Whether you’re out to eat, at a gas station, or just walking down the street, look around
and you’ll often find many of those around you with their heads down looking at a smartphone. The increased accessibility and affordability of the smartphone has caused rapid growth since it first entered the scene in 2009. According to recent findings from Pew Research, 77% of adults own a smartphone. And while the number rises to 92% for those 18-29, one might be surprised to find that those aged 50-64 are not too far behind at 74%.
This rapid increase in mobile usage has also had a big influence on how people look for jobs. A recent report from Indeed’s Hiring Lab revealed that, for all three generations in the workforce, mobile job search has increased substantially, just since 2014. What does all this mean for the employer? Making sure that your job postings are mobile optimized is more important than ever!
Here are a few ways to help make your job search experience more mobile enhanced.
1. Leverage the Right Job Boards – You may not be able to ensure that your company’s website is mobile friendly, but you can leverage job boards, which are often already mobile friendly. You are probably using job boards, such as Indeed, CareerBuilder, or the new Google Jobs, to advertise your open positions. But have you ever checked them out to see what the experience is like for an applicant?
Take some time to visit the places your jobs are to make sure the information is easy to access, navigate, and ultimately complete an application. If you find that one site is more complicated than you would like, you may want to start using a new job board, or focus more time on the one that seems to work the best for your positions.
2. Make Your Job Descriptions Easy to Navigate – During your review of your job postings, how are the job descriptions formatted? Do you have the most important information at the top of the posting or do you have to scroll for a while before you get to key points?
Consider revising your job descriptions to include the most important information first, and possibly even shortening the description so that the applicant can digest all of the details quickly and reach the “apply now” part quicker. After all, a job description may not look too lengthy when typed out in Microsoft Word, but can look like a novel when viewing it on a smartphone.
You can also increase your job’s online visibility with these 6 tips.
3. Cut out Unnecessary Steps in the Application Process – A 2015 study revealed that our attention span is now shorter than a goldfish! The quicker your jobs are to apply for, the more candidates you’ll capture, and that is particularly true on mobile. For the initial application, ask the minimum required information and ask for the rest later. The simpler the process is, the more applicants’ attention you’ll in order to complete the initial application.
Take these three steps to ensure that you are a step ahead in the mobile job search experience for your applicants.
Download our ebook on recruiting and retaining millennials in today’s workforce for more insights on hiring strategies.
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