‘Mobile job applications, that’s just for young people, right?’ And ‘candidates will always prefer to apply for jobs using their desktop or laptop anyway’. Two statements we regularly hear from recruiters and organisations we work with. How does this stack up in reality? We looked into the statistics, and can reveal 5 facts and myths about your candidates. After all, how important are mobile job applications really?
5 facts and myths about mobile job applications
Everyone seems to have an opinion on it, but what is the reality? We list 5 facts and myths about mobile job applications for you:
- Not just young people
- Research with mobile
- Usually between 9 and 5
- Both men and women
- Two thirds of the visitors
Note: we do not have insight into all statistics of all our customers. During this process, we looked at data from 3.9 million visits at 14 organisations.
1. Not only young people
The first statement from the intro is already out the window. Our data show that this is a complete myth. Especially websites with visitors between 25 and 35 years old show high levels of mobile users.
It is true that older people are less likely to browse websites on mobile than younger people. But it is too short-sighted to assume that it is “only for young people” or “young adults” who use them. Applying for a job with your mobile appears to be of interest to multiple audiences. So it would be a missed opportunity not to cater the website properly for that, even if you don’t want to reach only young people and young adults.
2. Start on mobile
And do candidates actually end up applying on their mobile device? Or do they prefer to use a laptop or desktop for that in the end? Indeed, the latter seems to be the case.
The number of mobile visitors to the (Career ) sites is huge, but the number of actual job applications is much lower. And relatively lower than the desktop and laptop. It is those devices that candidates end up using to complete their applications. Mobile leads about 1.5% of visits to an application, while on desktop it is 5.84%.
It seems that many candidates like to start on mobile. Perhaps in the moments when they have time to spare, to look at it for a few minutes. And to take the time to do the application properly later.
3. Usually this is between 9 and 5
Many employers assume (somewhat naively) that their employees do the right thing and apply during their free time. They’d rather avoid this altogether, a good employer tries to keep their talents on board as long as possible.
It is interesting that job sites get the most visits between 9 and 5. Which makes it seem that candidates are primarily looking for a new job during their current employment. They then apply mainly on their mobile and on other mobile devices, such as a tablet. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday prove especially popular days, both to start the process and to apply.
It’s also not the case that those candidates only use the desktop or laptop in the evening to do their applications. Job applications also take place mostly between 9 and 5. Which indicates that candidates are taking some good time to do so during their current job. Or maybe they use their lunch hour to do it of course, which is unfortunately hard to trace.
Tip: Getting your new candidates to speak to you in the best possible way, such as with an optimised chatbot on the site? Both for orientation and the actual job application, it is important that you have good daytime availability. For now, it does not appear that job applications are mostly in the evenings.
4. Both men and women
Is there a difference between men and women when you look at applications on mobile and through a desktop? The statistics show a particularly even distribution. Exactly 50 percent of visitors are women and a similar amount are men.
It is notable, however, that more women apply in the nursing sector in particular, while men are overrepresented in the technology sector. A division according to traditional role patterns, which at least in the area of visits and job applications is evident from the data.
5. Two thirds of the visit
And that mobile visit to the websites for orientation, how big is that compared to visitors via a desktop or laptop?
As many as 64% of all visitors use a mobile device. Compared to 36% of visitors using a desktop or laptop. That means nearly two-thirds of all visitors. A statistic that cries out for a strong mobile website. For a great candidate experience that makes even a mobile job application as easy as possible.
Apply with your mobile at Ubeeo
Something we at Ubeeo have had years of experience with. Thanks to forms that scale well on a mobile device. And take into account both the questions asked and the candidate’s fill-in options.
Tip: increase the number of mobile applications? Avoid requiring candidates to immediately upload their CV and/or cover letter. Ask for that later, as they often don’t have it available on their mobile phones.
Statistics unfortunately do not show why candidates are still applying for jobs on mobile, even when those opportunities are available. Because they may want to avoid filling in something incorrectly. Or prefer to have their CV first, on the desktop or laptop.
Want to get started with the best experience for mobile job applications? Or curious about the rest of our ATS? Contact us, we would love to hear from you.
