89% of job seekers say their mobile device is an important tool for job searching. Yet only a handful of companies focus on building mobile-first recruitment strategies to target the tech-savvy audience. But with Google announcing mobile-first indexing for the whole web starting Sept 2020, switching to mobile-first recruiting is no more an option but a necessity.

Why Mobile-first Recruiting?

Unlike earlier, candidates today are not coming to your job portals from desktops. Most of them are browsing job ads through mobile devices and are expecting to complete the job application process on the device itself. This is where mobile-first recruiting becomes vital.

Mobile-first recruiting focuses on prioritizing recruiting through mobile devices in place of desktops. This includes the complete recruiting process. From posting job ads, sourcing candidates, applying for jobs to conducting interviews and engaging with candidates and recruiters.

Here, prioritizing recruiting through mobile devices means building recruiting tools and processes keeping usability on mobile devices in mind. If your application works well on desktop but crashes/opens slowly on mobile devices or your candidates are unable to apply for a job through their mobile devices, it means you need a mobile-first strategy immediately.

Next, let’s talk about the audience of mobile recruiting and why they prefer this option.

1. Job Seekers
2. Recruiters

1.   Job Seekers

89% of job seekers actively use mobile devices during their job search. Not only that, most of them use the device on the go and want to apply for the jobs as soon as they manage spare time. Candidates do not want to be restricted by platforms, especially in the times when mobility is the king. This is why most job seekers want to associate with a company that understands and implements this basic in their recruiting.

“If I’m waiting to pick up my daughter from a music lesson and I see all these jobs on my smartphone, I want to be able to apply from my phone,” says Barry Wu, Director of Product Management at Monster.

2. Recruiters

For recruiters, mobile-first recruiting is a boon. It expedites the hiring process and reduces the time-to-hire significantly. Besides, using a mobile-first strategy makes recruitment less taxing. It allows recruiters to manage everything on the go without being dependent on desktops.

4 Ways Mobile-first Recruitment Solves Talent Acquisition Problems

1. Keeps Candidates Engaged

In traditional recruiting, the candidates could only check the status of their job application, when they would log in to the portal or contact the recruiter.

But with a mobile-first recruitment strategy, engagement is an ongoing process. App-based push notifications inform the recruiter as well as the candidate about any progress immediately. This constant engagement ensures candidates are on top of every update and do not lose track of their application.

2. Casts a Wide Net

Today a large number of people browse job boards, job sites, or career websites through their mobile phones. In this case, following a mobile-first recruitment strategy captures the prospective candidates immediately and expands the reach in just seconds. Moreover, if you are running targeted job ads on social media then having a mobile-optimized recruiting platform ensures that all your target candidates are applying for the job without bouncing back.

McDonald’s is a great example of mobile-first recruiting. The Talent Acquisition team partnered with the business team and introduced the careers tab into McDonald’s mobile app. They tapped onto their current customer base to broaden the hiring reach. This approach not only multiplied the reach but also ensured that candidates can apply for jobs without much hassle.

3. Amplifies Your Brands Worth

Another way mobile recruitment solves talent acquisition problems is by strengthening the employer brand. When companies provide a seamless candidate experience during their recruiting, they present themselves as someone cognizant of the candidate’s needs and journey.

As an example, in place of prompting the candidate to fill resume details in thousands of steps, present an option to upload the resume, and autofill the details using the uploaded information. This way you not only prevent a lot of candidate efforts but also leave a lasting brand impression on candidates’ minds.

4. Boosts Time-to-Hire

Candidates are more likely to apply for the jobs immediately through phones. Especially, when they don’t have to fill the lengthy application forms that demand candidates to wait till the evening to open the laptop/desktop. This immediacy expedites the overall speed of the hiring and reduces the time-to-hire drastically.

Read More: Calculating Real Cost of Employee Turnover: A Step by Step Guide

With push notifications, company apps, app chatbots, AI screening, SMS reminders, and more, the waiting time in the recruiting process gets minimized to a large extent, and the process of applying, screening, interviewing, and hiring becomes a lot easier and faster.