Everything you will need to know when looking in to mobile recruitment. Produced by the world leading provider of mobile career apps and mobile optimised sites www.allthetopbananas.com

1. Three Ages of the Web
Today in the world of online, Mobile is the new
revolution.
Looking back over the last 10 years, Web 1.0 was all
about online connectivity, and the big names
synonymous with this were Yahoo, Google and AOL.
Web 2.0 was more about social, with the big players such
as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter creating a new ‘social
layer’ to the web.
Today Web 3.0, or mobile, has arrived and much of the
world is experiencing a massive uptake in smart mobile
devices and services.

2. Three Ages of the Web
We need to understand the 5 distinct elements of
the Mobile Web 3.0 that will change the way most
businesses will engage:
You’re dealing in real-time with
instant updates, messages, and
interaction.
Information and design has to be
tailored to fit smaller screens.
It’s ubiquitous (always connected,
nearly always with you)
Devices all come with high quality
cameras, video and audio.
There's location-aware services,
instantly providing appropriate data
for where you are.

3. With mobile about to overtake PC Internet usage, we have put
together our recommended top 10 steps to mobile recruiting.

4. Number 1. How many jobseekers are already accessing your site
via a mobile?
Use Google Analytics to check what traffic you are now getting
from mobile phones. The mobile section can be found on the
left hand navigation bar of your Google Analytics homepage.
You can even break down to see which mobile devices people
are using to visit your site, this could help when looking into
what platforms are right for your business.

5. Number 2. What is the current experience for a jobseeker when viewing
your site on a mobile device?
If you have a ‘smart phone’ try typing in your website domain
address and see what your site looks like on a smartphone. If
you don’t have a smartphone there is sure to be someone you
know with one, so just borrow theirs to check it out. Ask yourself
the question “is this a good experience for the user?”; are you
having to pinch in and scroll around the screen just to see the
tabs? In some cases graphics can disappear, words can
overlap; are you having trouble clicking on tabs and navigating
round the screen? Do you think a jobseeker would return to
your site via a mobile device?

6. Number 3. Mobile apps or Mobile web? Lets take a look at
Mobile web first…
There are benefits of doing both. First we would recommend that if you
only have the budget to do one, then get your mobile optimised site.
Why? Because this is already in the public domain, users are already
having a bad experience trying to use your normal site on a 2.5 inch
screen! Plus, optimise your site and this will help with mobile SEO, as
Google and other search engines are starting to rank those sites that are
optimised for mobile higher than those that are not.

7. Number 3 continued. Mobile apps; do jobseekers really use these
to search for jobs?
Well the answer is yes; we have recently monitored the applications and job
hires of some of the clients we work with. CV-Library was tracked over a 3
month period and in this time had received just over 35,000 job applications
from their Android and iPhone apps.
Oil and Gas Job Search launched their Android and iPhone apps on the 24th
July 2012. By 6th August 2012, they had tracked 2539 downloads of their
apps and just over 1200 job applications. What about a corporate client?
Sodexo recently announced at a conference that within the first 5 weeks of
their mobile apps going live on Android, iPhone and iPad, they had received
1300 downloads and from those downloads had employed 5 new members
of staff.
With native apps you can also send “targeted job alerts”. This cool feature
allows the jobseeker to be sent a notification to their phone every time a new
job matching their search parameters becomes available in the app. This is a
great way to get instant response to your latest jobs.

8. Number 4. Which platforms should you be looking to
adopt?
There are many different platforms you can choose from, iPhone, Android, Blackberry, iPad, Windows 7
Mobile/Nokia are the main platforms. For mobile apps there are 2 clear winners; Apple and Android.
These 2 platforms make up for nearly 80% of all app downloads. Adopt these 2 platforms and also get
your mobile site optimised and you will be pretty much covered for mobile!

