A significant number of professionals are using their smartphones when hunting for a job, with Gen Y leading the pack when it comes to swiping their way to a new career.
The Robert Walters Employee Insights Survey found 85% of Gen Yers use their smartphones to look for jobs in comparison to 57% of baby boomers. The survey interviewed more than 400 people and looked at how Australian professionals browse job boards, look at potential employers’ websites and prepare for interviews.
Amanda Lintott, founder and director of recruitment company Career Driven, told SmartCompany she isn’t surprised to see a large number of people using their smartphones to look for jobs.
“I would have thought it was higher,” she says. “Not necessarily to apply for the jobs but to look for them. While a lot of people are searching for jobs they are more likely to apply for them from home or at a desktop where they can get a bit more privacy, tweak their CV and so forth.”
Laptops were the most popular way to submit a job application according to the study, with just 7% of Gen Y using smartphones to submit a resume and cover letter to an employer.
Unsurprisingly, baby boomers preferred more traditional technology, with 33% of respondents preferring to use a desktop computer to submit a job application in comparison to 27% and 17% of Gen X and Gen Y respectively.
Lintott says mobile phones can be good for scouring the internet for potential jobs because users can create alerts and lists of jobs they want to come back to. She also points out it’s important that job boards, like her own, are compatible with mobile platforms.
“We also allow people to actually not just register for jobs through the online forms but also to complete their application forms online before they meet us,” she says.
“We’ve invested really heavily in the last 12 months with online processes. The more investment you make in it the better,” she says.
Lintott says when people come into her recruitment agencies they fill out their application forms online and are provided with a computer to do so.
“People have taken that up really, really well,” she says. “There are no indications of privacy concerns. The more tools we can facilitate for them online the easier and smoother the process is – and faster.”
Associate director at Robert Walters, Michelle Cottrell, said in a statement employers should take note of the survey’s key findings.
“The fact smartphones are becoming part of the job search process for researching companies is a trend that employers should take note of and make sure their websites are optimised accordingly,” she said.
Image credit: Flickr/esthervargasc
Broede Carmody is a former senior SmartCompany reporter. Before this, he was a co-editor of RMIT University’s student magazine Catalyst.
