Time is money, and mobile optimization is the great time saver for recruiters and candidates alike. Possessing a mobile career site has surpassed the status of being a first-class feature, and entered the realm of basic necessity. There are very few companies left where a non-digital application can even be processed from start to finish. With even fewer applicant pools left that are accepting of an application process that involves a full site, five attachments of cover letters, references, etc, followed by a resume redundant questionnaire. It’s more than just a question of convenience, but rather has become a measure of a company’s respect of a candidate's time and efforts. We’re not talking about a bare bones mobile site that with only half functionality either. We’re talking about fully developed platforms that can become the ace in the hole when attracting top talent, and here’s why.
As of May 2016, a site’s mobile-friendliness became more important than ever when Google released the news that this would be a larger factor in the ranking of a site. Basically, if your site isn’t mobile compatible it’s getting bumped down the search results ladder. A few things that go into the “mobile friendly” equation are readability of text (without copious zooming), site scaling content to the screen size to eliminate scrolling, and if the site contains non-mobile compatible software features like flash. Google even has a quick mobile friendly analyzer to test the friendliness of your site.
We are creatures of convenience and are used to nearly instant gratification many ways. Amazon is a perfect example of a company which has built massive profits on the American love of convenience. They have been leaders of the mobile purchasing experience, creating processes that include one click and voice activated ordering. This is the digital environment in which our applicants have become accustomed to living in.
Beyond the simple question of convenience many of us out of practicality, have transitioned to existing in an app based mobile platform to do much of our work. Laptops have been replaced with the slimmer and lighter tablets (or a cell phone with massive screens). For every time a potential applicant finds themselves saying “I’ll have to do it later” due to the need to get on a full site, best case, you’ve extended your time to fill a position and worst case you’ve potentially lost an applicant to a competitor. Additionally, in a hot market, top talent knows they have options and are more likely to have a conversation with a company that eliminates preliminary hoops for them to jump through. In fact, even amongst the average applicant 60% will quit an application mid process due to their length.
Nothing damages an image of innovation like a clunky website. Not only does the sites appearance and functionality affect the throughput of a careers site, it can also support or undermine an employer brand. Done correctly, a mobile site can also be the best method for communicating to your talent pool via great content. If you have a content site that requires the reader to zoom and scroll however it’s dead on arrival. Build something that you yourself would want to use and read, then take it further by linking social media such as Instagram and Twitter to allow readers to quickly share with their own networks. The more people sharing content containing links to your careers site for you, the more the burden is taken off the recruiting team to hustle the message.
The task to manage all these messages also becomes easier as your own team can respond and engage with their own mobile devices. This is a strong case of building a system that allows your team to work smarter and not harder to attract talent, freeing them up to attempt to get ahead of the curve.