Why Job Boards Should Embrace and Not Fear Mobile

Jeff Dickey-Chasins

Jeff Dickey-Chasins a/k/a The Job Board Doctor recently posted an article that reminded me that many job boards are either in denial about the growth in usage of the Internet by those on iPads, cell phones, and other mobile devices or those job boards are fearful about that usage migration.

I agree that job boards largely displaced newspapers as the primary source for job postings and that social media sites such as LinkedIn are trying to displace job boards as the primary source for job postings. I also agree that those social media sites look more and more like job boards and would cite as a further example the Social Recruiting App recently launched to much fanfare (and criticism) on Facebook as well as somewhat similar apps added to Facebook pages by companies such as Jobcast (i.e., CollegeRecruiter.com Facebook page) and Work4Labs.
But where I disagree is the implication that mobile poses a similar threat as social media sites pose to job boards. Mobile in and of itself is simply a different platform. Do Apple computers pose a greater threat to job boards than PC’s? Of course not. Do laptops pose a greater threat to job boards than desktop computers? Of course not. Do tablets or cell phones pose a greater threat to job boards than laptops? That question has yet to be answered but I believe they do but only to a small number of boards which won’t adapt to the different way that mobile devices are used and that mobile in and of itself poses far less threat and far greater opportunity to the job board industry.

One of the problems our industry has is that most candidates have little to no time to search our sites, read the career-related content on our sites, and apply to the jobs advertised on our sites. Most candidates either don’t have high speed Internet access at home or have little time to use the Internet at home as they’re busy taking care of their kids, making dinner, trying to get to sleep at a decent time, etc. Most candidates also know better than to use our sites while at work. But put a mobile device in their hands and now all of that time on the bus, train, in the waiting room at the doctor’s office becomes time that they can spend on our sites. If we play our cards right and make our sites mobile compatible then our visits, page views, and applications generated should all increase simply because more and more of our potential users are using their mobiles more and more. And as their mobiles become faster, cheaper, easier, and better, that trend will only accelerate.

My message to my fellow job boarders is not to fear the dawning of the age of mobile but instead to embrace it.