Alex Charraudeau, who is a Web Consultant at 4mat has produced this article (with a tiny and excusable bit of advert!) for us on mobile recuritment and QR codes.
The mobile has always played a crucial role in recruitment. How many clandestine phone calls have candidates received in stairwells or dashing out of their office when trying to arrange interviews or negotiate new starting salaries? Recruiters have relied on their candidates always being available either by email, mobile or text message.
These days it isn’t just recruiters relying on mobiles. It is candidates relying on recruiters to be accessible via mobile. This goes beyond just having a telephone number. With over 45% of internet users having used a mobile to access the internet there is a real requirement for recruitment organisation to have a presence that is easy to access via a mobile.
Over 75% of job seekers will start their job search in Google. 14% of people use their phones as their only access to the internet. 44% of all mobiles sold can access the internet.
So what does this mean to recruiters?
Firstly it shows that if a candidate is looking for a new job you need to rank in the search engines for terms that relate to their skills or industry. And you need to rank above your competitors. If they are trying to find you from their mobile then you need to offer them a website that is built for a mobile journey or they will find someone else who has.
Three huge problems with desk-top websites on mobiles:
1. A traditional website will take a long time to load on a mobile phone. Image your candidate is on the train headed home from work. Their mobile phone signal is fluctuating and occasionally cuts out. If your website can’t load really quickly then you have lost their interest.
2. If they eventually manage to load your website they will need to scroll up and down, left and right whilst having to zoom in to read the content. This is really frustrating and will make them want to leave your site.
3. The most important thing with a recruitment website is the fact that it can turn a visitor into a CV or an enquiry. Functionality that works well on a desk top won’t work well on a mobile. Applying, shortlisting and saving jobs for applications later on can be difficult and take a while to complete which defeats the object of having them there in the first place.
How you can use QR codes in Recruitment
A QR code (abbreviated from Quick Response Code) is like a bar code that when photographed on a mobile device (using a QR reader) allows the user to access a web address, pick up a phone number or display text /images on your device. According to Mashable QR codes have had an increased up take of 1200% in the last 6 months.
Recruiters are using QR codes in newspapers, on public transport and at trade fairs. They can link users to their website, their mobile recruitment website, to specific job details or to a company’s contact details. “Object hyperlinking” or “hard linking” as it is called breaks down the barriers between the real world and the digital world.
QR codes can be used really effectively to drive users to specific landing pages on your website, and if you have a website specifically built for mobile devices then the user journey should be really good. If your website is flexible enough to set up specific campaign landing pages and each job is on its own individual URL the opportunities with QR codes are endless.
Recently Jobserve has launched QR codes alongside each of their job vacancies. “By scanning the barcode candidates can quickly store the job for quick and easy recall later – far quicker than it would be to email the link. Many mobile phones will also enable navigation straight to the job from the QR code” says Les Powell, General Manager Product & Service Delivery.
What do you need to do?
Candidates and clients are looking at your website via their mobile. They expect to see a stripped back and easy to access platform with all the relevant information and functionality. If you can offer these people the right user experience you are more likely to get them to do something on your website. Getting more applications and client enquires is going to make you more money.
Ignore mobile users at your peril.
4MAT have designed several mobile websites for clients including a mobile website for leading charity recruitment agency TPP and Fircroft who place candidates international in oil and gas jobs. For more information visit our Mobile Recruitment page on our website or contact us.
For a recent study into mobile recruitment website trends and usage please read our white paper.
