4 Ways 4G Will Transform Hiring

 In 2013, mobile operators throughout the world ramped up efforts to roll out 4G networks to the masses. By all accounts, 4G promises to enable data transfer speeds, which are several times faster than 3G. This is creating a lot of excitement in technical circles and it is expected to have a far reaching impact on business.

But, what does 4G mean for the rest of HR, particularly hiring? We want to feel the excitement; we want to know how 4G will change the hiring and HR process as we know it. Well, I have conducted some research and brought to you a list of 4 ways that I believe 4G (if performing as promised) could change hiring forever.

1. Mobile phone video interviewing as the norm

As far as I can see it from the articles that I have read, 4G was made for video streaming, which means that you can conduct mobile-based video conferences like never before. For employers this means that you can organize high quality, reliable, HD standard mobile video interviews between candidates and multiple interviewers all operating from mobile phones. This means that hiring teams can connect with a mobile workforce and a mobile candidate market in an extremely flexible and professional way via mobile video interviewing – to a quality and reliability level which was not been achievable with 3G.

2.Will make it easier for candidates to apply for jobs on the go

One expert has suggested that 4G will mean it is much easier for mobile users to gain more stable access to cloud based services. What does this mean? In short, if you are using any web or mobile-based job applications systems, mobile phone-based users would have struggled to engage with these as the connection would be unstable. The new 4G will make it much easier for job seekers to apply for jobs online via their phones. The process should be faster and more user friendly. This is will increase your ability to reach the mobile candidate market, potentially increasing mobile job applications.

3. Employer branding to become video rather than text led

This is one area that is set to change dramatically.  Employer branding has to date been hypertext led and dominated by text and images on a web page. This could all change. As the entirety of the candidate marketplace become able to effortlessly stream video through their smart-phones on the go, employer branding has the opportunity to become video or YouTube channel led rather than web page led. In a couple of years time will employers be sending candidates to their YouTube Career Channel rather than their corporate careers site as an alternative or even first port of call? Will we see more employer branding based video adverts and webcasts? Will Career Channels start programming and web casting according to a schedule? Will we soon have IntelCareers Web TV?

4. More mobile workforce

The wave of 4G will mean that employees will be able to collaborate more effectively than they have ever been before, while on the road, at a hotel, in an airport or working at home. A 4G service is fast enough to enable high-quality video conferencing and means they can connect with cloud-based services as easily as they could from the office or a broadband connection. This will help to create a border-less office and increasingly recruiters will be screening staff for the ability to work effectively as a mobile worker as opposed to an office based worker.

Of course, no one knows the exact impact that 4G will have on the hiring process, but I thought it was interesting to look at some of the likely possibilities.