In today’s world, digital technology is king when it comes to communication, and things are changing rapidly. Paper has been replaced by email. Text messages have replaced phone calls. Notebook computers have made the office a virtual space. The Internet can help find you anything you need with the blink of an eye (and a fast wireless connection). Welcome, recruitment professionals, to the digital age.
Job Seekers are Mobile Users
People today are always on the go, which is why mobile devices are so important. We need to find information, easily, wherever we go, and on the size screen that fits in a purse or pocket.
A report was released in April 2015 by Pew Research Center in association with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation that stated 64% of Americans are now smartphone owners. The report went on to list statistics that reinforce what is happening around us, which is that mobile devices are a key way to communicate each other online:
10% of Americans own a smartphone but do not have broadband service at home; and,
15% of Americans own a smartphone, but say other than their cell phone, they have a limited options for going online.
The report also revealed critical statistics about how we obtain information.
67% of smartphone owners will occasionally use their phone to share pictures, videos, or commentary about events happening in their community.
For recruiters, the report revealed most interesting results about job seeker behavior.
43% of smartphone users report looking up information about a job.
18% of users say they have used a smartphone to submit a job application.
Beyond.com released an interesting study showing that 77% of job seekers use mobile apps in their search.
The stats are even higher outside the U.S., i.e., 88% of Japanese users access the Internet on mobile devices every day.
This begs the question, how are you leveraging the current trends for smartphone utilization in your recruitment efforts to attract the talent you want?
Job Seekers are Social Users
Facebook has surpassed 1.44 billion monthly active users and 1.25 mobile users; 65% of active users are daily users. Twitter has 302 million active users with 80% active on mobile devices and 500 million “tweets” sent per day.
LinkedIn has over 364 million members in more than 200 countries and territories. Professionals are signing up on LinkedIn at a rate of more than two new members each second. In the first quarter of 2015, 62% of LinkedIn’s revenue stream was from Talent Solutions, totaling $396 million. Jobvite conducted a survey that found 79% of recruiters said they found candidates through LinkedIn, while 26% of recruiters found candidates through Facebook, and 14% found candidates through Twitter. And, how do you get them to respond 32 September 2015 • Workforce Solutions Review • www.ihrim.org
and share at a higher rate? Video! Videos carry more prominence in their appearance with a thumbnail image that draws a candidate’s attention, which, in turn, encourages more clicks.
People today are social, learning, sharing, and keeping up-to-date with the world by contacts over Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Their contacts are made up of people they know personally, as well as acquaintances. No matter how many contacts you have, social media is the fastest way to spread information and tell people about what you are up to, or share information you have found.
Job Seekers Use Search Engines
To put it simply, search engine optimization (SEO) is the process in which people improve their website’s ability to be organically found by search engines, like Google. Search engines, like Google, have one goal: to give us, as users, the best possible answers to our search. Search engine optimization is critical to a recruitment strategy given that 80% of job seekers start their search by typing in key words on Google. Potential candidates will be typing in keywords that may or may not lead to your position openings. How do you make sure your jobs show up front and center?
The Power of Video
Video allows you to win the war on SEO. Did you know Google actually indexes video 53 times higher on a search? You have probably noticed that no matter what you type into Google, YouTube will be at the top of your results. This is due to the way that search engines have their algorithms set.
The world is now digital, so in order to keep pace, the way you recruit needs to be digital. People find information through search engines, mobile devices, and social media. Job seekers are no different. A relevant method for recruiting is digital job postings.
A passive job seeker who is not actively searching for a new position is social and mobile. If you want to gain a passive job seeker’s attention, you need a way to make your open position go viral. How can you accomplish this?
Candidates learn and retain up to 60% more critical information about your company and the skills required for the position through video instead of text. This clearer understanding causes candidates to more accurately opt in or out of the application process based on fit. So, by “showing and telling” your positions in a video rather than just having candidates read about it, recruiters are seeing significant reductions in screening times.
How do you attract candidates in addition to digital postings on job boards and on your applicant tracking system (ATS)? Leverage your network. A video is easy to watch and listen to on a mobile device and they are easy to post and share via social media. It is a great way to spread the word and find referrals.
Job Seekers Want a Diverse Culture
Another great feature of VIDEOJOBS™ versus displaying text only is that it gives recruiters an opportunity to truly show a diverse workforce. According to survey results in a recent blog by Glassdoor, 67% of active and passive job seekers said that when evaluating companies and job offers, an important factor is a diverse workforce. Glassdoor also reported that only 14% of people said that they did not think their company should be doing more to increase diversity in the workplace, meaning, the majority of companies have the appearance that they are not doing enough.
The easiest way to attract a diverse workforce is to show it. Video allows candidates to see and feel that they will fit in with your company and your culture. Video job postings allow you to truly tell your story, whether it is visually or through language.
Big Data and Tracking
It helps in recruiting to know where you are getting the most traction from your postings and which source found the candidate you ultimately select. With today’s technology, the right recruiting partner should be able to give you data to help you make the best decisions during the process. It’s not just about the sites you are paying to source on either; it is all about the share. Candidates are the ultimate third-party validator of your messaging.
Tracking will allow you to have insight into where those candidates are sharing your video jobs, what niche pools you can reach through social media, blogs, discussion groups, and www.ihrim.org • Workforce Solutions Review • September 2015 33
niche job boards. Recruitment strategies can be very one dimensional – posting your position out and hoping candidates find you. In order to attract top talent, you need to reach them where they are already going and track where the messaging goes from there. If your message in your digital posting is dynamic, it will be shared, and you need to know where.
Setting Expectations during the Application Process
You’ve heard it called the “black hole” in Human Resources. A candidate submits a résumé for a position and then…nothing. There is no response, no idea of next steps, and no knowledge of the company’s recruitment process. The candidate that was interested in the open position you had posted now feels lost. Along with this unclear understanding of the application process could also be a negative feeling toward your company and brand. The way that you treat your candidates can be seen as indicative of how you conduct business.
Careerbuilder released a 2015 Candidate Behavior Report with data about the U.S. Job Seeker. When respondents were asked if the application process would impact his or her decision to accept a position from a company, 68% either agreed somewhat or strongly. When asked if the companies that he or she applied to were responsive during the application process, 55% disagreed. The report went on to show that if a person had a good experience with a company during the application process, 24% said they would tell more than 5 people and 12% said they would tell more than 10 people.
Just like the job postings, video and leveraging technology can help eliminate the gap. A short video that sets expectations for the hiring process leaves a candidate with a clear understanding of time and next steps, which will provide a positive experience during the interaction with a potential employer’s brand. A short video will also save recruiters time that was previously spent notifying individual candidates of their status during the job application process.
Digital Technology is King
John Chambers, departing CEO of Cisco, spoke to CBS This Morning this past June and talked about the need for companies to become digitized. In his interview, Mr. Chambers said that “being a digital company, speed of change, and willingness to reinvent yourself” is how companies will survive changing technology. To stay relevant in today’s marketplace, companies must become digitized and the same stands for recruiting. If you want to attract top talent and gain an edge in today’s competitive candidate-driven market, recruiters must understand and leverage digital technology. The market is changing rapidly, but there are simple ways to keep up and ensure that you are providing the best experience with your job openings and brand.
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