9. Number 5. What’s your competition doing with
mobile?
Take a look at your competition, what are they doing? Are you
missing out on top talent due to your competitor having apps
when you don’t? Are you losing users because your competitor
has a mobile-optimised site and your users are switching to their
site as it is easier to use? If your competitors have mobile sites
and apps, what features do they have, what do you like about
their mobile site or mobile apps? Try and view as many apps and
mobile sites as you can to get a view of all the different options.

10. Number 6. Make sure you choose the right company to build your
mobile solution
Choosing the right company to build your mobile site and
mobile apps is very important. In most cases those
companies that have used external web developers to build
your normal website will offer you a mobile optimised site
solution. Before you go ahead with them, make sure you get
some other quotes, as we have seen a lot of these suppliers
charging top whack and also don’t offer a complete portfolio
of native app solutions.
Ask to see the mobile sites and any apps that the suppliers
have already produced.
Make sure that the supplier can offer you a full analytics
system so you know how well your apps are performing for
you.

11. Number 7. Fully managed solution or buy the source
code outright?
These are generally the 2 ways you will be able to buy your apps and
mobile sites.
If you decide to run with the option where by you get a supplier to build
your apps and mobile site and your company gets to keep the code, be
prepared to pay more for this option as an upfront payment. Also consider
who is going to do the updates when Apple, Android and the other
platforms release new software updates and who is going to add the new
features to keep your apps and mobile sites at the forefront of technology.
Try to get quotes from the developers for what these changes would cost.
Last year Apple alone had 4 new OS updates!
The second option is a “fully managed” solution. This should include
design, build, maintenance, hosting, OS updates and feature updates.
What it will not include is bespoke feature requests and changes. Your
initial layout should be less than the previous option, however you will have
to pay a yearly subscription to keep your apps and mobile sites running.
This option should give you peace of mind that your apps are hassle free
and will always be up to date with the latest features.

12. Number 8. Design; keep it simple.
Keep your mobile sites and apps simple to use, don’t try and cram
screens full of features. If you’re a recruitment agency or job board,
remember that a user in most cases purely wants to search for a
vacancy, so make sure that the search is easy to use. What works
on your website may not work as well on your mobile device, so be
prepared to take advice from the supplier as to what will work best
for your company; after all these are the guys that have the
knowhow. Corporates should note that mobile is a way to introduce a
jobseeker to your business, this is a great way to educate the
jobseeker on your employer brand. Having “Learn” or “About Us”
sections in your apps is a great way to achieve this. If you have
social media, also incorporate this as part of the app content. News
about your business is always a bonus! if you have vacancies near
to where they are prepared to work.

13. Number 9. Options to apply off the mobile phone
Currently, there are 3 common options to allow a jobseeker to apply from a
mobile device.
Remember that in most cases a jobseeker does not have a CV stored on their
phone.
1. The most commonly used method to allow a jobseeker to apply from a
mobile is to simply allow the jobseeker to email a link to the job back to their
home PC, where they can then apply in the normal way. This option is
usually the one that most corporate clients will opt for.
2. For those companies that allow jobseekers to be registered, an API can be
used to log the jobseeker in from the application, allowing them to apply
directly from the app using the pre-existing details stored on the company’s
database. This method is one that we see most of the job boards use.
3. The third way is to present a basic form, asking the jobseeker questions
about themselves e.g. name, email address, contact phone number and
even an option to add in their LinkedIn URL ,which is a great alternative to a
CV. These details are then sent to the recruiter for review.

14. Number 10. Promoting your apps.
The app stores are a great new marketing tool with 100s
of millions of users registered to them. However don’t just
rely on these stores alone to generate app downloads.
Advertise the fact that you have apps on your website,
email campaigns, job postings, shop windows and print
advertising as just a few extra examples. QR codes can
be a great way to redirect the user straight to the App
Stores to download your apps.
The more you promote your apps, the more downloads
you get and the higher up the app store your app will
hopefully appear.

15. For further advice or a free consultation on
Mobile recruiting…
...Call: 0844 800 1616
Email: mobile@allthetopbananas.com