Selecting a Mobile Recruiting Solution: The Recruiter’s “Must Have Accessory”

May 2013
Selecting a Mobile
Recruiting Solution:
The Recruiter’s “Must Have Accessory”

Share This Whitepaper Selecting a Mobile Recruiting Strategy // 2
INTRODUCTION
Your mobile career site is the ultimate job search accessory: It will capture your
candidates’ attention (and their job applications) without getting snagged on
unwieldy design or impossibly tiny forms. The user interface is simple enough to
appeal to all tastes, and it will go with your applicant tracking system to boot.
From the looks of it, mobile is a trend that will endure far longer than bell bottoms
or shoulder pads--so how can you get your hands (and your jobs) on this recruiting
“little black dress?”
It starts with the fairly obvious question: what’s the difference between a desktop
and a mobile site? (And if you’ve used a computer at all since about 1990, this may
seem fairly intuitive to you--just stick with us. We have a point.)
Traditionally, websites were optimized for browsers like Internet Explorer, Google
Chrome, or Safari. Since computer screens are usually wider than they are tall,
these widescreen desktop sites have room for columns. Any forms on the site can
be filled out from the comfort of the computer’s keyboard, and buttons can be
accessed with the click of a mouse.
Now, picture a cell phone or tablet, and think about the last time you browsed the
web from those tiny, four-to-nine-inch screens. There is usually plenty of pinching
and zooming involved. Often, buttons won’t “click” and pages don’t scroll properly.
And don’t get us started on the typo-rich experience of filling out forms with our thumbs!
Now, picture a cell phone or tablet, and think about the last time you browsed the
web from those tiny, four-to-nine-inch screens. There is usually plenty of pinching
and zooming involved. Often, buttons won’t “click” and pages don’t scroll properly.
And don’t get us started on the typo-rich experience of filling out forms with our thumbs!

So here’s the deal: your candidates feel the same way when they access your
corporate career site from their mobile devices--and with 1 in 5 people already
searching for jobs on mobile1
and mobile job search doubling each year,2
they will
access your career site from their mobile devices.
The problem arises when your candidates find your jobs while on the go. Sometimes
they will take the time to return to the job application when they’re back on their
desktop or laptop computers, but that premise operates on the assumption that
A) your candidates regularly access a non-mobile device and B) your candidates will
remember to come back and finish the application process later.
Now is the time to stop making assumptions, because the mobile revolution is
already here: in just a few short years, laptop sales are projected to shrink to less
than 30% of the mobile computer market3
so the number of candidates who see
your jobs on a traditional computer should shrink in tandem. And if you’ve ever
seen a link in your mobile Facebook or Twitter feed that you promised yourself
to open and read when you got back to your desk, only to completely forget ever
having seen it, you’re not alone. Your candidates need a way to apply for your jobs
right now no matter where they are or what device they’re holding.
So how can you reduce drop-off and increase conversion of candidates into
applicants on mobile devices? Let’s take a look at the four commandments of a
good mobile recruiting solution:
1. Build a mobile-friendly career site
2. Integrate your existing applicant tracking system
3. Decrease obstacles to application
4. Start social profiling (& get connected with Facebook)

CONTENTS
COPYRIGHT
© 2013 Work4 Labs, Inc.
All rights reserved.
SELECTING A MOBILE RECRUITING SOLUTION:
THE RECRUITER’S ”MUST HAVE ACCESSORY”
Build a Mobile Friendly Career Site
Integrate Your Existing Applicant Tracking System
Decrease Obstacles to Applications
Start Social Profiling (& Stay Connected with Facebook)
Becoming a Mobile Trendsetter
Sources
About
5
7
8
9
10
12
13

Build a Mobile-
Friendly
Career Site
As we mentioned earlier, the mobile browsing
experience is somewhat different from what you’ll
find on a desktop. A mobile website has a few key
components that differentiate it from a regular
desktop website:
them with hard-to-read text, tiny and unclickable
buttons, an unwieldy design that is hard to scroll
through or impossible to search, and lists and
forms that are difficult to navigate, then there’s a
very good chance that they’ll give up before they
give you any of their application information.
In other words, going mobile is essential for
keeping your candidates on the site and even
more essential for getting them to fill out a job
application.
You have a few options when deciding how to
make your careers viewable and searchable from
mobile browsers:
1. You can build a standalone app
2. You can use a “responsive” website theme
3. You can auto-detect and redirect
candidates to a standalone mobile site
Building an app may seem like an attractive idea,
but it’s probably more cost- and time- prohibitive
than you’ll want, and it may even create
unnecessary obstacles for your candidates. A
standalone app can take weeks or months to
develop and build (whether you create it internally
or have it developed elsewhere), and candidates
will not be able to access your jobs unless they
choose to download the app to their devices.
Why bother with mobile-optimization? Well, when
it comes to catching and and keeping candidates,
you want them to stay on your site long enough
to search and apply for your jobs. If you frustrate
1. Fits to a small screen
2. Prominent search bar
3. Big, easy-to-press buttons
4. Clean design
5. Up-and-down scrolling only
6. Easy-to-navigate lists and forms

