Sheena ChristensenWith so many apps out there, how can you be sure which apps increase productivity, rather than take away? It’s a fact, we all spend a significant amount of our time on apps, or online in general. According to a Nielsen survey, in 2013 the average Andriod and iPhone users 18 years of age and older spent 30 hours and 15 minutes using apps! The average number of apps being used per person in this time was around 23.2. But were those apps slowing us down, or making us more productive?
It’s hard to say, as many people use the same apps in different ways. But regardless, as a recruiter, your time is valuable, so it’s important to download the apps that will make your workflow more efficient. Below are 25 apps recruiters can utilize to increase productivity and drive more revenue for their company.
Recruiting with social media (the right way).
First, we’ll talk about a couple social networking platforms that can significantly help out with your recruiting efforts. The first 2 apps on this list are pretty obvious, but should be mentioned, and perhaps even required for each and every recruiter. While some social media platforms aren’t as useful in your recruiting process, there are a few in particular that were basically designed for recruiting. To learn more about mobile recruiting, take a look at our article titled “How to Capitalize on Mobile Recruiting Techniques.”
LinkedIn: If you’re looking for a simple way to recruit top-notch talent, LinkedIn is a great tool to do just that. Find and review professional profiles of the candidates your clients need. If you don’t already have a professional LinkedIn account, make one. Emphasis on professional.
Please, please, pleeeeeeeeeeeease don’t use a selfie or a cheesy picture of you as your profile picture. Please. Just don’t. Your candidates won’t take you seriously and your clients will definitely NOT want to do business with you. Once you polish your profile, try the “Recruiter” package so you can view, build, and track profiles of candidates outside of your network.
Twitter: Stay up-to-date with recruiting and staffing trends and communicate with influencers in the industry. Twitter allows you to update your status, while also following what your connections are doing and talking about. Just be sure your tweets are no more than 140 characters and try to add high-quality images to increase network engagement. And going off of what we mentioned before with LinkedIn..keep it professional, please.
HootSuite: To manage all of your social media accounts, the HootSuite app takes care of it all! Schedule social posts for the future, and stay on top of what’s going on within your network without having to go back and forth between platforms. When your computer isn’t readily available, set up your social media presence from wherever you are.
Everyone enjoys going to meetings, right?
Traveling and attending meetings might not be the most glamorous events in your calendar, but these 4 apps will help you get to your destination, stay organized and productive, in style.
Tripit: Organize your next business trip and out-of-town meetings with this handy traveling app. Simply forward all of your confirmation emails to Tripit, and it will create an easy-to-read itinerary that won’t get lost with your luggage.
ParkWhiz: Never be late again (due to parking issues) and say bye bye to expensive parking rates. With recruiting, there may be some required travel involved. And what’s worse than getting stuck in traffic for an hour? Not finding anywhere to park when you finally get there! With ParkWhiz, you can easily find and reserve a parking spot directly from your phone.
This on-demand parking app will find convenient garages, lots, and spots near your destination. So whether you’re meeting up with a client at a hot-spot coffee shop in the city, or if you’re about to present at a huge conference and don’t have time to lollygag around the lot, use this app to stay on top of your parking game.
Uber: And if you don’t drive, grab an Uber. Uber is a community taxi-like service, for those looking for a quality ride on the fly. If you think cab fare is out-of-control expensive, Uber is a great option. With just one tap, you can request your ride and pay via your mobile device. How convenient! And guess what? The tip is already included.
AwardWallet: If you travel a lot for work, you’re probably a member of several loyalty programs. From frequent flyer miles, credit cards points, to hotel and dining membership points, this app tracks them all in one spot. AwardWallet will monitor and notify you each time the balance of your points change, and will remind you before your points expire. No more wasted points! Woohoo!
Make conferences more efficient.
Trade shows. Conferences. Forums. Events. In order to stay ahead in the staffing industry, attending these will seriously make you stand out from the rest. Here are a few apps that can help you prepare and network more efficiently.
Recruiters News Feed: Browse recruiting-related topics, podcasts, and events with the Recruiters News Feed app. Stay in tune with recruiting trends and news so you can really shine at your next tradeshow or conference.
Talent Management Magazine: Similar to the Recruiters News Feed app, the Talent Management Magazine app is loaded with webinars, recruiting event dates, as well as helpful content to enhance your recruiting efforts. Talent Management is a mobile magazine app which allows you to access up to 3 months of their back-issues. You can also save and bookmark your favorite articles and share them with your colleagues via email.
CamCard: CamCard makes networking easy and organized. How many times have you lost or misplaced business cards? Or even worse, ran out of business cards mid-event? With CamCard, you can organize the people you meet by saving the information on their business cards directly to the app. You can also exchange your business card electronically, so by using this app, you’re saving a ton of money by not having to print out a bunch of cards. Yay, it’s paperless!
Look your best.
Dressing for success has never been easier thanks to the following apps (and your superb sense of style, of course). Keeping a polished and professional look is a great way to make a positive impression to both your candidates and clients.
vTie: Finally, your own virtual necktie guide! Seriously, have you been anticipating this your whole life or what? No more wasted time spent looking for that perfect YouTube video tutorial! This one goes out to all the casual tie-wearers who seem to always forget how to put on a tie for those networking events, trade shows, or important meetings with clients.
vTie walks you through step-by-step on how to correctly put on a tie (with several different knot options), so you can always look your best. Refer this app to your candidates so they look professional for their upcoming interviews too!
