Mobile-Ready Recruiting: Where to Start

As mobile devices become more common, they're having a strong influence on the recruiting process. Job seekers are viewing job information, applying for open positions, and communicating with prospective employers from smartphones and tablets. A mobile-optimized recruiting workflow is an essential part of appealing to today's top job candidates, especially busy executives or tech savvy talent. Yet many employers aren't sure of how to update their recruiting process to make it mobile-ready. Here are some places to start.

Career pages: how employees learn about your culture

Career pages can play a critical role in the recruiting process, and innovative employers are using them to showcase their culture and values in order to attract the right employees. Examples of these high quality careers pages may include features such as an inside look at the company's mission and objectives, the cultures of specific teams, and interviews with current employees.

Many employers are using mobile-friendly video, which helps prospective employees visualize what it's like to work at your company. The next time you audit your current career page, ask how easy it is to navigate on a mobile device. Is your current content easy to view on smartphone or touch screen? Upgrades in functionality and content created with mobile devices in mind can make it easier for applicants looking to apply for your positions.

Job application process: mobile-friendly approaches

When applying for a job, candidates typically need to provide a cover letter and resume or CV. Depending on the company and position, they may also need to fill out an employment application or answer a specialized questionnaire. Completing these tasks — including uploading attachments and answering detailed questions — can be challenging on a small touch screen.

Employers are making the job application process mobile friendly in several ways. One way is by using integration services that allow users to access a saved resume on a site such as LinkedIn when applying for a job. In other cases, applicant tracking systems are optimizing standard application pages by formatting questions for touch screens. Small changes in functionality and flow can greatly increase applicants' ability to apply and track their progress via mobile devices. When you evaluate your application process, consider what's it like for applicants trying to submit their details on smartphones and tablets.

Investing in recruiting technology

Companies may rely on recruiting technology to help manage the applicant tracking process by optimizing applications and improving candidate communications with mobile in mind. In fact, the right software can help make the entire recruiting process mobile-friendly, making it easier to post and promote jobs on a wide variety of channels, including social media. With certain software companies can also allow applicants to upload their information to the system and later use that to reapply to open jobs without attaching new files.

From recruiting, to applicant tracking, to hiring, talent management can be essential to a successful human capital management strategy. Ensuring that your recruiting process evolves with the times may help you stay ahead of the curve and recruit top talent. Using recruiting technology, such as a state-of-the-art applicant tracking system, is another way you can customize recruiting to your company's most pressing needs, while delivering an excellent mobile applicant experience.