5 Reasons Your Company's Mobile Recruitment Strategy Is Failing

Think of it this way: people used to take smoke breaks during work -- now, they take Facebook breaks.
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Mobile technology has completely changed the job search and hiring process. Whereas candidates once sat at a computer to job search, recruiters now have to deal with a slew of candidates who are passively job searching as they browse their iPad or check their smartphone throughout the day.

Plenty of companies have developed mobile recruitment strategies to adapt to this change in candidate behavior. In fact, 33 percent of Fortune 500 companies have adapted their career sites for mobile devices.

But optimizing a career site for mobile devices isn't the only thing companies need to do to drive mobile recruitment. If your company has done this but still isn't seeing an improvement in hiring volume or quality of candidates, it may be a sign your mobile recruitment strategy has holes.

Here are five reasons your mobile recruitment strategy be failing, no matter the size of your organization:

You aren't focusing on passive candidates. Your mobile recruitment strategy doesn't just mean optimizing your career site for mobile devices -- it means attracting candidates who may not even be on the job search in the first place. Try inbound marketing techniques like adding regular blog content, social media updates and contests, mobile-optimized YouTube videos, or SEO landing pages to draw in potential candidates. These techniques offer a backwards approach to getting candidate eyes on your job openings.

You haven't checked the time. On average, people look at their mobile devices in the morning between the time they wake up and when they get to work or class -- between 6:30 and 9:15am. They check their devices again during lunch, between 11:45am and 2:20pm, and finally, from 4:30 to 9:45pm. Think of it this way: people used to take smoke breaks during work -- now, they take Facebook breaks. Your mobile recruitment strategy should anticipate job candidates will be searching during these times in order to respond to postings in a timely manner.

You're silent. Uncertainty can be expected in the job search process, but job candidates don't like to be ignored -- they want to be kept in the loop as to the status of their application or resume. If your mobile recruitment strategy doesn't include live-manning social media or an online talent network to answer candidate questions, job seekers may come away with a negative perception of your company. Your team should be living in online and mobile channels during the times mentioned above and live-manning social media feeds, email accounts, or incoming messages.

Your mobile sites are too messy. Perhaps your company has attempted to reach passive candidates with blog posts or webinars. This is a great strategy, but it won't work if your content isn't optimized for retargeting or easy bookmarking. Remember, you don't have a candidate's full attention on a mobile device -- often, they're checking these devices during a commute, on a bus, or while sitting in front of the TV. They may not have time to watch a webinar or read a lengthy blog post, so make it easy for them to come back to this content on the Web later.

Your process lags. If your mobile recruitment process relies on asking candidates to complete the next steps of their job search away from your site, like checking LinkedIn for job openings or switching to a new webpage to apply, it's too complicated and you'll lose interest. Consider using software to ensure the process is seamless on their mobile devices. Look for social recruiting software that allows companies to mobilize their employees to help with referrals and curate talent networks via automation. Software like this can ensure your recruitment process doesn't leave any holes.

Creating a solid mobile recruitment strategy for your company means paying attention to minute details. Follow these tips for fine-tuning your process, and watch your new hires soar.

Kes Thygesen is the co-founder and head of product at RolePoint, a complete social recruiting suite that provides unrivaled access and reach to quality job candidates. Connect with him and RolePoint on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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