How Businesses Use Mobile Apps for Recruitment3 min read

In today’s mobile market, job candidates expect to be able to search, find, view and apply to positions right from their phone. According to PEW Research, nearly 1 in 5 U.S. adults use phones as their sole source of Internet at home. Therefore, it’s not hard to imagine why an organization would need to include mobile recruitment in their hiring strategies. “Companies are losing out on good applicants by not having mobile. People are changing how they do their job search — everyone from entry-level candidates through senior executives,” says Sarah White from Accelir.

When filling positions through mobile applications, numerous businesses have created ways to pull in the best fit for the job. Below are a few tips to help create and maintain a successful mobile app hiring system.

Build a system for quick responses

Job seekers now apply for positions at all hours of the day. That means organizations need to have a system in place for responding to questions or submissions. Applicants don’t like to be kept waiting on responses from companies and technologies like automated chatbots can help with faster follow-ups. Even if it’s just a message saying an applicant’s resume was received and providing a timeline for next steps. This way, candidates understand the company values their time.

Try to be as unique as possible

Want to be memorable to job seekers? Find a way to stand out from other companies’ mobile applications. Take a look at what competitors are up to and take components from their promotions. Ask candidates for feedback about what stood out or drew them in to apply for the job from your placement. Test out new methods for recruitment on various departments or teams. If a business wants to pull people in, they need to stand out amongst all of the various listings.

Remember the pool of candidates is larger

While employing social media and mobile apps to bring in more talent, recruitment managers can find themselves swimming in a larger group of candidates. Although some people believe apps will bring in qualified, top-notch candidates, that’s not always the case. Instead, businesses may draw in a large variety of individuals who see ads or apply without reading the full job description. Recruitment teams may spend more time separating out qualified and non-eligible individuals. However, this can provide an opportunity to find various types of candidates for other open positions within the company.

Try including a personality test

As much as finding a job is about discovering a new position, it can also be a time for applicants to do some self-discovery. Some companies have started including personality tests within their mobile applications in order to match individual’s traits to the right role within a company. Mark Hurd, CEO of Oracle said in a keynote, “It is important for [Oracle] to recruit the right person, so we actually use machine learning and AI in our HR application to try to look for the attributes of what would be the commonality between why people are a fit.” Aside from personality traits, recruiters can see how well a candidate works with others and what their unique strengths are through these tests.

Mobile job applications are a growing part of recruitment strategies for businesses. By utilizing this tool, companies can increase their hiring pool and find unique individuals for a position.

Guest blog post by Amanda Peterson

Author: Fabien