Build a Mobile-
Friendly
Career Site
A responsive website theme is a template that
automatically detects when your candidate is
viewing your career site from a desktop/laptop
or mobile device; however, it, too, may not
adequately serve your needs. First, if you have
an established corporate career site that isn’t
already responsive, you will have to redesign and
recode the entire website (not recommended).
Second, if you do have a “responsive” corporate
career site, you will still need a solution for
syncing your ATS with your list of jobs or else
your candidates are left with no way to apply.
Third, if you don’t have a corporate career site
and/or are using a Facebook Brand Page, you still
need a website on which candidates can view,
search, and apply for your jobs.
The best option is to create a separate mobile
career site that syncs with your ATS to capture
mobile candidates on the go. A separate site
would ideally be connected to your main
corporate or social career site, so that when
candidates arrive via tablet or smartphone, they
are automatically redirected to the mobile viewer.
A separate mobile site gives you the benefit of a
clean, easy-to-navigate design, the convenience
of an automatic redirect, and the flexibility of
integrating with your existing technology.

Integrate
your existing
applicant
tracking
system
Your applicant tracking system is the blessing
and the curse of your social and mobile recruiting
experience. It’s an integral part of your existing
talent management system, but it’s a technology
that has very rarely been optimized for the
social and mobile recruiting revolution. Many
applicant tracking systems cannot be used on
mobile devices, much less easily accessed. But
even if your ATS is not mobile ready, you don’t
need to put the brakes on your mobile recruiting
strategy: you can bridge the gap between your
systems with the right solution.
The first thing you’ll need is a way for your
candidates to apply. A simple button that
redirects candidates to a mobile form is a good
first step. Once the candidates fill out the form,
the information should sync with your ATS. This
may seem like an easy task, but many applicant
tracking systems do not have the technology
in place to support a simple sync. If you want
to capture mobile applications, your mobile
recruiting solution should contain the technology
to push candidate data into your system from
that form. This way you can allow your talent
to register for your talent pool without actually
having to visit your main corporate career site on
a desktop.
If you don’t have an ATS, this form can simply
serve as your candidates’ application; however,
if you do have an ATS, you can at least make it
easy for candidates to begin the job application
process. Even if you require more detail than a
mobile form can or should offer, you have a way
to follow up for more. Once you have candidates’
contact information, you can send emails
reminding them to complete any additional forms
directly on your desktop career site when it’s
convenient for them to do so.

Decrease
Obstacles to
Application
Speaking of convenience, there are few things
more frustrating than attempting to fill out
forms on tiny, touch-sensitive keyboards. A long
application process, even if it’s mobile-optimized,
is still not candidate-friendly, and it can be a large
predictor of early drop off.
Your candidates are busy people and are often
overwhelmed by an overload of messages and
media as they multitask on the go. Interactions
grow increasingly more fleeting (think in Twitter
terms: 140 characters or less) and time becomes
a more precious resource. The less work your
potential candidates have to do in order to start
the application process and get back to their
lives, the more likely they will be to actually take
the time to apply.
There are many benefits to decreasing the
obstacles to application through something like a
short-apply process.You’ll be able to capture the
most relevant information from your candidates
and then add them to your talent pool or email
list, consider the information they provide to be
a direct application, use their profile to retarget
them on Facebook with ads, or get in touch
with them to remind them to finish filling out an
application on your corporate career site.
No matter how you use the information, the
important part is giving your potential candidates
a reason to take the time to type it in. The less
maneuvering through tiny, complex forms, the
greater the chance they’ll stick around to provide
you with the information you need.
Therefore, you need a solution that establishes a
“short-apply” process so candidates can register
for your ATS with only a few important pieces
of relevant information. (Full name and email
is a good start--and if you can grab some “why
I’m here” data, such as job interest or preferred
industry or skill set, then you’re off and running!)
Which Would You Choose?

START SOCIAL
PROFILING
(& STAY
CONNECTED
WITH
FACEBOOK)
As we’ve suggested, time is precious and keeping
candidates engaged with your jobs on their
mobile devices can often feel like an uphill battle.
Even with a short-apply form that asks for the
minimum amount of typing, mobile consumers
have been conditioned to be skeptical of the
amount of energy they invest in anything short
of a 1-Click Apply button. Your candidates might
be willing to text their friends for hours on end,
but they’re less-than eager to type in complicated
educational histories (“I knew I shouldn’t have
taken that semester abroad!”) at the risk of
clumsy thumbs and autocorrect.
Facebook can save the day in two ways:
1. An in-channel apply experience (i.e. users
who find you while browsing the mobile
Facebook app can return to Facebook when
they’re done applying) allowing users to get
back to the app and on with their lives.
2. An option to pre-populate the application
form by importing any information candidates
already have in their social profiles so they
don’t have to do any extra typing (bonus
points if you let them edit the info).
If your potential candidates click on an ad or
a job while in the Facebook app on a mobile
device, they expect to be able to go back to
flicking through their Newsfeeds as soon as
they’re done applying. Give them a seamless
experience with a mobile redirect that picks
them up and deposits them in the same spot.
They’ll appreciate you for respecting their time
and their browsing behavior--and there’s a much
better chance they’ll take the time to complete
that application if they don’t have to worry about
losing their place in the stream of updates from
their friends.
And if you have an option to pre-populate the
mobile application with basic social profile
information, you’re doing an extra service to both
them and you. By giving applicants the option
to import any data they already have on their
Facebook profile, you cut down on the amount of
time applicants must spend hunting and pecking
(even on a short-apply form). And candidates
won’t have to worry about sending you private
information: a good “Connect with Facebook”
option assures candidates that the form only
culls the pertinent stuff, while also giving the user
the option to edit anything they don’t want to
share. This will reduce your drop off rate and help
you increase the number of quality applications
you receive.

