Unless you stopped leaving your house sometime before the Y2K bug was expected to destroy the world as we know it, you’ve probably noticed that mobile devices are kind of a big deal.
And if you’re a business owner who wants to recruit top-notch employees more effectively, then experts advise you jump on the mobile bandwagon right now.
Seventy-seven percent of job seekers use a mobile device to apply for jobs, and one in four will not apply to a job if the site doesn’t render well on their smartphone, says Imriel Morgan, Content and Community Manager for TalentPuzzle.com.
“When posting an advert, use tools that allow them to apply via their mobile. When posting an advert, try creating a person specification – go beyond the required skills,” she adds. “You need to sell the company and let your employer brand shine.”
To offer a closer look at smarter online recruiting, we checked in with Imriel, who shared what she thinks online job sites are doing right and what they could be doing better as well as how social media can be leveraged for faster hiring. Here’s what she had to say:
Can you tell us about TalentPuzzle…what services do you offer and who should be using them?
TalentPuzzle is the one-stop solution for employers who need to work with recruitment agencies. Employers can manage all of their agency recruitment through the platform and reap the benefits of getting to set their own terms, a streamlined application process, HR rated recruiters and complete PSL management. Our aim is to remove the headache of dealing with recruitment agencies.
What sets TalentPuzzle apart from other online job sites?
TalentPuzzle is like a “trip advisor” for the recruitment industry. It enables users to connect with peer-rated recruiters, taking away the guesswork often involved when using an agency. TalentPuzzle users enjoy the benefit of immediately receiving fully qualified candidates, which reduces the time to hire significantly.
What seems to be the biggest frustration employers have when it comes to filling openings?
From my experience on the marketplace, I’d say that the biggest frustration appears to be a lack of qualified candidates. You have to pay more for great candidates, and many employers are unwilling to do that (at least initially), so they are presented with candidates that they can afford and become frustrated and blame it on the talent shortage; that isn’t always the case.
In what ways do you think online job sites have helped employers with recruiting? In what areas do these sites excel?
Funnily enough, this is an area we have been researching obsessively for the last couple months. I think if job sites were completely useless they would fade into oblivion. Job boards excel at giving you a snapshot of the active candidate market, which makes up about 25 percent of the workforce.
How do you think online job sites can improve the way they match employers and job seekers?
I think the biggest complaint about many job sites is that you are bombarded with a lot of unqualified candidates. I think the current statistic on this is it takes 72 applicants from traditional recruiting methods to convert to one hire. I think job sites will do better if they focus on skills matching, which is where LinkedIn excels at the moment. Sadly, none of the job boards we reached out to were able to provide us with their fill rate, which I think speaks volumes.
Since networking is so critical to the job-searching process, how do you think online job sites can build more networking opportunities into their sites?
This is an area we are exploring for our product. LinkedIn is the dominant player in this space, so this is a difficult area for job sites to break into. Integration with social tools might be a great way to begin the process without investing a lot of time and money. Many products need to be built with a social aspect already integrated to effectively work. Many job sites just aren’t built with social in mind. I think skills matching, mobile and social recruiting tools are where they are likely to improve the most.
How do you think social media has impacted how we search for both jobs and employees today?
Social gets talked about a lot in recruiting, yet very few companies and brands are nailing it. Chipotle has done a great job of social recruiting recently. They used content marketing and gamification to attract candidates and get them invested in their brand. We are beginning to see social’s impact with new mobile apps, brands on Twitter and Facebook, etc. The great thing about social is that it satisfies our need for instant gratification, and with all analytics available, we can target, monitor and track how well we are doing with our recruiting efforts.
What have been the most effective methods you’ve found for building the audience to your site? What types of marketing seems to have offered you the best ROI?
As a startup, we have tried a bit of everything to build an audience. We get the best ROI from email marketing and networking events. We have been slowly building up an audience through content marketing and building our authority within the recruitment industry; however, this approach is more of a slow burn with regards to ROI. Having great customer service and building relationships also really helps, especially in the B2B space.
What do you think is the future for how we recruit and/or conduct job searches? What innovations excite you the most?
The industry is full of buzzwords and trends, the current trend being employee engagement. I’m excited for the latest developments in mobile recruitment and utilizing more network-based sites and apps. I can’t wait for UK companies to fully embrace employer branding; at the moment, the startups are great at it and appealing to Gen Y in droves, but I think more established brands will soon follow suit.
