Six iPhone Apps for Recruiters

From ERE Exchange by Carmen Hudson Aug 13, 2009, 5:31 am ET

I
have not always been a cell phone technology enthusiast. Until my last
phone - the world's smallest brick - refused to charge. This sent me
sauntering into the AT&T store, determined to keep my existing
pre-historic calling plan. When it comes to cell phones, I am pretty
cheap. I root for the vigilant "Rollover Minutes Mom."

"I never use data services," I haughtily told the salesperson.

And then it happened. I palmed (pardon the expression) an iPhone.
Sheepishly, I upgraded my plan. I am a convert - to unlimited
everything! The iPhone makes handheld technology fun and accessible. (I
still get a kick out of the level application. I fire it up to randomly
to test the lopsidedness of tables. I also play mobile Scrabble. Hours
of geeky fun!)

In addition to entertainment value, the iPhone also provides
opportunities for recruiters to improve productivity. Joel Cheesman and
Michael Marlatt have written extensively about the coming mobile
revolution. Joel, who has launched a mobile recruiting marketing
agency, outlines why recruiters should be paying attention to mobile
technology in an excellent whitepaper.

Most of the recruiting/job-related iPhone applications were
developed for jobseekers. Here are a few apps that will help recruiters
save time, allow greater mobility, or improve communication with
networks and contacts. You may very well have some favorites to add;
please include them in the comments.

Tweetie
($2.99). Do you keep your network informed via Twitter? Tweetie makes
communicating via Twitter easy and fast. Tweetie provides all of the
functionality of the twitter.com website, such as saved searches,
inline web browsing, and the ability to manage followers. In addition,
Tweetie supports navigation between multiple Twitter accounts, easy
retweeting, automatic URL shortening, and uploading Twitpic pictures. I
find Tweetie easy to use when tweeting from conferences. There are
other, free, Twitter-for-iPhone apps, such as Twitterific, but I find
that the additional features of Tweetie make it worth the small
investment.

SearchOnTheGo
($9.99). SOTG is the first iPhone app written especially for recruiters
by recruiters! SOTG turns your keywords into a full-blown Boolean
search string. SOTG automatically generates search strings for resume
searches, blog searches, PDF and Excel file formats, and more. SOTG
will also execute web profile searches and public LinkedIn profile
searches. After executing the search on the iPhone, users can save the
search, email the search, or review results real time. Pretty nifty,
especially if you dislike writing Boolean strings. Currently, SOTG
returns only Google results. I would love to see other search engines
included in future versions.

LinkedIn
(free). Can't live without LinkedIn? Then make sure you download the
iPhone companion. The mobile version provides basic LinkedIn
functionality - search, status updates, invites and more - for
recruiters on the go. When meeting someone in person, try linking in
instantly, instead of exchanging business cards. I am especially
impressed with the Address Book Integration, which uploads contact info
to the iPhone in one click. Unfortunately, there is no ability to
receive or manage LinkedIn Groups information.

AgileMobile ($9.99). It was
not until I joined Yahoo! that I became a big fan of instant messaging.
Used properly, IM can improve the speed and quality of communication.
Phone calls and emails are best for initial outreach, but nothing beats
IM for quick confirmations and clarifications. AgileMobile is an
all-in-one instant messaging service for mobile phones. Agile allows
instant chat-on-the-go with MSN, Yahoo!, AIM, ICQ, and GoogleTalk. This
kind of agnostic service is great for recruiters, who can communicate
with candidates or colleagues regardless of IM service provider.
AgileMobile also enables voice chat and media sharing.

Interview Pro
(1.99). Technically, Interview Pro is an application developed for
jobseekers. And a pretty clever one at that. This app provides a list
of "50 of the most common behavioral interview questions." Each
question is accompanied by an answer that helps candidates navigate the
interviewer's intent and expectations. The questions are divided into
categories such as "Team Dynamics," "Planning," and "Success Factors."
The interview questions are not all "behavioral" and the app does not
come with instructions for the interviewer (such as how and when to
drill down to get complete answers). With a few modifications, however,
an application like this could be very useful to recruiters and hiring
managers. Imagine if your hiring managers were able to download a
custom interview guide. Never fear: the makers of Search on the Go tell
me that they are working on just such an app.

beamMe (free or $1.99 for
subscription updates). Finally, I can feel comfortable leaving the
house without business cards! beamMe allows users to exchange vCards by
inputting an email address, mobile phone #, or @Twitter id. The
recipient is directed to a secure website, where he or she can download
a vCard (including a photo or logo, and links to URL or Twitter id).
Genius! The only downside is the subscription scheme; so far the free
version works well for me. I'm not sure I want to be billed $2/month to
continue to receive product upgrades.

