In our previous blog post, “Conversational AI is the Future of Small Business Recruiting,” we discussed how small businesses have embraced technology to revolutionize their operations in the wake of the pandemic. From online ordering to delivery services, nearly every aspect of business has been upgraded - except one crucial area: hiring.

Despite the technological leaps in other areas, the recruitment process for many small businesses remains stubbornly outdated. This oversight isn't just an inconvenience; it's a critical weakness in today's fast-paced, mobile-first job market.

In this post, we'll explore why modernizing your hiring process is no longer optional. We'll reveal why catering to mobile job seekers is essential, with 2 out of 3 candidates searching and applying via smartphones. Most importantly, we'll show you how automating repetitive recruiting tasks can free up your time, allowing you to focus on what truly matters - growing your business and hiring faster.

It's time to bring your hiring process into the 21st century. Let's dive in.

If You Remember Nothing Else, Remember These Three Things

There are a lot of words on this page, but none are more important than the ones I’m about to tell you. Read them. Re-read them. Internalize them.

• The number of job seekers looking at your job postings (on your website, job boards, or elsewhere) on their mobile phones outnumbers those looking on a desktop computer by 2 to 1.

Figure 1. Appcast data shows two-thirds of applicants apply by mobile phones.

• If you ask lots of questions in your application process, candidates won't hang around. As you can see, the percentage of applicants falls dramatically the more questions you ask.

Figure 2. Appcast data shows the percentage of applicants for every 100 clicks on your job ad.

• If an application takes longer than 6 minutes to complete, 50% of applicants bail on the process. It it takes more than 15 minutes? There is a 365% decrease in the number of completed applications. Ouch! You might as well light your money on fire.

Figure 3. Appcast data shows huge applicant drop off related to number of questions asked.

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.

Remember, true mobile recruiting isn't about making your existing process accessible on a phone. It's about reimagining the entire hiring journey with mobile users in mind. It's about creating a seamless, fast, and engaging experience that respects both the candidate's time and your hiring team's sanity.

So, if mobile recruiting isn't these things, what is it? Let's talk about what real, effective mobile recruiting looks like in today's fast-paced, smartphone-dominated world.

Introducing MyRecruiter: True Mobile-First Hiring for the Modern Workfor

Now that we've cleared up what mobile recruiting isn't, let's talk about what it should be. Enter MyRecruiter, a revolutionary AI-powered platform designed to transform your hiring process from the ground up.

What Makes MyRecruiter Different?

• Truly Mobile-Friendly Applications: MyRecruiter doesn't just shrink your existing application to fit a phone screen. It reimagines the entire process as a conversational experience. Candidates chat with our AI, answering simple questions in a natural, engaging way. No more endless scrolling or squinting at tiny form fields.

• Smart Use of QR Codes and SMS: When a candidate scans a MyRecruiter QR code or sends an SMS, they're not just redirected to a website. They're instantly engaged in a conversation with our AI assistant. It's like having a friendly recruiter available 24/7, ready to answer questions and guide candidates through the process.

• No More Document Hassles: Forget about asking candidates to upload resumes from their phones. MyRecruiter gathers all necessary information through conversation, eliminating the need for document uploads. If you do need additional documents, we make it easy to submit them later.

• Automated Backend for Hiring Managers: Remember Sarah's scheduling nightmare? MyRecruiter automates all that. It screens candidates, schedules interviews, and even handles follow-ups. Your hiring team can focus on evaluating candidates, not juggling calendars.

• Lightning-Fast Process: Remember the 6-minute rule? MyRecruiter is designed to capture essential information quickly. Most candidates complete their initial application in under 5 minutes, dramatically increasing completion rates.

• 24/7 Availability: Your AI recruiter never sleeps. Whether a candidate is browsing jobs at 2 AM or wants to reschedule an interview on Sunday, MyRecruiter is there to help.

• Consistent Brand Experience: MyRecruiter learns your company's voice and values, ensuring every candidate interaction reflects your brand consistently.

MyRecruiter in Action

Imagine Sarah's world with MyRecruiter:

• Instead of typing the same responses all day, she sets up her job requirements once in MyRecruiter.

• Candidates engage with the AI assistant, which answers their questions and assesses their qualifications.

• Sarah receives a daily digest of pre-screened candidates, complete with availability for interviews.

• Every single applicant is followed up with automatically so they know where they stand.

• She spends her newfound time training staff and improving customer service.

With MyRecruiter, Sarah reclaims those 6.47 hours a week. That's over 330 hours a year she can dedicate to growing the business instead of drowning in hiring admin.

The Takeaway

MyRecruiter isn't just a band-aid solution for making your current process "mobile-friendly." It's a complete reimagining of the hiring process for the mobile age. It respects candidates' time, eases the burden on your hiring team, and ultimately helps you find better candidates faster.

In a world where 2 out of 3 job seekers are on mobile, can you afford not to have a truly mobile-first hiring solution?

The Future of Hiring is Here: Are You Ready?

We've taken quite a journey in this post. We've seen how the world of hiring has changed, especially for small businesses in high-turnover industries. Let's recap what we've learned:

• Mobile is king: 2 out of 3 job seekers are looking and applying for jobs on their phones. If you're not catering to mobile users, you're missing out on a huge talent pool.

• Time is of the essence: Long, complicated applications are killing your chances of finding great candidates. Remember, if it takes more than 6 minutes, you're losing half your applicants.

• Manual processes are costing you: Not just money, but time and sanity too. We saw how Sarah was spending over 6 hours a week just on hiring tasks – that's time she could've spent improving her business.

• "Mobile-friendly" isn't enough: Simply having a responsive website or a QR code isn't true mobile recruiting. It's about reimagining the entire hiring process for the mobile age.

MyRecruiter is designed to address all these challenges head-on. It's not just a band-aid solution – it's a complete overhaul of how small businesses approach hiring. By leveraging AI and truly mobile-first design, MyRecruiter helps you:

• Capture more applicants with a quick, engaging application process

• Save hours of time on repetitive tasks like screening and scheduling

• Provide a consistent, professional experience for every candidate

• Focus your energy on what really matters – running your business and connecting with the right candidates

The world of work is changing rapidly, and your hiring process needs to keep up. In an era where candidates have more options than ever, providing a smooth, respectful hiring experience isn't just nice to have – it's essential for attracting top talent.

So, ask yourself: Can your business afford to stick with outdated hiring practices? Or is it time to step into the future of recruiting?

MyRecruiter is here to help you make that step. Whether you're a restaurant owner drowning in applications, a retail manager struggling to keep up with seasonal hiring, or a small business owner wearing too many hats, MyRecruiter can transform your hiring process from a headache into a strategic advantage.

Ready to see what true mobile-first, AI-powered hiring can do for your business? Schedule a demo today. Your future employees (and your sanity) will thank you.

Remember, in the race for talent, the businesses that adapt fastest win. Don't let your hiring process hold you back. Remember the top 3 things at the beginning of this post. Embrace mobile recruiting.