIn as the top social network used.
• Jibe consulting found that 86% of job seekers who have a smartphone use it to search for jobs.
• Career Builder claims that 35% to 40% of job seekers in 10 industries use mobile.

What does this mean?

With mobile devices playing a significant role in the talent pool, businesses can no longer sit idly waiting for the right people to walk through their door. Your business has to change and with it, your recruitment process. A mobile recruitment strategy is now mandatory if you want a wide reach when searching for the best talent.

We collaborated with uWorkin for last year’s Mobile Recruitment whitepaper and outline the main reasons why businesses like yours need to have a mobile recruitment strategy:

1. The current typical job seeker wants a convenient approach to job search; they’d like to do it anytime, anywhere.

Supporting this is Sirona Consulting who found that 84% of job seekers think job organisations should have mobile-friendly sites and that 72% of job seekers want to receive career oppprtunity information on their mobile devices. The LinkedIn Global Recruiting Trends 2013 showed that 59% of candidates use mobile to learn about opportunities.

In addition, job seekers want to be able to use their mobile devices in the application process so that they’re able to apply for a job on the go. Career Builder’s report showed that 20% of job applications come through mobile for employers with mobile career sites. LinkedIn’s report shows that 52% of candidates use their mobile devices to apply for jobs.

Essentially, a well-implemented mobile recruitment strategy will enhance the overall experience your candidates have.

2. Not having a mobile recruitment strategy may negatively impact the employer brand and further limit the number of quality applicants received.

Career Builder, in their 2012 report, highlighted that 40% of applicants abandon non-mobile-optimised application processes.

This is alarming because your reach will continue to decrease, as the number of people who use mobile devices to search for and apply for jobs keep increasing. Ultimately, your business is the one losing out on talent, and this will undoubtedly pose a barrier to your plans for growth.

So what can you do to address this?

• Determine the growth of visitors from mobile devices to your career pages over the last twelve months.
• Work out the hurdles for your organisation in building a fully functional mobile career site and a jobs app; and overcome them.
• Start by building a mobile-optimised version of your career pages and ensure that potential employees can search for jobs on these pages.
• Allow candidates to put in their applications from a mobile device.
• Build your own jobs app that integrates with your mobile-optimised career pages.

These steps will help you keep up with the changing times in mobile recruitment and in some cases gain a competitive advantage.

According to LinkedIn’s Global Recruitment Trends report, only 13% of businesses globally have invested adequately in mobile recruitment. Therefore with a strong mobile recruitment strategy, your business will have the chance so stay ahead of competitors and attract the best talent to help you grow your business.

Refer to our Mobile Recruitment Whitepaper to get further insights into the why and how of Mobile Recruitment.