Mobile technology has seamlessly entered mostly every facet of business and revolutionized the industries of transport, healthcare, education, e-commerce, to name a few. The ubiquity of mobile technology is one reason for its massive impact on the entire job search process. The advancement of mobile technology has enhanced the user experience for both the applicants and recruiters alike. Not surprisingly, mobile job searching has surged, with 43% of job seekers using mobile devices to find lucrative career opportunities as per a Pew Internet Study.
As mobile penetration grows, users are shunning desktops and laptops to go mobile. In fact, a major chunk of the desktop traffic for several job-search websites has already migrated there, in turn, galvanizing employers into action for launching mobile-optimized recruiting strategies. To tap and retain top talent, companies must create a mobile-friendly recruitment process, or risk losing out to companies that do.
The job search process can be neatly categorized into four major categories of i) professional networking, ii) job discovery, iii) job application, and iv) employer communication and interviewing. Mobile applications have streamlined, simplified, and sped up the job search by creating platforms for easy networking and identification of job opportunities as well as instant uploading of resumes.
Here are a few strong reasons for downloading mobile career guidance and job search tools:
1. Agility And Adaptability Of The Job Search Process
The entire recruitment process can be a tedious and time-consuming exercise. Candidates often have to undergo multiple screening rounds which limits direct communication between the hiring manager and the applicants.
However, the instant messaging feature of various iPhone and Android apps for job-search has enabled one-on-one direct communication between the line manager, recruitment manager, and the candidate. Candidates raise their queries directly that get answered promptly by the hiring managers. Similarly, the dissemination of interview related information has now become a seamless process. The ubiquity of mobile phones has led to more avenues for connecting with industry professionals for informational interviews, or for developing contacts, in general.
2. Apply Anytime From Anywhere!
Perhaps the most beneficial feature of mobile career management tool is the ease with which applications can be sent to prospective employers. Candidates can send their applications anytime from anywhere! Whenever an interesting opportunity is presented, candidates can find out instantly, and apply in less than a minute! Many mobile apps also offer in-app resume builders which normally extract candidate information like education, certifications, work experience, etc. from social media profiles on Facebook and LinkedIn to create instant resumes.
Strategically tailored resumes provide candidates with a huge advantage in standing out in the job market. Various apps have been generating on-the-spot comprehensive resume feedback for candidates to tweak their resumes to perfection. One such app is the VMock mobile app that delivers real-time resume feedback based on parameters such as impact, functional and soft skills, etc. to strengthen the power of a candidate’s experiences.
Staffing firms and talent acquisition departments at various companies have increasingly started using mobile-optimized Application Tracking Systems (ATS), which filter resumes by specific keywords. For hiring managers, it means quicker shortlisting of candidates from an otherwise wide and cluttered pool of applications. Such a process ensures that no valid resume gets left out, which would have been highly possible if the sorting was done manually. For the applicants, it means a quicker and more convenient process. So, win-win all around! Also, The Tinder-esque feature of swiping right for approved applications in some apps has been coming in handy for both hiring managers and candidates alike.
3. Career Self-Assessment Tests
To carry out an effective job search process, candidates must have clarity about their own skills, personality, interests, and strengths. This is where mobile apps can offer quite an effective personality and career-fit assessments. These features are backed by algorithms created with career psychometrics and psychological analysis to help in assessing the suitability for different career paths. By answering a few simple questions, candidates can find out their persona, which identifies their social type, work type, and key traits. The main aim of such assessments is routing candidates to job openings suited to their skill set, personality, and interests. Certain mobile apps have also been assessing a candidate’s lifestyle pattern, according to which a minimum salary figure is predicted. This exercise of determining their true salary needs offers candidates a wide bouquet of opportunities, which might have gone unnoticed otherwise.
4. Instant Messaging Spin On The Recruitment And Career Development Process
Before venturing into any company or industry, deep research into its prevalent trends and work culture is vital. Informational interviews serve this very purpose, and because of the proliferation of the mobile technology, professional level interaction has become more streamlined, systematic and smooth. Candidates can easily find people, network and reach out to foster professional connections. Conducting one-on-one informational interviews or meetings becomes a whole lot easier.
5. Virtual Experience With AR and VR
Mobile’s penetration into every nook and cranny of the world has enabled the technologies of augmented reality and virtual reality in creating waves not only in the gaming world but also in transforming the talent acquisition plans of various companies. As part of their recruiting strategy, many organizations like British Army, General Mill, etc. have started incorporating these technologies to attract the top talent. Virtual career fairs enable students to submit their resumes online, chat LIVE with the recruiting team and seek relevant information. All from the comfort of their homes, and without spending a dime! In fact, the General Mills recruiting team designed a virtual tour of their Minneapolis headquarters. With the aid of the Oculus Rift headset, students at the University of Minneapolis could watch a video and experience being a part of and working at General Mills.
With mobile, the process of job search, career prep and recruiting has gone mobile! Extended recruitment processes are being upgraded for easier, on the go recruitment made possible with a few clicks on the mobile phone. Candidates are turning to phone apps for filtering through job openings to find themselves an ideal fit. Contrary to common perception, Millennials aren’t the only generation leveraging mobile technology for job hunting, Indeed reported more than 50% of the Gen Xers and Baby Boomers are also utilising job search sites.
What’s even more amazing is how the job search can become more personalized with the help of mobile devices! Candidates directly contact the hiring managers, clear their doubts, forge professional relationships with industry veterans and tweak their resumes to create a stellar profile. The trend of mobile job search is here to stay, and we can expect greater use of the technologies of AR and VR to drive a more fun, interactive, and innovative recruitment process in the future.
