According to a recent survey conducted by the online recruiting research lab Potentialpark, about 19 percent of job seekers use their mobile devices for career building and job search purposes. But only 7 percent of employers offer a mobile version of their job search resources and application pages. And only 3 percent offer any kind of mobile job app.

With smartphone use on the rise and savvy job candidates everywhere bringing the internet with them on the go, hiring managers would be wise to update their recruiting strategies to take advantage of this trend. And since more than 75 percent of employers stated that they planned to launch job search apps within the next year, the competition for talented mobile job seekers is about to heat up.

Here are a few suggestions that can help you stay ahead of the game as both recruiting and job hunting go mobile.

1. Make sure your website is mobile enabled. Job seekers often receive job alerts or view lists of job postings using their phones. If they click on your posting or alert, make sure they’re taken to a website they can download and read. If not, they may simply move onto the next alert and be scooped up by a company with a more accessible posting.

2. Use mobile apps to keep your recruiting team connected. Make sure that your hiring mangers, recruiters, and talent scouts can quickly pass application materials back and forth in readable, mobile accessible formats. On the go data sharing can mean the difference between snagging promising candidates while they’re available or letting them slip away.

3. Offer additional information about your available positions through mobile enabled multi-media streams. Each open position should have its own blog, and each blog should have additional information that supplements a simple list of job requirements and qualifications. A short video of the hiring manager talking a bit about her background, for example, can gain the attention of a talented candidate. Just make sure that candidate can view the video from her phone.

4. Find out exactly what job seekers are doing with those mobile devices. If your target candidate uses her phone to network or arrange lunch meetings on the go, factor that into your mobile recruiting strategy. If she uses mobile job search apps like Careerbuilder or Monster, make sure your posting appears on mobile enabled lists.

No matter how you decide to work mobile capability into your recruiting and hiring plan, you’ll need to make those decisions soon. Contact The Palmer Group for additional guidance on factoring mobility and other digital resources into your talent management strategy.

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