5 Ways the Web Has Changed Recruiting, and How to Keep Up

 2014 marks the 25th birthday of the worldwide web. Both recruiting and job seeking have moved from paper to digital and it seems every year new technologies arise that change the way recruiting is done. Here are the big trends that have shaped the web and how they are evolving the way recruiting is done a quarter century later:

1. ATS.As the bellwhether tool for efficiency in recruiting, many ATSes did not live up to the promise of making life easier for the job seeker. Usability continues to lag, yet job seekers want them to work as easily as their Apple and Google accounts. Make sure your ATS is not turning qualified candidates away by making it too hard for them to apply or forcing them to lie by not providing enough options.

2. Job Search.Whether they use Google, Bing, or Yahoo, search engines are the place job seekers go first to look for jobs online. Many now bypass the job boards and go straight to Google, or use a job search aggregator. If your jobs aren’t showing up on Google or the job search aggregators like Simply Hired, how are the qualified candidates going to find you?

3. Mobile. Studies show that now more than half of digital time spent is on a tablet or smartphone. With PCs falling by the wayside, more job seekers expect to be able to apply to jobs from their smartphones and tablets. Is your careers website mobile friendly, and can candidates apply from their devices? Get on the mobile bandwagon now so you don’t miss reaching the multiplatform majority.

4. Cloud Storage.Nearly everyone now has data in the cloud. Apple iCloud, Google Drive, and Dropbox all claim a hundred million users or more. Consumers use these services to store music, photos, and documents—and yes, their resumes. Does your application process let users upload their resume from the cloud?

5. Social.Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter: You’ve been hearing about social for years now. What it means is that not only is it easy to find people, it’s also easier for them to speak their minds on sites like Yelp, Glassdoor, and publishing platforms like Tumblr and Medium. Social holds companies and local businesses more accountable. If you’re engaging in any unethical practices, someone’s bound to complain. Make sure you’re monitoring social activity and keeping all your ducks in a row to prevent social media mishaps.

Regardless of whether resumes come in through the mail, an ATS, or an email inbox, recruiting is still all about people – finding the right people who will contribute to your company in a positive way. That hasn’t changed in 25 years, and likely won’t in the next 25. By keeping up with the pace of innovation on the web, you’ll create a great experience for candidates—now and in the future.

This story was written by Connie Lee Schiefer, SVP of Product Management at Simply Hired, and is a part of Recruiter.com’s 2014 Recruiting Technology Trends series.