Poshmark: And for the ladies, stay up-to-date with fashion trends with this awesome app! Buy and sell brand name clothing and accessories, so you ALWAYS look fresh off the runway. Without breaking the bank! But beware! THIS APP IS ADDICTING! You’ve been warned.
And impressing clients…
Recruiting is sales. And how do you make more sales? Impress the sh*t out of your clients by buying them expensive dinners. Not really. But that would totally work for me.
OpenTable: Looking to wine and dine your clients? OpenTable is a fabulous app for a fabulously delicious dining experience. Discover awesome restaurants near you, reserve a table, and dine away! Read reviews and even rack up enough points for free meals! After all, free food is the best food. Well…in this case at least.
Yiftee: What’s better than getting gifts? Giving gifts! With Yiftee, you can send big or small gifts to your clients. Whether it be a cup of coffee or thank you flowers, Yiftee is partnered with many vendors, so you can find a gift for just about anyone.
Accuweather: And if you decided to gift your client with a round of golf, check the weather before you hit the links with the Accuweather app. With up-to-the-minute forecast updates, never again will you get rained on while finishing up the back 9.
Notes, notes, and more notes.
If your current recruiting process is giving you heart palpitations due to lost notes and memos, these 4 apps will help you stay organized, and will get you through the day, heachache-free.
Evernote: If you’re as forgetful as I am, give Evernote a try. This easy-to-use app lets you jot down ideas, lists, and notes so you can stay on track of your everyday tasks. And if you’re meeting with several candidates, take notes, and never forget the qualities of the candidates you are reviewing. You can also gather clip web articles, capture handwritten notes, and take snap photos of the projects you’re working on.
CamScanner: Do people even use scanners anymore? Simply scan (take a picture) a document and voilà, it’s saved to CamScanner! If you have several candidates with multi-paged resumes, take a quick pic, and now you have an organized digital library of talent you can sift through with ease. Misplaced resumes are officially a thing of the past.
How is this different than just taking a photo? Well, the cool thing is you can take pictures of folded, wrinkled paper and edit it so it’s flat and readable again! Exciting, right?! This app also converts the documents into PDF files so you can easily share them with your team and clients. This app is especially helpful if you have several candidates to place. And since we just talked about Evernote, you can export your CamScanner documents to Evernote to maximize organization and productivity.
Audio Memos: The Audio Memos app allows you to voice record to-dos, meeting briefs, or just random thoughts you wish to come back to at another time. You can even send your voice recordings via email and use bookmarks to better organize your memos. This app is extremely helpful for noting client needs and candidate insights.
HipChat: To communicate with your team when you’re out of the office, HipChat is a cool private group-chat app that lets you share files and pictures without spamming your inbox. Use the desktop version for in-office communication too! This way, when you want to say “Hey” to someone sitting on the other side of the room, you won’t overload your email. The app also supports 1-1 audio calls, video chats, and screen sharing.
Keeping it all in one place.
Efficiency is a necessity in the recruiting world. And going from one system to the next is time-consuming and can lead to lost data. STOP LOSING YOUR DATA!
Mobile Applicant Tracking App: If you use an applicant tracking system (ATS) to organize and manage your accounts, you should really download their mobile app, if they have one. This way, you can do your recruiting on-the-go!
Agenda (iOS): Because the default calendar on your phone just isn’t enough! Agenda takes the stress out of event planning and calendar management…because you’re a busy person with more important things to do that pencil in meetings and dinners. I mean, what’s a pencil anyway? With Agenda, you can actually clearly see how many tasks or meetings you have to attend and will be reminded with alerts.
Box (Andriod): Do you live your life in the cloud? Not literally..but do you post basically everything to it? Work stuff? Personal stuff? The guilty-pleasure music playlists you hope no one will EVER see? Everyone is a closet Taylor Swift lover, am I right? To keep all of your files organized, Box is the app that puts them all together in one nice little package, and a perfectly tied bow on top. You can even review your projects, leave comments, and stay in sync with your colleagues, clients, and candidates.
Stay sharp, stay focused!
Nobody likes a dull recruiter. Exercise your brain and enhance your skills with simple games while you settle down with some music.
Lumosity: Everyone loves a good game! To keep your brain sharp and your recruiting fresh, Lumosity is a great little app that will help keep the juices in your brain flowing. Based on extensive research, this app will challenge you with quick games and puzzles you can complete directly on your phone.
Spotify: Follow your favorite artists, and remember to turn up the jams to help you focus on your recruiting efforts. Create inspiring music playlists and listen to them on-demand with the Spotify music app. Whether you relax to the sweet smooth sound of Mozart or prefer to turn it up to Prince, you’ll find exactly what you want to listen to on Spotify.
Bonus app for recruiters.
Spark Hire: If you’re looking for an innovative way to add value to your clients, Spark Hire allows recruiters to present top-notch talent via video interviews. Spark Hire is the world’s fastest growing video interviewing platform and has helped many recruiters and staffing firms all over the world beat their competition and drive more revenue.
For mobile people like recruiters, there are countless mobile apps at your fingertips, quite literally. These 25 apps for recruiters will help increase productivity in your day-to-day workflow, so you can place more candidates and beat the competition.
Which mobile apps do you use to enhance your recruiting process?
Josh Tolan