And if you’re a business owner who wants to recruit top-notch employees more effectively, then experts advise you jump on the mobile bandwagon right now.
Seventy-seven percent of job seekers use a mobile device to apply for jobs, and one in four will not apply to a job if the site doesn’t render well on their smartphone, says Imriel Morgan, Content and Community Manager for TalentPuzzle.com.
“When posting an advert, use tools that allow them to apply via their mobile. When posting an advert, try creating a person specification – go beyond the required skills,” she adds. “You need to sell the company and let your employer brand shine.”
To offer a closer look at smarter online recruiting, we checked in with Imriel, who shared what she thinks online job sites are doing right and what they could be doing better as well as how social media can be leveraged for faster hiring. Here’s what she had to say:
Can you tell us about TalentPuzzle…what services do you offer and who should be using them?
TalentPuzzle is the one-stop solution for employers who need to work with recruitment agencies. Employers can manage all of their agency recruitment through the platform and reap the benefits of getting to set their own terms, a streamlined application process, HR rated recruiters and complete PSL management. Our aim is to remove the headache of dealing with recruitment agencies.
What sets TalentPuzzle apart from other online job sites?
TalentPuzzle is like a “trip advisor” for the recruitment industry. It enables users to connect with peer-rated recruiters, taking away the guesswork often involved when using an agency. TalentPuzzle users enjoy the benefit of immediately receiving fully qualified candidates, which reduces the time to hire significantly.
What seems to be the biggest frustration employers have when it comes to filling openings?
From my experience on the marketplace, I’d say that the biggest frustration appears to be a lack of qualified candidates. You have to pay more for great candidates, and many employers are unwilling to do that (at least initially), so they are presented with candidates that they can afford and become frustrated and blame it on the talent shortage; that isn’t always the case.
In what ways do you think online job sites have helped employers with recruiting? In what areas do these sites excel?
Funnily enough, this is an area we have been researching obsessively for the last couple months. I think if job sites were completely useless they would fade into oblivion. Job boards excel at giving you a snapshot of the active candidate market, which makes up about 25 percent of the workforce.
How do you think online job sites can improve the way they match employers and job seekers?
I think the biggest complaint about many job sites is that you are bombarded with a lot of unqualified candidates. I think the current statistic on this is it takes 72 applicants from traditional recruiting methods to convert to one hire. I think job sites will do better if they focus on skills matching, which is where LinkedIn excels at the moment. Sadly, none of the job boards we reached out to were able to provide us with their fill rate, which I think speaks volumes.
Since networking is so critical to the job-searching process, how do you think online job sites can build more networking opportunities into their sites?
This is an area we are exploring for our product. LinkedIn is the dominant player in this space, so this is a difficult area for job sites to break into. Integration with social tools might be a great way to begin the process without investing a lot of time and money. Many products need to be built with a social aspect already integrated to effectively work. Many job sites just aren’t built with social in mind. I think skills matching, mobile and social recruiting tools are where they are likely to improve the most.
How do you think social media has impacted how we search for both jobs and employees today?
Social gets talked about a lot in recruiting, yet very few companies and brands are nailing it. Chipotle has done a great job of social recruiting recently. They used content marketing and gamification to attract candidates and get them invested in their brand. We are beginning to see social’s impact with new mobile apps, brands on Twitter and Facebook, etc. The great thing about social is that it satisfies our need for instant gratification, and with all analytics available, we can target, monitor and track how well we are doing with our recruiting efforts.
What have been the most effective methods you’ve found for building the audience to your site? What types of marketing seems to have offered you the best ROI?
As a startup, we have tried a bit of everything to build an audience. We get the best ROI from email marketing and networking events. We have been slowly building up an audience through content marketing and building our authority within the recruitment industry; however, this approach is more of a slow burn with regards to ROI. Having great customer service and building relationships also really helps, especially in the B2B space.
What do you think is the future for how we recruit and/or conduct job searches? What innovations excite you the most?
The industry is full of buzzwords and trends, the current trend being employee engagement. I’m excited for the latest developments in mobile recruitment and utilizing more network-based sites and apps. I can’t wait for UK companies to fully embrace employer branding; at the moment, the startups are great at it and appealing to Gen Y in droves, but I think more established brands will soon follow suit.