Job seeker insights for mobile recruitment success

Last summer, we pointed out how mobile devices outnumber people today which is one of the reasons why recruiters need to pay close attention to the potential and future of mobile recruiting.

In one of the latest IBM WorkTrends surveys, the IBM Smarter Workforce Institute analyzed job seeker insights for mobile recruitment success. How do job seekers use mobile devices in their job searches? What are their concerns and expectations? How can organizations attract talent via mobile technologies?

The survey was based on 16,000 workers in 23 countries, from a variety of industries, thousands of organizations and all major job families. They found that 53% of job seekers have used mobile devices in their past or current job searches. This first key finding shows just how important mobile has become for recruiting and applying.

As suggested in the chart below, the survey demonstrates that mobile recruiting may be a smart move for employers eager to attract talent from specific industries such as holding companies or IT.

But as an employer or recruiter, you may wonder: why are job seekers using mobile devices in their job search? In most cases, the reason is you can get job information fast. Speed and convenience are the top two motives for candidates using mobile devices in their job search.

Mobile users may be on the go, in a hurry, trying to kill time or they may just prefer phones and tablets over desktops and laptops. Whatever the reason, it seems obvious that candidates do not want to spend hours and days scrolling down job offers and going through endless application processes any more. Mobile job applications are less demanding and time-consuming than traditional job applications. While mobile recruiting may drive more potential top talent, candidates using it yet have to be better, faster if they want to stand out which also means traditional job applications on desktop is far from being extinct yet.

According to the survey, 59% of job seekers say organizations offering mobile recruiting are more attractive. As mentioned in a previous blog post, positive candidate experience is paramount to quality employer branding and hiring. Creating a mobile recruiting strategy – whether through social media, mobile optimized career pages or mobile resumes and social job profiles – is clearly an asset that helps companies reach a wider pool of qualified candidates.

What are job seekers looking for when using mobile devices? Mostly job postings, information about potential jobs such as company details and job alerts as suggested in the chart below.

When using mobile devices in their job search, 47% of job seekers are concerned that it is not easy to complete job applications and 43% are worried about the lack of mobile career websites available. Yet 74% intend to continue using mobile devices in their future job search which means the ball is now in the recruiters’ court.

Indeed 71% of job seekers using mobile devices expect mobile job search application in the future to be easy to use, 52% expect it to be personalized to meet their job search and 49% expect the application process simple to go through.