Recruitment Tech 101: What is Mobile Applicant Tracking?
Welcome to Recruitment Tech 101. This series will capture some frequently asked questions about recruitment technology and its benefits for agencies. See our previous entries about applicant tracking system basics here.
On my morning bus ride to work, I clicked through Instagram stories on my phone, giggled at the Game of Thrones memes, and ogled at the makeup tutorial from one of my favorite beauty influencers. Then I looked up and noticed the 40 or so other passengers in the same position—heads down deeply entranced by whatever app they had open on their phone.
At that moment, I wondered if we were officially living in an episode of Black Mirror. Throngs of people are within feet of each other every day, and instead of interacting with each other, we are clicking away, searching for the next bit of micro-entertainment.
Impending societal apocalypse aside, this illustrates a hard truth: for products and services to compete today, they must be fully mobile optimised. If you want to grab at least a second of mindshare, you must be scrollable, searchable, and click-through-able. Thus, as a recruitment agency choosing technology for your team to use, you should ensure the solution you choose allows for mobile applicant tracking.
What is Mobile Applicant Tracking?
What is mobile applicant tracking, anyway? Mobile applicant tracking is leveraging technology to perform the functions of a recruiter or salesperson.
An ideal applicant tracking system also has a mobile version that you and your team can use on the go. Whether you’re commuting to work or stuck in a cab on the way to a meeting (and have time to look away from Instagram), you’ll probably want to be sourcing candidates, adding notes from an interview, or any other number of tasks.
What are the benefits of Mobile Applicant Tracking?
With a mobile applicant tracking system such as Bullhorn’s mobile app, you’ll be armed with up-to-the-second information about your clients, candidates, and jobs. Here are a few key benefits of recruiting on your mobile device:
Get More Out of Your Client Meetings
With all of the right information at your fingertips, you’ll be able to walk into every room prepared. If you’re trying to impress a particular client, you can scroll through key submission and placement stats on your device before walking into meet them. This will ultimately improve your key client relationships, expand your agreements and even help you win new business.
Reduce Your Time-to-Fill
If the right candidate falls in your lap when you’re away from your desk, you’ll still be able to get them started on the process right from your phone. Review their resume, submit to a client, or schedule an interview without having to rush back to your desktop ATS.
At the end of the day, a mobile applicant tracking system truly frees you from the confines of your office and allows you to work more speedily.
What should I look for in a Mobile Applicant Tracking System?
Your mobile applicant tracking system should be an extension of your ATS, and it should be a consideration when you’re selecting an applicant tracking system.
Here are seven questions you should ask when evaluating mobile offerings:
1. Do I have to sign in multiple times a day?
Recruiting is all about efficiency, so why waste time logging into your ATS every time you open it on your mobile device? Find a system that lets you sign in once and store your login information on the device. There is no need to re-enter your credentials each time you need to add a note, look up a candidate, or make a quick call.
2. Can I search for candidates?
If a key job hits your inbox while you’re out of the office, you’ll want to be able to quickly pull up a list of matching candidates that are available to go on assignment.
3. Can I view resumes on the go?
Take your candidates on the go with the ability to view resumes as a file. When employees aren’t at their desks, make sure they can still view a resume, download it and send it straight from their phone via text, email, and do everything else they need to make a placement quickly.
4. Can I Click-to-Dial?
If a recruiter has to make a quick call to a candidate before an interview, can they dial right from within the ATS? Save time with this key feature.
5. Can I bring up a location on a map?
Like click-to-dial, you’ll want a feature that allows users to tap on an address to locate it on a map. For recruiters and sales teams on the go, this feature means they can figure out where they’re going quickly and almost entirely hands-free.
6. Can I add notes?
Streamline your recruiting and business development by taking care of business while you’re out on business. Add notes directly from the mobile app, rather than waiting until you’re back at your desktop.
7. Can I create tearsheets?
With so much data in your mobile applicant tracking system, organising it and creating a streamlined view of your records is important in ensuring you are working efficiently within the system.
Tearsheets or hit lists are used to group candidates, contacts, or jobs based on defined criteria, such as candidates being targeted for a particular job or contacts that you haven’t spoken to in a while. Tearsheets are also one of the features ATS users say they can’t live without.
With your mobile system, you should access and utilise your tearsheets right within the app. Then, you can view your tearsheets and the records attached from anywhere, helping you recruit and win business even when you’re away from the desk.
Mobile phones are here to stay, and as the world becomes increasingly reliant on them, make sure your agency fits into the equation. By making it easy for your team to work out of pocket with a mobile ATS, you’ll surely fit right in.
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