www.crowded.com
Presentation from Howie Schwartz given at TA Tech conference in Las Vegas, Nevada September 19-21 2016
Topic: Mobile-first technology and how you need to leverage this to attract candidates!
2. Why Am I Up Here?
In 2010, I Began Starting Up Companies
To Focus OnThe Coming Mobile Shift
I SoldTwo OfThose Companies
3. Why Am I Up Here?
AlongThe Way I Learned HowTo Stop Scaring
Consumers Away From Mobile Devices!
And ForThe PastYear I Have Focused
On MobileTalent Acquisition With
Crowded.com
8. How Big Of A Problem IsThis?
• 41% of adult smart phone (Pew Research) users have used
their device to research a new job (imagine how much
higher the millennial percentage is today!)
• Mobile job board traffic will overtake desktop in the
next 12 months!
• Only HALF of the job applications today are even mobile
friendly (and only a handful are MOBILE FIRST)
9. How Big Of A Problem IsThis?
• The Scariest Stat InThis Presentation . . .
And the scariest picture in this presentation . . .
• Mobile Conversation Rates are 70% - 90% LOWER
The Desktop Conversion rates
• For every 10 desktop application conversions there
would be only 1 to 3 mobile application conversions.
11. How Big Of A Problem IsThis?
• MobileTraffic Is Growing Super Fast But the
Conversion Rates Are Not Improving Fast Enough
• 70% of job seekers (Madgex Study) have NEVER applied
for a job on mobile (even though they are actively
searching for jobs on mobile!)
• We are scaring away our candidates
13. Why Should You Care?
• If you are a job board
• Your performance will drop (applications) as the
percentage of mobile traffic increases your application
conversion rate will decrease
• Clients will cancel contracts
14. Why Should You Care?
• If you are an employer / staffing firm
• You will have an even harder time filling hard to fill
positions as mobile is scaring away our best candidates!
• You will spend more next year for less performance
15. What AboutThe Mobile Candidate?
• The poor mobile candidate suffers!
• We all talk about the candidate experience – but do our
actions really demonstrate that we actually care?
16. Why Hasn’t Our Industry Solved For Mobile?
• The employer thinks mobile is the ATS problem
• The ATS vendors don’t feel enough pressure or pain to fix it
• Who cares? Enough applicants seem to somehow make it
into your ATS, but are they the RIGHT applicants?
17. Why Hasn’t Our Industry Solved For Mobile?
• Is there a PERVERSE thought in the back of our minds that
the more painful that we make it for the candidate the
more they ‘want’ the job so the quality actually increases?
• That is just CRUEL! Poor candidate!
• And I can tell you with confidence it is having the exact
OPPOSITE affect.
18. And Its Making CandidatesWant to Do
This WithTheir Mobile Devices!
19. WhatTypes of Applicants Are We Scaring Away?
• You will never know the quality of applicants you are
scaring away! (As they don’t make it into yourATS!)
• Our hard to fill positions
• Candidates that are in demand will go towards the path of
least resistance and skip your terrible mobile flow!
20. WhatTypes of Applicants Are We Scaring Away?
• Millennials – they are used to AMAZING mobile product flows
• A crappy mobile flow is equivalent to millennial bug spray!
(it scares them away!)
22. 5 Quick WaysTo Fix Mobile Applications
1) Stop asking for resume uploads / attachments
• When was the last time you ‘uploaded’ a file on mobile?
• Do you REALLY REALLY need an old fashioned resume?
23. 5 Quick WaysTo Fix Mobile Applications
2) Test your mobile application process forYOURSELF
• Does your application renders properly on multiple mobile
devices (not just the iPhone in your pocket)
• Don’t take your vendors word for it.
• TEST it yourself!
24. 5 Quick WaysTo Fix Mobile Applications
3) Do you REALLY need to ask 40 questions?
• What are the 10 questions that really matter?
• Do you really require a full postal address vs a zip code?
• Do you really need the candidate to re-type their email
address twice to confirm it? (its not the first time today
they typed in their own email address . . .)
26. 5 Quick WaysTo Fix Mobile Applications
5) Break up your questions into multiple shorter pages
• This one step alone will increase your completion rates by 3X
• I have 6 years of data on this – TRUST ME
28. Crystal Ball – Mobile ‘Apps’ Matter Less
• Mobile Apps (as in App Stores NOT candidate applications) are
becoming LESS important
• Mobile Apps are just too hard to promote (competitive) and
get distribution (’discovery issue’)
• Job advertising isn’t video games – we don’t use native
features of the mobile devices
• In-App notifications as an App benefit can be replaced with
SMS and messaging applications
29. Crystal Ball – SMS Matters More
• If you aren’t asking permission to SMS (text message) your
candidates – go fix that today!
• Candidate ‘initial touch’ response rates on SMS are 3X over
email outreach
• Candidate ‘response time’ on SMS is 10 minutes vs. 10 hours
on email
30. Crystal Ball – Email Is Dying
• Read the previous slide
• Enough said
31. Crystal Ball – Messaging Platforms / Chatbots
• Mobile Apps (App Stores) are less important
• Email is dying
• Messaging Platforms are the FUTURE (Facebook Messenger,
Slack,WhatsApp, etc)
• Chatbots are coming (Its not all about ’AI’)
32. Your Action Plan: Tomorrow
• Nicely ask your ATS to improve the mobile experience
• Test our own application on 3 different mobile devices
• Start planning your mobile candidate experience like it was
Mobile First (or even better like it was Mobile Only!)
• Cut out 50% to 75% of your application questions
(to what your REALLY need to evaluate quality)
• Question everything required on your application – do you
REALLY need a resume at all ??
33. Your Action Plan: Next 30 Days
• Yell at your ATS to improve the mobile candidate experience
• Break your mobile application into multiple pages
• Add ‘Social Logins’ to your application flow
• Develop a SMS / messaging plan to nurture your candidates
34. Your Action Plan: Next 60 Days
• Fire yourATS if they did not improve the mobile experience!
• Actively SMS / message your candidates
• Watch your application conversion rates increase 3X
• If you are a job board watch your performance soar over your
competitors (and make more $ on mobile)
• If you are an employer / staffing firm watch your efficiency
sky rocket (and make more $ on mobile)