According to a survey by Pew Research Center, job applicants are using their smartphones to search for positions and submit applications, especially younger job-seekers. 69% of 18-29-year-olds reported using a smartphone to search for information about a job in the last year; and more than a third of Millennials surveyed have submitted a job application from a smartphone.
These numbers are increasing every year as more job-seekers turn to their smartphones for assistance with job searches. As a result, it is critical that you ask the question: Is your candidate experience mobile-friendly?
To further make the case for a better candidate experience, a growing amount of job seekers are smartphone-dependent — this refers to the 19% of Americans who have no other option or limited options for accessing the Internet. A smartphone is their primary point of connection with the online world. A high number of candidates seeking hourly positions in industries with high turnover fall into this category.
Do you work in retail, restaurants, or hospitality? A large percentage of your applicants are likely smartphone-dependent, and as an employer, you must consider your applicants’ behavior, accessibly and expectations.
3 steps to making your candidate experience mobile-friendly:
- Evaluate your analytics. What percentage of traffic to your careers page on your website is coming from desktop versus mobile? What are the age demographics of your open positions? Use this data to make the case to invest in mobile.
- Take an audit of the current process. Walk through the application process as a candidate on your personal mobile device. Are the forms mobile-optimized? Do the pop-ups work? Is the interface intuitive? Identify areas for improvement and make changes to ensure a streamlined mobile application process.
- Determine where to host job postings. You can always host job postings internally, but you also have the option of using a specialized service. Large brands, such as Sodexo, often invest in an internal system or specialized mobile application to host job postings. Do you work for a smaller company with a smaller budget? Companies like Indeed and CareerBuilder provide cost-effective external listing services without the burden of development and maintenance. These platforms are also specifically designed to make your hiring process mobile-friendly in every way.
Research cited from: Pew Research Center, April, 2015, “The Smartphone Difference”, available at: http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/01/us-smartphone-use-in-2015/
