mobile-recruitingWhen was the last time you used your phone to search the web? Do you perhaps have a few search windows open right now? With the omnipresence of mobile devices, it can be tempting to pull up your browser at any given moment of the day to immediately find the answer to a problem, the background on a new topic or person, and “how to” do nearly anything.

Using your phone as a search tool has become a natural instinct, and its unrivaled accessibility is quickly making it the first stop in information seeking.

Today, 90% of American adults own a cellphone, 58% a smartphone, and 42% have a tablet device. Google recently updated their algorithm to factor this into its searches. These changes will greatly impact the ability of businesses to reach both desirable consumers and potential employees.

As of today, Google’s algorithm will rank mobile-friendly sites higher in search results – great news for companies who have already made a commitment to a mobile experience, but potentially devastating for businesses who have not adapted their websites for mobile visitors.

If a site is not optimized to auto-adjust to mobile device formats, its ranking can drop from one position to the next or from one page of search results to another – potentially leading to a major loss of web traffic. Conversely, those sites that are already mobile may see a nice bump in rankings while the others try to catch up.

The Business Case for Mobile Recruiting

mobile resumeBeyond basic web pages, employers may find that their entire online hiring process is derailed from the start due to lack of searchability. According to DirectEmployers, leading consultancy in labor market efficiency, there are more than 300 million job-related searches per month on websites like Google, Yahoo, and Bing.

We know from iCIMS’ in-platform data consisting of more than 2,700 employers in varying industries and ranging from very small to large enterprise company size that mobile usage among job seekers has increased by 60% in the past year alone.

Furthermore, conversion from viewing a job to actually applying to that job via mobile device has increased by 238% in 2014 from 2013; that’s a lot of potential new talent recruiters could be losing out on due to obsolete technology.

The disruptive force of technology has permanently changed the way people apply for jobs and how employers hire. We see this time and time again with the rise of job aggregator apps, social media, and video usage among recruiters. A recent survey from Glassdoor showed that 9 in 10 jobseekers expect to use their mobile device during the job search process in the next 12 months.

The takeaway for recruiters: if your career site is not already mobile-optimized you’re simply going to miss out on a multitude of potential candidates.

Mobile Recruiting: The Future is Now.

5691863585_94560f6164_oThe status quo doesn’t cut it anymore in today’s new normal of job seeking and talent acquisition, and that applies to career site development, too. Considering the change in Google’s ranking methods and the constant connectivity of mobile devices, the online candidate experience including employer career sites, application processes, employment branding content, and recruitment strategies need to be designed with the mobile user in mind.

As a job seeker, imagine the thrill and then immediate disappointment of finding the perfect role online only to click on the link and find that the site is not mobile-compatible. Previously, this was only a turn-off, an inconvenience at most for the candidate. To the employer though, they may risk the job seeker losing interest or forgetting to return to apply to the role from a desktop computer. Now, the candidate may never even see the role to begin with.

As we know, modern innovations in technology have redesigned how candidates look for and apply to jobs – and mobile accessibility is a big contributing factor to this, especially in terms of dedicated talent acquisition software and candidate-facing career sites.

Google’s new algorithm change is further evidence in this revolution in recruiting. The choice for employers is to adapt new technology and strategies for talent acquisition, or they risk behind left behind in the digital shift. It’s time for HR to ditch obsolete technologies and outdated processes, and invest in the future of recruiting.

susan_vitaleAbout the Author: Susan Vitale joined iCIMS in 2005 and serves as the company’s Chief Marketing Officer.

As CMO, Susan oversees direct marketing efforts as well as business development across a network of strategic alliances around the globe. Susan also plays an active role in portfolio strategy, helping to ensure iCIMS’ products, power-ups and services remain on the pulse of the ever-changing HR technology landscape.

Follow Susan on Twitter @Susan_Vitale or connect with her on LinkedIn.



By Susan Vitale

Susan Vitale joined iCIMS in 2005 and serves as the company's Chief Marketing Officer. As CMO, Susan oversees direct marketing efforts as well as business development across a network of strategic alliances around the globe. Susan also plays an active role in portfolio strategy, helping to ensure iCIMS’ products, power-ups and services remain on the pulse of the ever-changing HR technology landscape.