There you have it. The future is here!

----

8 comments

1. 
   

   
   Thomas Shaw
   Aug 13, 2009 at 8:27 am
   

   
   

   We released information last week about our white label job search applications for both recruiters and job boards to use.

   
   

   http://www.recruitmentdirectory.com.au/Blog/recruitment-directory-releases-white-label-iphone-job-search-applications-a243.html

   
   

   There are a number of key points to remember with any application.

   
   

   - simple
   
   - easy to use
   
   - targeted
   
   - useful

   
   


2. 
   

   
   Amy Renz
   Aug 13, 2009 at 9:04 am
   

   
   

   Great
   advice, Carmen. Thanks. Like u I recently upgraded from a Brick to a
   Blackberry (after I willingly jumped in a thick green/brown mucked-up
   swamp with my brick, but that's a story for another time...)

   
   

   I've got another app for you. It's free. It's for iphone, BB, G2,
   etc. users who are also currently using MS Outlook. It turns resumes
   from email attachments (or desktop file folders) into searchable vCards
   with the full resume in the comments field of the vCard and the contact
   data fielded. It's an add-on for Outlook actually (so not a separate
   app) you then sync your Outlook with your mobile device and you've got
   your database with you wherever you go. It's free for up to 100
   resume-to-vCard conversions per day right now. You can check it out
   here: http://www.hireability.com/desktop/

   
   


3. 
   

   
   Chris Russell
   Aug 13, 2009 at 10:18 am
   

   
   

   Indeed.com has the #1 job search app so thats also a good app. Also check out the JobRadio.fm iphone app. Details here:

   
   

   http://jobradio.fm/apps/

   
   


4. 
   

   
   Nik Burns
   Aug 13, 2009 at 10:43 am
   

   
   

   There
   is also a new app targeted at Contract Recruiters (perm is in the
   works), search for Recruiter on the AppStore. If anyone here would like
   to review the app I can provide a promo code.
   
   Regards
   
   Nik
   
   recruiterApp.com

   
   


5. 
   

   
   Heather Yurko
   Aug 13, 2009 at 10:49 am
   

   
   

   also good if you go to networking events: My name is E and/or Bump to share contact info.

   
   


6. 
   

   
   Michael Marlatt
   Aug 13, 2009 at 11:58 am
   

   
   

   Nice post Carmen!

   
   

   Here are a three useful iPhone Apps I would also recommend:

   
   

   1. JobCompass - http://jobcompass.net
   
   Although this iPhone app was designed primarily for the job seeker, it
   could just as easily serve the Sales Recruiter prospecting for new
   clients. JobCompass uses GPS to identify open positions within a user's
   proximity. The app knows where you are any given time and can search
   within a 5 thru 100 mile radius of your immediate proximity. On the
   topic of GPS based searching, Careerbuilder has a great iPhone app that
   does a good job of this as well. Both apps are free.

   
   

   2. Free Wi-Fi Finder - http://www.jiwire.com/iphone
   
   This is a nifty iPhone app that comes in handy, especially whenever you
   need to travel for work. This app quickly identifies FREE wi-fi
   hotspots within your area. I have used this app on many occasions and
   it's actually quite good. It's a free app.

   
   

   3. textPlus - http://www.gogii.com/
   
   textPlus allows you to send unlimited text messages from your iPhone or
   iPod - all for FREE. This app ROCKS and it's definitely a great
   alternative for those who don't have a great SMS/Texting plan as part
   of their iPhone service. Now, the next time you're running late for a
   team-meeting, or lunch appt with a candidate, easily ping update them
   using TextPlus. Not a big fan of "texting" because of costs? Try
   textPlus because you really have nothing to lose. It's a free app.

   
   

   Michael Marlatt
   
   http://cloudrecruiting.net/blog

   
   


7. 
   

   
   Keith Halperin
   Aug 13, 2009 at 2:17 pm
   

   
   

   IMHO,
   the more apps that let recruiters do low-touch, low-value add work
   remotely, the better- it gets us away from the office. The thing is: if
   WE can work remotely for $75/hr, $90k/yr, or 20%, the more THEY can
   work remotely for $12/hr, $25k/yr, or 5%. Concentrate on doing what
   can't be done remotely, eliminated, or automated, or do it very, very
   well.

   
   

   Cheers,

   
   

   Keith Halperin keithsrj@sbcglobal.net