The Takeaway

What does all this mean? It means that if your application process isn't mobile-friendly, you're potentially losing half of your applicants before they even hit 'submit.’ That's a lot of potential great hires slipping through your fingers just because your application process is way too long and asks too many questions of someone on their phone.

Try this. Pull out your phone. Pretend you’re looking for a job. Go to your website and apply. Is it as smooth as butter, or does it frustrate you? If it’s the latter, and chances are it is, imagine how 2 out of 3 applicants feel. They’re leaving you and going somewhere else for a job.

Automate Repetitive Recruiting Tasks and Save Your Time

If you’re in an industry that hires a lot of people, such as hospitality, retail, construction, or manufacturing, to name a few, you do a lot of repetitive recruiting work. Wouldn’t it be nice if it was automated so you could do something else more productive with your customers or employees?

Here’s an example. Regardless of industry, I’m sure that many of you can empathize with Sarah.

Meet Sarah, the assistant manager at a bustling downtown restaurant. It's Tuesday morning, and she's already juggling a dozen tasks when her phone buzzes. Another job inquiry.

"Hi, I saw your ad. Are you still hiring servers?"

Sarah sighs. This is the fifth such message today, and it's not even noon. She quickly types out a response, explaining the position's requirements and asking about the applicant's experience. As she hits send, two more messages pop up.

Throughout the day, Sarah finds herself constantly switching between managing the lunch rush and responding to a flood of job inquiries. Each conversation feels like a mini-interview, asking the same questions over and over:

"Do you have serving experience?" "Are you available to work weekends?" "Can you lift up to 30 pounds?"

By closing time, Sarah's typed these phrases so many times, she feels like she could recite them in her sleep.

The next morning, Sarah dedicates two hours to sifting through the responses. Some candidates look promising, others... not so much. She creates a spreadsheet to keep track, but it's tedious work. For every qualified applicant, there are five who clearly didn't read the job description.

Now comes the tricky part: scheduling interviews. Sarah starts sending out messages to the potential candidates. The responses trickle in slowly, each with different availability. She finds herself constantly referencing the restaurant's schedule, her own calendar, and the candidates' preferences, trying to find time slots that work for everyone.

As she looks at her calendar full of interview slots, Sarah can't help but wonder: there's got to be a better way to do this. The irony isn't lost on her - she's hiring help because they're short-staffed, but the hiring process itself is taking up so much of her time that they're even more short-staffed than before.

Sarah's experience is all too common. Let's break down the numbers:

• Time spent responding to inquiries: 1.67 hours per day

• Screening applications: 2 hours

• Scheduling and rescheduling interviews: 3 hours

• Total time spent in just one week: 6.47 hours

At an estimated hourly rate of $25 for an assistant manager, that's $161.75 spent on hiring tasks in a single week. And this doesn't even account for the opportunity cost of Sarah not focusing on improving restaurant operations or serving customers.

Now, imagine this process repeating itself over and over again. The time and cost add up quickly, potentially reaching thousands of dollars per year just in administrative hiring tasks. We even discussed poor Sarah’s sanity.

But what if there was a way to automate much of this process? What if Sarah could reclaim those hours and focus on what really matters - running a great restaurant and serving customers?

The Takeaway

You don’t have to sacrifice a quality process, valuable time, or sanity to automate things that should and can be automated.

Answer questions, screen for qualifications, and set up interviews 24x7 with automation. Your virtual recruiting assistant can be your digital twin.

What Mobile Recruiting Isn't

Before we dive into what mobile recruiting is, let's talk about what it isn’t. Many businesses think they've modernized their hiring process by adding a few "mobile-friendly" elements. But slapping a QR code on your "Now Hiring" sign isn't the mobile revolution we're talking about. Let's break down what mobile recruiting isn't:

• A website that works on phones: Sure, your careers page might look okay on a smartphone, but if it's still asking candidates to navigate through multiple pages and fill out lengthy forms, you're not truly mobile-friendly.

• QR codes leading to traditional applications: Congratulations, you've saved someone the trouble of typing in a URL. But if that code leads to the same old clunky application process, you haven't solved the real problem.

• Texting a number to apply: Sending an SMS might feel modern, but if it just triggers an automated response with a link to your website application, you're back to square one.

• Accepting emailed resumes: "Just email us your resume!" might seem convenient, but it's not mobile-optimized. Have you ever tried to attach a document from your phone while standing in line for coffee?

• Social media job postings: Advertising openings on Instagram or Facebook is great for visibility, but if the application process isn't streamlined for mobile users, you're losing candidates at the first click.

• Mobile-unfriendly practices: Requiring document uploads, expecting long-form answers, or using tiny, hard-to-tap buttons – these are all mobile no-nos.

• A shiny front-end with a clunky back-end: Your application might look sleek on a phone, but if your hiring team is still manually sorting through responses and scheduling interviews, you're missing out on the real benefits of mobile recruiting.