Blog: Top 6 mobile recruitment myths busted

Recruitment

Top 6 mobile recruitment myths busted

There are more mobiles than tooth brush in this world. It has indeed become a way of life outselling PCs and laptops, but adoption of mobiles in recruitment is still half way because of some bugs in the system. Take a look at the 6 surprising myths of mobile recruiting.
Top 6 mobile recruitment myths busted

Mobile is omnipresent. It has indeed become an integrated part of our lives. My mobile phone wakes me up in the morning; kick starts my day with apps like inshorts. My smartphone is my office letting me access to spreadsheets, respond to emails, texts and make majority of calls. In short I consider it a life savior gizmo. People are taking just about everything to their mobile devices, from finding love and shopping to looking out for a new job. Job seekers are more dependent on mobile for a huge amount of their job hunting work with the help of their mobiles. But do you think in near future mobile can become the sole tool of the recruitment process? 

Let me dispel the much hype created over mobile recruitment with these 6 myths.

Myth #1 Mobiles being pocket friendly are easy to carry and work

Reality: With mobile phones, recruiters are going to be on the road all the time. Even today many recruiters use a PC or a laptop as a part of their hiring process. But with mobiles storming into the recruitment process, recruiters are on a leash thus doubling their working hours. They are required to perform the same desktop roles on their mobiles gazing onto the screen constantly. This becomes difficult from a drive-thru McDonalds with one hand on the wheel and the other juggling a burger and an iPad.

Myth #2 Mobile recruitment is the future of talent acquisition system

Reality:  How many times you have succeeded in performing any kind of data entry or writing in a jiffy using a mobile or an iPad? Well, then you know working on a mobile is not as easy as sitting at a PC. Your fingers will get cramped and eventually you might lose the plot. Also in terms of job seekers, how many people have a word doc or PDF of their resume in their phone? I am sure not many. Then the only option left is to fill the required fields in order to complete the application. The more fields required to complete the application the more likely applicants are going to drop off. The small screen is also an aspect to be considered which causes hindrance in the hiring process. With small screen, come no multitasking, interoperability issues and limited navigation possibilities all leading to some mayhem in the entire recruitment process. 

Myth 3# With mobiles one can have better chance of communication 

Reality: Before the launch of smartphones and iPads, professionals used telephones, PCs and laptops and the internet to build relationships. Although every technology has its place and we can choose the right one at the right time, but no technology has yet replaced the results of a face-to-face meeting due to the exchange of valuable information that takes place leading to effective business. 

Myth 4# Mobile friendly website increases traffic

Reality: It is known that mobile friendly career site increases traffic to your website provided your website is smartphone compatible and looks good on it, otherwise candidates will move on with the plethora of options available in the market.

Myth 5# A mobile friendly career site does not affect employer brand

Reality: A mobile website provides information to the user in a snackable format. The smooth mobility of the website creates a positive feeling towards the company’s brand. On the flip side, the websites that are not mobilized can leave the visitors with a poor impression of the company’s brand, creating a negative buzz about the company among their peers or in social media. In September 2012, Google published a study stating, users expect their mobile experience to be as good as their desktop experience. 

55% say “A frustrating experience on a website hurts my opinion of the brand overall”

52% say “A bad mobile experience makes me less likely to engage with a company.” 

Other sources of problems to mobile web users are cookies, unsupported formats, advanced functionality which can irk any visitor. 

Myth #6 Candidates will come and apply later on desktop

Reality: People these days are as busy as a bee. If you do not capture their interest, the moment they visit the website, chances are there that they will be gone forever. Companies thus are required to invest in building more mobile friendly sites to redirect candidates and capture their contact information and interests at their first visit. Then these leads can be sent job-recommendation emails before which you need to check the compatibility first on a mobile device as candidates delete 70% of the emails that do not render well on mobile phones. 

Are there any other myths that I have missed out? Feel free to give your myth on mobile recruitment a shout out in the comment box below. 

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Topics: Recruitment, HR Technology, #Social Media

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