BECOME
A MOBILE
TRENDSETTER
Now that you’ve got the big picture, it’s time to
put the pieces of the ensemble together and pick
a mobile solution that will best fit your recruiting
needs. (Considering the fact that more than 90%
of Fortune 500 companies have yet to mobile-
optimize their career sites, this is one trend of
which you’ll have no trouble getting ahead.4
)
And you’ll want to get ahead of this trend now
because “more people are expected to use
mobile devices than PCs to access the internet”
by the end of this year.5
And when those
people (i.e. your potential candidates) land on
your page, more than 50% will be less likely to
engage with you unless the site is mobile--even
more important, 48% of people actually feel
like companies don’t care about their business
(which, in our case, includes their time spent
looking at your jobs) when sites aren’t compatible
with smartphones or tablets.6
You don’t want to alienate your potential
candidates by giving off the air of “not caring
about their business.” People become candidates
for companies they care about. People want to
be part of a company that cares about them. And
you need people to become candidates. That’s
why a mobile solution should be a priority for
your social recruiting strategy.
Not every mobile solution is prêt-à-porter, one-
size-fits-all, which is why you should carefully
measure your own needs against advertised
solutions. From deciding how you want your
candidates to search to how you want to capture
candidate information, you’re driving the mobile
candidate’s application experience.
To recap, in our estimation, a form-fitting mobile
recruiting solution should:
Be universally compatible with all mobile devices
so candidates can reach you anywhere
Be a website and not an app so candidates
have no “must-download-to-search” barriers
Import jobs from your ATS so you can keep
your candidates and recruiters in sync
Contain simple forms and a clean user
interface so candidates can easily apply
Keep your applications in-channel so
candidates can quickly apply and go back
to social networking
Auto-fill profile data from social networks so
candidates will be more likely to fill our
your forms

BECOMe
A MOBILE
TRENDSETTER
At their core, the best fitting, all-purpose mobile
solutions allow candidates to view, search, save,
and apply for jobs--once you’ve got the basics,
then no matter how you accessorize (employer
branding embellishments, anyone?) your
recruiting strategy will be on the fast track to
fashionable!
Contact us to “try on” Work4’s Mobile Recruiting
Solutions or call us at +1 (877) 509-0403.
For more information about Mobile Recruiting
Solutions, download our Mobile Recuiting
Solutions datasheet.

SOURCES
1. http://mobilerecruitmentconference.com/2012/10/08/1-in-5-recruitment-
searches-are-now-mobile/
2. http://venturebeat.com/2013/02/19/5-mobile-myths-that-could-mortally-
wound-your-recruiting-efforts/
3. http://www.extremetech.com/computing/145094-tablets-to-overtake-laptops-
in-worldwide-sales-in-2013
4. http://www.recruitingblogs.com/forum/topics/94-of-the-fortune-500-
companies-do-not-have-a-mobile-optimized
5. http://community.demandforced3.com/t5/The-Demandforce-Blog/Infographic-
Get-Moving-Why-You-re-Already-Losing-if-Your-Site-is/ba-p/8814
6. http://community.demandforced3.com/t5/The-Demandforce-Blog/Infographic-
Get-Moving-Why-You-re-Already-Losing-if-Your-Site-is/ba-p/8814

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
contact@work4labs.com
+1 (877) 509-0403
CONNECT WITH US
www.work4labs.com
www.facebook.com/work4labs
www.linkedin.com/company/work4-labs
www.twitter.com/work4labs
ABOUT
WORK4™
Work4 powers social recruiting by making everyone a recruiter and everyone a candidate.
We help thousands of companies, including many of the Fortune 500, find, engage,
and hire top talent with our all-in-one recruiting solution for Facebook. Work4 allows
employers to reach candidates through a Facebook Career Site and on mobile devices,
take advantage social networks to drive employee referrals, and target Facebook’s 1
billion users with intelligent recruiting ads. Work4 brings cost-effective, efficient sourcing
and hiring to the world’s top companies by leveraging the reach and scope of the world’s
largest and most powerful social network.
Established in 2010 and backed by top tier investors such as Matrix Partners and Yuri
Milner, Work4 has offices in San Francisco and Paris.
Read:
ENJOYED THIS? WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MOBILE RECRUITING?
Datasheet: Mobile Recruiting Solutions

Selecting a Mobile Recruiting Solution: The Recruiter’s “Must Have Accessory”

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Selecting a Mobile Recruiting Solution: The Recruiter’s “Must Have Accessory”