The mobile recruiting revolution is here, have you jumped aboard?

With mobile devices taking over, it makes sense to utilize mobile strategies while recruiting candidates. Plus, developing a mobile recruitment strategy can help you attract the best people. Here's how.

As you read this article, odds are good your mobile device is easily within reach.

In fact, 91 percent of smartphone users have their devices within reach 24/7. But our phones rarely just sit by our sides untouched. The average smartphone user checks their phone an average of 150 times per day.

When it comes to looking for the best people for your open positions, ignoring the mobile revolution means skipping over a wide and captive audience.

Mobile is where your candidates live

Imagine being able to check in with the best and brightest candidates 150 times a day. Mobile recruitment gives your company the ability to travel, making your company and positions easily available to the best candidates. There are 4.8 billion people with mobile devices, meaning the mobile marketplace is a candidate pool far too big to ignore.

Most importantly, job seekers want to search for great positions from their mobile devices. According to a survey by Simply Hired, 70 percent of job seekers are already using their mobile devices in the hunt for great new opportunities.

And the adoption rate for mobile job hunting is even higher for medical sales job seekers. In another survey 77 percent of candidates were found to be using mobile devices to hunt for new positions.

Further breaking down mobile job search behaviors, 60 percent of candidates were likely to use their phone to open job alert emails, and another 40 percent were hopping onto the Internet in order to search for jobs on a mobile website. While essential for all industries, mobile recruiting can give you a significant advantage in the battle for top medical sales talent.

Get a jump on your competition

All these stats make mobile adoption seem like a no-brainer, right? But you'd be surprised at how few companies are actually jumping on the mobile recruitment bandwagon. In fact, only 33 percent of Fortune 500 companies have even the most basic form of mobile optimization for their sites.

Expanding the net wider, only 13 percent of all companies have optimized their sites for mobile browsing, and only a measly two percent of Fortune 500 companies tailor their job applications for mobile job seekers.

What does this mean? The short version is by doing just the bare minimum when it comes to mobile recruitment, you can automatically shoot to the front of the class. Since so few companies are worrying about their mobile recruitment efforts, you can quickly beat out your competition just by putting a little time and effort into your mobile strategy. With the skills gap growing wider and the war for talent continuing to wage in all industries, but especially the medical sector, it only makes sense to take every opportunity to get a jump on your competition.

3 Easy mobile recruitment fixes

You need to get ahead of your competition and find the best people, who are routinely checking their mobile devices. Here are three simple mobile recruitment fixes likely to put you ahead of the crowd and help you find great people.

Fix #1: Mobile optimization

The most obvious mobile recruitment fix is also the best, yet too many companies are ignoring mobile optimization at their own peril. According to surveys, 61 percent of responders would leave a site if it wasn't optimized for mobile viewing.

"33 percent of Fortune 500 companies have even the most basic form of mobile optimization for their sites."

Forty percent of medical sales job seekers are currently searching for positions on mobile optimized websites, while only 20 percent are willing to stick around if your job site isn't optimized for a mobile browsing experience. Only 11 percent would apply for a job on a non-optimized site.

This means you're losing a huge chunk of your talent pool just by ignoring simple mobile optimization. By getting your site and applications optimized for browsing on mobile devices, you'll retain a bigger chunk of your mobile candidate pool.

Fix #2: Social sharing

With 94 percent of recruiters using social media in their recruitment process, it only makes sense to consider the mobile impact of your social strategy. With over half of social users accessing their networks via a smartphone, allowing job seekers to easily share your open positions with their social networks is a great way to reach a mobile audience.

Because jobs posted in the social sphere can easily be shared and viewed on mobile, this is a great way to grow your referral program. Current employees can share postings and refer great people, while interested candidates can give your positions a signal boost. Making social sharing an important part of your mobile optimization plan is a smart idea if you want to expand your organization's recruitment reach.

Fix #3: Text your next hire

Most companies are aware of how email marketing can be used to get messages out to potential customers and candidates. But perhaps an even shorter message form would be much more effective. Research has shown that while only 20 percent of emails are opened, 95 percent of text messages are read within 15 minutes of receipt. Perhaps even more importantly, web addresses sent in text message format are actually more likely to be clicked than those sent by email.

"...while only 20 percent of emails are opened, 95 percent of text messages are read within 15 minutes of receipt."

Use your social channels, mailing lists, and career page to collect text message information from potential candidates interested in receiving job alerts and other company text blasts. These text messages will reach talented candidates anywhere, and can help keep your company fresh in their minds. You never know, your next text message might just land in the mobile inbox of a future superstar employee.

With mobile devices taking over, it only makes sense to utilize mobility as a tool in your recruitment toolbox. Having a developed mobile recruitment strategy can help you attract the best people and get ahead of your competition.

About the author:

Robyn Melhuish is the Communications Manager at MedReps.com, a job board which gives members access to the most sought after medical sales jobs and pharmaceutical sales jobs on the Web. Connect with Robyn and MedReps.com on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Closing thought: What do you think? How are you using mobile in recruitment? Share in the comments!