Online Job Search: The Shift From Desktop to Mobile

Since the invention of the internet, information has become much more accessible over time – apparently, everything is now at the reach of your hand.

Almost any service you can think of is now available to you digitally and is just a click away.

Accessibility has, indeed, come a long way.

Taking job ads as an example; they have evolved from printed ads on posters and newspapers, to advertisements on TV, to online websites on the computer, up to the job-hunting apps in smartphones that we have today.

As a recruiter or business owner in the maritime industry, how can adapting to this technological trend affect your hiring process?

Online application: desktop vs. mobile

There was a time when going online only meant firing up your computer – switching on the CPU, setting up your monitor, hearing that nostalgic Windows sound, typing in your password (if you have one) with your keyboard, navigating around using your mouse, and finally connecting to the Internet.

Eventually, life became much easier with laptops – no need to worry about bulky parts connected with dangly wires anymore.

Unlike the traditional computer setup, the laptop equates to portability. Wherever you are, as long as you have Internet access, you can go online anywhere and anytime.

It had a significant impact on the job hunting experience of candidates. Employers utilized online pages to post vacancies in their company or use job sites to include their open positions.

Job hunters can simply sit comfortably in front of their desktop or laptop, go online, and jump from one web page to another to scan any posting that they can apply to.

With the help of a laptop, job hunting can be done anywhere. Accessible WiFi is the key.

Applicants can send their resume online and just wait for a callback.

Having a digital means to apply to jobs has indeed fast-tracked the recruitment process for most industries.

Years passed and technology evolved inevitably and turned a gadget that everyone thought was only for making calls and sending texts into a "handy computer" – the mobile phone has become the "smartphone."

Job seekers now enjoy the convenience of using a handheld device to look for jobs online. They no longer need to rely exclusively on WiFi since a smartphone has a built-in mobile data feature.

Downloadable job search apps have taken the speed of job-hunting a step further.

Applicants can simply create their profile and store their resume in the app and apply for any job they want. Job hunters also gained the capability to communicate on their time and on their terms.

They can easily scroll through job postings while practically doing anything anytime, anywhere. Applying for a job is now just a tap away.

Challenges in using job search apps

While mobile apps have streamlined and simplified the job hunting process for applicants and are widely known to provide a personalized experience to users today, there are still some points that had to be worked on during their development.

Although some job search apps have successfully consolidated numerous job postings in one place, this somehow resulted in the strenuous experience of applicants scrolling through endless job boards and not easily finding what they want.

Some apps didn't provide the option to bookmark any job posting that would greatly help job seekers return to and apply for it at a later or more convenient time.

There were also job-related details within the apps that were problematic to access since they were either not displaying properly on the phone screen or the layout was simply not yet enhanced for mobile use.

Smartphones are undeniably handy but this also posed a difficulty among the many users. Job seeking on a small screen, with a pop up keyboard that eats almost half of the display when it appears, made the process too taxing.

Job seekers also encountered troubles with text or data entry. Given the situation mentioned above, they had a hard time typing in long inputs, especially when creating their online profile.

Lastly, uploading and submitting necessary files and documents proved to be a hurdle for applicants. Attaching files from the storage of the smartphone wasn't as easy when doing it using a bigger device.

Using the mobile app for maritime recruitment

Smartphones have changed the way we live. Of the six billion (and counting) people using a smartphone worldwide, an estimate of around 1.8 million are from the maritime industry and this is only composed of seafarers onboard international merchant ships.

Users rely on a smartphone to access online information and to stay connected to the world around them – this is most true for seafarers.

Considering this, Martide developed an app that can bring seafarers closer to you and your business.

Our developers have built the app as a recruitment highway for shipowners, ship managers, and manning agents – working on overcoming the challenges we've mentioned earlier.

With that, here are the features that can streamline your hiring process:

• The details about your job vacancy, including the type of vessel, its specs, and the estimated crew change date, are just a tap away for job seekers
• There is a tool within the app that will help you stay directly in touch with your applicants
• The app will take care of sending reminders and alerts to the seafarers about their application so they won't miss out on any updates
• Seafarers can also securely store their certificates and documents in the app so there's no need to upload them repeatedly when applying

When you list your seafarer jobs on Martide’s website, you don't need to worry about redesigning your job posts to make it mobile-friendly – we'll do that job for you!

Feel free to sign up anytime on our website and we’ll be more than happy to assist you in filling your job vacancies and helping you meet your next best seafarer.