Using Your Mobile Device to Job Search – Watch Out!
Call me old school; I’m torn. As a hiring decision-maker, I didn’t care to receive mobile-based messages from a job seeker for several reasons:
- It came across as “the easy way out”…something they were doing while driving or watching TV.
- There were inevitably typos, the use of “THX,” and no signature block with a phone, e-mail, or anything. Just “sent from my X-phone.”
- I wouldn’t want them using that device to respond to customers or executives.
However, I’m slowly coming around to the future. To help me (and you) learn some of the tricks of mobile job search and recruiting, I asked a pro.
Kimberley Kasper, Chief Marketing Officer at Jobvite was kind enough to share some ideas about how job seekers can best use mobile devices to land their next jobs. Here are her top 3 recommendations:
1 – Don’t let someone else steal your dream job.
Picture this: you’re in a meeting and you receive an alert informing you of a job opening at your dream company. In just a few taps of your smartphone, you could have filled out and submitted a job application before another candidate vying for the same career change even checks their laptop.
While I can’t condone job searching while at work, you can see how being able to job hunt at all times means edging out the competition. With so many qualified workers searching for jobs, an “always on” mindset is critical to edging out the next competitive candidate. The benefits of using mobile in your job search are obvious: anytime, anywhere, you can stay plugged in to your job hunt, beating those that are loyal to their laptops to the punch.
But having your smartphone handy isn’t enough to have a competitive edge in your job search; you must be savvy with your job searching tactics. Without the ability to quickly upload and submit a résumé or cover letter, there’s no way you can get there first. Store a variety of résumés and documents in a Dropbox app or Google drive on your mobile phone for easy access, so you can apply quickly and easily to similar roles that have different titles.
In that same vein, keep your LinkedIn profile as current as possible with information on who you are, why you’re a fit, and what you’ve delivered in the past. In the end, you’re applying to jobs on mobile because it is easy and efficient, so make sure your strategy facilitates that. If you’re not prepared, your colleague on their mobile phone will assuredly beat you to it.
2 – You can judge a book by its cover.
It’s no secret that we’re spending more and more hours at work these days. In fact, the average American workday is significantly longer than the traditional eight hours we’re used to, and we’re only expecting work commitments to increase. As a result, recruiters are hiring even more for culture fit — if we’re going to be spending more time and energy at work, it better be with people who have the same priorities, right?
As a job seeker, a work environment that aligns with your priorities is essential to a harmonious match — before you apply. But how can you know what a company is like from the outside? While some questions will need to be answered by an interviewer, take a look at their career site for some insight into the company’s commitment to innovation. If the company has a mobile-oriented career site, they are on the leading edge of technology. Spend time going through other pages on their website to learn how forward-thinking they really are.
3 – Are you grabbing recruiters’ attention?
In this “always on” job market, job seekers aren’t the only ones constantly on the hunt. With such a scarcity in high-quality, qualified people, finding the right candidate is like searching for a needle in a haystack. So when great candidates come along, recruiters are ready to pounce. When getting hundreds of responses to a specific post, the first 20 résumés might be attention grabbing. If you’re not quick, however, yours runs the risk of becoming white noise. After all, most recruiters spend an average of six seconds on your résumé, so finding a way to stand out has never been more necessary.
This is exactly where mobile comes in. If getting your résumé in front of a recruiter’s eyes quickly is the key to nabbing the perfect job, mobile facilitates that tenfold. Many of us already spend over two and a half hours per day on our mobile devices, so if you find yourself checking Facebook mobile or playing Candy Crush, change your routine and be proactive. Be the first one to apply for a job — right when the requisition appears — by checking mobile career sites, signing up for alerts, and staying on top of your application status. Also, try applying mid-afternoon since emails tend to pile up overnight. To get a recruiter to spend some serious time on your application, go for the 1pm-3pm window.
However, be sure not to swing your pendulum too far. Don’t just spray your résumé around, triggering R.A.A. (Random Acts of Application). And I strongly recommend a tailored cover letter as page one of your résumé, which may be a challenge to do on your mobile device.
Be professional and thoughtful about which device you use for each aspect of your job search. Don’t rush to push something unprofessional out on your mobile device when you can shine brighter from your laptop or desktop!
