The times are a-changin’. Mobile devices have deeply penetrated our lives. It has made a variety of services accessible at our fingertips, including job seeking. The stats are here to prove it. According to a study, 9 out of 10 people seek employment opportunities on a mobile phone. Yet, job posting sites still rely on application tracking systems designed to support desktop websites. Thus, mobile job seekers face difficulties compared to desktop users. This has resulted in 53% fewer applications and 80% longer application time. This can result in a loss of user base if the job seeker isn’t satisfied with the experience on a mobile device.
Some of the common problems faced by mobile job seekers are:
- Problems uploading resumes from mobile devices
- Laborious application processes
- Delayed response from employers regarding application status
Job posting sites cannot ignore the needs of mobile users. Job board aggregators, too, need to build their framework in a mobile-friendly manner to draw more crowds on the job site. Here’s a look at how job boards can attract mobile users to their website.
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Understanding the audience
The audience set varies according to demographics. Mobile job seekers vary dramatically across industries. The food services sector has the largest pool of mobile job seekers at 63.1 percent. The media industry sees the lowest mobile application pool standing at just 43.2 percent. However, there is no industry today that has the total prevalence of mobile job seekers. Thus job board aggregators should be able to collect job listings across various domains. However, when it comes to employed professionals, the demographic becomes more defined. For example, drivers in the transportation industry or nurses working in hospitals have limited access to a desktop. Hence, job sites should ensure that the application process for these professionals is smooth. The mobile candidate pool varies according to various other factors such as education, locality, and job status. Job boards should ensure that the users have a pleasant experience on the mobile site or app irrespective of the demographic.
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Streamlining the application process
Job application processes can be tiring and lengthy. Add to that the smaller real estate of mobile screens, and it can prove to be even more cumbersome. The job application process should be swift, especially on a mobile device. The job board should have a clear description of the said vacancy so that the user can easily understand and apply for the job. Additionally, features such as autofill should be available to users to reduce the time spent on mundane tasks. Reducing the job application time by 10 percent can increase the applicant pool by 2.3 percent for mobile job seekers. This statistic can be improved further by decreasing the application time. If the users aren’t satisfied with the application process, they might look elsewhere. Users spending more time on your job board may prove counterproductive in such cases.
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Simplifying the layout
Although job aggregators scout for jobs on clients’ websites and list them on the job board, the work isn’t completed yet. The job listings should be presented in a simplified manner. Job boards can’t just adopt the desktop layout for their mobile site and app. Users should have easy access to job titles, and easy-to-read job description should accompany the job posting. Job listings should be made available as a preview list so that more jobs are visible at once. The user can then click on a particular job posting of their interest.
Additionally, using bullets in descriptions instead of long paragraphs are easier to read on a mobile device. Also, bold typefaces can be used to garner the attention of the user to the most important points. Making the job posting easy to read and apply is the key when simplifying the layout.
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Testing different versions
Job sites can design a mobile site that they feel might attract users. However, this might not actually translate into reality. Thus, job sites should test multiple versions of their mobile websites and analyze the user response for each. Job sites can get a clear understanding of whether their particular website is a hit or a miss by analyzing various parameters on each site. These include the time spent by users, the number of applications, and garnering user feedback can provide insights to job boards. Job boards can then fine-tune their website based on this data to have maximum traffic and user engagement. For the mobile app, job boards can have beta testers to try out features and polishing them before making them live on the app.
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Using integrated solutions like job board aggregators
Job boards can take advantage of integrated solutions to speed up the application process. They can leverage use tools like a premium job crawling service used on their desktop site for their mobile site. Integrating one-click solutions to enable quick job application can also make the website more job seeker-friendly. The user need not leave the job board website and this can result in the user spending more time on the mobile website. Once the user is logged in, he just needs to click apply and the job board can automatically fill in the details required and send the desired resume to the employer. The user can do the job search, company research, and job application all on the same page.
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Easier third-party apps access
Agreed, mobile websites and apps have made life much easier for employers and employees alike. However, there is one major obstacle faced by job seekers while using a mobile version of the job board. Easy access to third party-apps has always been an issue. Job seekers need easy access to sites such as LinkedIn, Dropbox, or Google Drive. They might need to upload different resumes for different job postings. Editing a resume may also become the need of the hour in some situations. Thus, easy access to tools where candidates can easily view and edit their resumes is essential. In the case of mobile websites, there should be easy access to the required files via the share sheet. In the case of apps, third-party sites should be integrated right within the app. If such services are not available, the user might refrain from using the job board altogether and switch to a competitor.
As job seekers are relying more on mobile devices to research and apply to jobs, job boards must adapt to the changing market. With the increasing access of mobiles to a large population, job seekers are not limited to just the younger generation. Job seekers across all age and income groups are increasingly relying on mobile devices. Employers, job seekers, and job boards are all competing in an increasingly tight market. Any job board aggregator in US can stay ahead of the competition by providing its users with a friendly experience on its app, desktop site, or mobile platform.
