"About 15 years ago, as PCs became popular, we started seeing more and more recruiters turn to digital platforms, such as online job portals, to market their vacancies to candidates," said Robbertse.
"The internet made it so much easier to receive CVs and find candidates. However, there are five times as many cellphones in the world as PCs. If you really want to tap into a veritable gold mine of candidates, you have to make use of both online and m-recruitment - promoting positions and receiving applications via a mobile platform."
Mobile applications have meant that candidates can literally create or upload their CVs, browse and apply for jobs and receive communications from interested employers wherever they go.
"It appeals to the always-on generation who might not own personal computers, but never let their phones out of their sight," said Robbertse. "Gone are the days of trekking to and fro to an Internet cafe or faxing printed CVs. Within a matter of minutes, in just two steps, a candidate can create his professional application and start job hunting."
The mobile community is extremely active, which allows quick responses to posted vacancies. "Because candidates carry their phones with them all day, they tend to keep an eye on Job Mail," said Robbertse. "And because they can apply via their phones, they don't have to wait until they get home to send off an application."
This volume of applications does not, however, mean that the quality of candidates is diminished. "Desperation will still drive candidates to apply for jobs they might not qualify for, but the same standards of screening and filtering found online applies to mobile recruitment on Job Mail," said Robbertse.
The trend towards mobile recruitment is further supported by social media integration. "Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites remain the most popular mobile apps in the South African market, which is why we have not only invested heavily in building a strong social media community that recruiters can benefit from, but also added social media buttons to the platform, allowing candidates to share jobs or their own profiles, giving further insight into the type of person you may be hiring," said Robbertse. "We also draw numerous candidates via Junk Mail Exchange, our MXiT app."
There can be no doubt that the mobile internet is changing numerous industries - and recruitment is no exception. Recruitment agencies have to access the mobile candidate pool to keep their edge - and mobile job portals make it virtually effortless to do so.
