Bridging the mobile gap in recruitment

Mostwould accept that the Smartphone is influencing the way we interact in business,and the recruitment sector is no different - as recently demonstrated bySodexo, the leading FM services provider. Since the implementation of its mobileoptimised website back in 2010, the company has seen mobile job seeker trafficjump from 4% up to 17% - quite a considerable leap considering the infancy ofthe technology at the time. In addition, Sodexo reports that one in three ofits hires has looked at Sodexo careers on mobile.

Thesefigures are positive for the wider recruitment industry, as mobile offers anadditional channel for candidates. Despite this, companies still face problemswhen it comes to converting mobile traffic into applications. Smartphones’small keypads are notoriously difficult at the best of times but even more sofor those jobseekers looking to complete online forms.

While manycompanies are now spending considerable time and resource to ensure their mobilesites are compatible with Smartphones and facilitate job browsing on the move, mostdevices do not support Microsoft Word documents – still the most popular CVformat. As a result, candidates are not completing the final step in theapplication process and uploading their CV via their device.

Sowhat’s the answer?

Optimisingmobile websites goes some of the way towards streamlining the mobilerecruitment channel. However, in order to bridge the gap between browsing on amobile and actually submitting an application, companies and recruiters alikeneed to implement intuitive technology that ensures job roles are not simplyforgotten about because the candidate was unable to apply at the time.

Thereare companies that provide the technology to create and store CVs online, butemployers or their sites need to be integrated in order to take advantage ofthis increased desire to handle the recruitment process in a mobileenvironment. However, there are also providers that offer a “quick-fix” to thisissue, by allowing jobseekers to register their interest in vacancies (promptedby an instore experience or when visiting their site) and later receive areminder via email or text message that includes a link directly to thepreviously browsed job opportunity.