Recruitment Strategies that Reach and Engage Today’s Job Seekers

By: Dona DeZube, Monster.com Finance Expert

As more consumers set aside laptops in favor of smartphones, iPads and other tablet computers, job seekers expect to be engaged with videos, job notifications and quick follow-up. Many experts say that recruiters must learn to adapt their recruitment strategy to these platforms.

With new tools and applications, you can adapt your current recruitment messages to the latest devices in the Web 2.0 world. The results will generate greater engagement and increase your ability to attract top talent.

Today’s mobile job seekers have different expectations and look for:

• Instant updates about new jobs via their mobile devices
• Immediate feedback to their job application 
• Recruiting videos to watch on their mobile devices
• Engaging, interactive content from employers

While that may seem impossible as a small business hiring strategy, here’s the good news: responding to those demands with consistent recruiting messages across multiple platforms is easier and less expensive than you might imagine.

The Growth of Mobile Recruiting “Over the past 12 months, Monster has seen a twofold increase in mobile-based traffic to our site," says Chris Necklas, Product Manager for Consumer at Monster. Based on the growth of tablet sales, and expectations that mobile Internet use will surpass desktop use by 2015, Monster has created a suite of mobile apps for iPhone, iPad touch and Android devices to better cater to this audience.

Necklas encourages employers to take an integrated approach to mobile-friendly apply solutions. “Monster has taken a lead role in integrating mobile with our job search applications,” he says, adding that Monster now reaches over 2 million mobile job seekers. “Our next step is partnering with employers to ensure that any off-Monster apply methods they may require are also mobile-friendly.”

The Ease of Mobile Messaging
One of the quickest and easiest ways for recruiters to take their recruiting message mobile -- adjusting a traditional Monster.com job posting to fit a smartphone format -- also happens to be free. “It doesn’t cost you anything extra, we adapt your online job posting to be read and consumed on a mobile device,” Necklaus explains.
  
Small business recruiting strategies should be revisited for opportunities to tap into the mobile evolution. As Internet-connected mobile devices are an “always-on” personal device, any opportunities to link these attributes into the recruitment process will be beneficial to seekers. Some ideas include:

• Job postings where seekers call the hiring manager directly instead of applying with a resume 
• Mobile customer relationship management (CRM) that links recruiters and seekers via instant messaging
• Use of permission-based Short Message Service (SMS) 
• Frequent updates to show the candidate their progress through the application process
• Incorporation of QR codes (Quick Response) in recruitment materials

Going Beyond the Written Word with Video
While mobile devices tend to be small, job seekers’ desires for more in-depth information are growing, says Leslie Cope, a senior product director for Monster.com. “They want to see videos about the company, hear from people who are already employed and compare one opportunity to the next,” she says.

Cope adds that you don’t have to be a big corporation to put big tools to work. “We’re giving small businesses the same tools and advantages that large companies have. Videos make you stand out, and it’s more affordable than you’d think.”

Eva Bitteker, product manager for Monster’s Video Profile product, says videos are especially effective for companies that have to sell candidates on their location (think rural hospitals), increase their response rate for qualified applicants, or illustrate positions that are difficult to describe with words alone. “Video is especially popular with firms that recruit sales, customer service, biotech and healthcare workers,” adds Bitteker.

Here’s why videos work well in those situations:

• Your employees are your best asset. A video that features your employees talking about the reasons why they enjoy working for your company, or what makes their jobs exciting, can be incredibly compelling.

• They give job seekers a peek at your corporate culture. Video is a great medium to visually communicate and showcase key selling points for your company, such as a unique office layout, a casual work environment, a downtown or scenic location.

• Show what job requirements look like in real life. A job description that says you have to lift a 50-pound box into a truck is different than actually seeing someone do it; this also helps candidates more accurately judge if they’re equipped to do the job.

• Feature aspects of the job that don’t fit easily into a job description. This can include your company’s tools, materials or machinery.

Once completed, you can add your recruitment video to your Monster job posting, your corporate website’s career pages, your company’s Facebook page and other social media pages. You can also email it to candidates, post it on sites like YouTube and (even if Monster.com films it for you) post it on competing job boards.

What to Do with All Those New Leads
What’s the downside of a more powerful mobile recruiting strategy? It increases candidates’ expectation for two-way communications. To cope with those demands, Monster provides candidate management tools that can be put in place before you activate new mobile-based campaigns.

“[Mobile] job seekers are looking for confirmation back from the employer, letting them know their information was received, where they stand in the recruiting process and if they’re going to hear further,” Cope says.

Monster’s free candidate management tools allow you to filter applicants, find people who fit your criteria, automatically contact the best prospects -- and even reminds you to follow up with candidates.

“Filtering, candidate screening and ranking tools let you quickly find the top applicants, so you can focus on reaching out and selling candidates on why your opportunity is right for them,” Cope says.

As recruitment strategies and small business hiring strategies evolve, there’s no doubt that Web 2.0, mobile and video recruitment tools will take center stage. Now’s the time to put these tools to work and enable your small company to stand out from competitors and make all your job postings more engaging.