4 things everyone in recruitment needs to know about digital media

It’s ferociously competitive out there.

Working in recruitment requires tenacity. At any one time you might be in a dogfight with dozens or even hundreds of agencies, all trying to source candidates for a finite number of jobs. There’s more. For jobseekers it’s easier than ever to go directly to hiring companies – bypassing agencies like yours. Not good. You must constantly find new ways to stay relevant, add value and differentiate your brand. Adapt to survive. Your best option? Take the lead on digital media and web design for recruitment.

Grow your market share and – hey presto – secure perfect applicants.

You have this amazing opportunity to use apps, social media and websites for recruitment innovatively to really capture people’s imagination. To engage with candidates more deeply than your competitors do. To reach out to jobseekers in their online space, instead of waiting for them to come to yours. If you plug-in to the way jobseekers feel, behave and act you can transform your success – whether you are a recruitment agency or a company looking to add some sizzle to your own recruitment campaigns.

Here are four things for your grey matter to chew over.

1. Size matters. Your website must be responsive. (The fork and soup hypothesis.)

Question: is your website geared up for people who are visiting from their smartphone or tablet? Standard websites display very differently on mobile devices and can sometimes be about as useful as a fork in a bowl of soup. That’s a problem. With 68% – more than two-thirds – of jobseekers using a mobile device to search for jobs at least once a week, you could be missing out on some serious business.

A responsive website is one that automatically adjusts to your visitor’s screen-size. So it looks great and functions properly whether they are viewing on a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop or a desktop PC. No dragging, zooming or staring baffled at the screen for the visitor. Websites for recruitment from Fifteen Ten load lickety-split and look sharp, which will win props from your visitors and could give you the edge on a lot of your competitors. Nice.

2. Want to really engage your candidates? It’s time to get a mobile app!

People like apps. On average people spend more time using their smartphone for apps than they do for calling, texting and accessing email. And 86% of people who own a smartphone say they would use it in their job search*. So the case for having your own app is clear. It gives you an exciting new platform to interact with jobseekers much more intimately, reaching them where they want to be reached.

What you do with your app – how you want it to function – is your call. Make it easy and – whisper it – fun for people to track vacancies. Let them flag interest in new jobs or submit their details prospectively. Create a new platform for social recruitment that integrates with your website. You are limited only by your imagination. And that means it’s no great stretch to do something different that will set you apart from the rest, making you more memorable to jobseekers and impressing new clients. That’s what it’s all about.

* Global Recruiting Roundtable

3. Social media can get you closer to candidates. If used properly.

Do not underestimate the importance of recruitment visuals and graphic design. Even your social media has to look the part if you want to look credible and win over your audience. At Fifteen Ten we can create social media profiles that effortlessly reflect your brand and play nice with your recruitment site or jobsboard too. Imagine automated vacancy listings on Twitter that push extra traffic to your website. Or a LinkedIn profile that shares tips on landing the dream job while making it easy for you to connect with candidates. Let’s make it happen.

4. You can’t afford to neglect your website.

Of course, in terms of digital media your website is still the most important piece of the puzzle. Today’s recruitment websites have to look great, function great and communicate your brand. How reactive are you to new job vacancies or employee availability? What’s the user experience like? If it’s simple, crisp and compelling we can guarantee your visitors are going to hang around for longer. They’ll come back for more too. And you might be surprised at how effectively a sharp new website re-energises your staff too. Time to freshen things up?