Click the TRU image to buy a ticket

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Click the TRU image to buy a ticket

I didn't attend the first TRU London but have attended them ever since and this year will be my third. TRU events have been memorable for me and I am hoping this year will be even better again; two years on there has been a lot of change! I also intend to turn up this time to run my track on the second day! So if you have some views on mobile job applications be there on Thursday 23rd February 2012. In usual TRU style no one knows what time the track will be!

Should the online job application be mobile?

I chose this subject for my track for a few reasons.

1. There has been quite a bit of debate online already.
2. I do some consulting for Lumesse so have an insight into the world of being an ATS vendor.
3. I have built an ATS so have additional views of my own.

In anticipation of my track I started a Linkedin poll "As a candidate do you really want to apply for a job using your mobile phone?" which you can vote on to add to the replies. As you will see from the replies there are different views and of course with any kind of poll or survey the results have to be taken in context. 

But here's the big point for me. Do we try and change the job application process to be more mobile friendly e.g. ask for less information or do we resist the urge to act like sheep and stick to a full ATS driven online form with lots of lovely screening questions? The ATS is getting a bit of the blame for the application form not being "mobile friendly" but you can't really blame them if a client chooses to ask for so much information in the first place. It would be a bit like BMW having to pay your speeding fines because they built fast cars! 

Change is inevitable and of course the mobile will demand change but we have to balance what the candidate wants/expects vs. screening out/not having too many (irrelevant) applicants. A really simple (1-click maybe) application form doesn't filter out that well but at the same time, if you are going to make mobile a key part of your recruitment strategy, then surely you have to make the application pretty simple. Of course, if "Apply with Linkedin" is part of your mobile strategy then this can make your application process potentially much slicker and still provide an element of matching as I would guess that candidates with a Linkedin profile will at least be able to spell their name and be of a reasonable quality. 

But what does the candidate actually expect?

I have heard of mobile job search apps where the candidate can search for a job, view it but then e-mail it to themselves. Is this good enough? Or should there be something in-between such as a basic registration process that they can complete later? Or something else? Is it up to the ATS vendor to figure this out or is it something an App builder has to create? 

I'm not however going to attempt to answer all of the questions on my blog as there is much to debate which should hopefully mean quite a lively track. Hope to see you at TRU London 2012.

What is TRU London?

In case you are not sure, TRU events are UNconferences which means there are no formal presentations instead being replaced by tracks. A track is an open conversation between a small number of track leaders (typically 1-3) who start a discussion around a topic and the audience debate as they choose. The tracks are very informal, unstructured, sometimes heated and often fun. People can come and go as they choose rather than made to stay put until the end.

TRU is the brainwave of Bill Boorman who is as unstructured, and disorganised as the events themselves. Known for his big hats and sponsored t-shirts Bill started TRU with no real vision or thoughts about making money. His thoughts today are probably not much different. But what Bill has done, is transform the UK recruitment conference scene as well as become a global social media celebrity. When Bill first started we all wondered if TRU would survive but survive and grow it has. Respect for Bill for staying focused and never giving up!

It is however Bill's fault that I struggle to "enjoy" traditional conferences knowing that once in my seat, I am not supposed to leave until the end. If you haven't been to such an event I can highly recommend TRU as your first experience but be warned; conferences may never feel the same again! 

Bill Boorman in typical pose! Click the image to follow him on Twitter.

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Making your resume is often a highly straightforward affair. You list out your educational background and the degrees you’ve received. You provide bullet points regarding previous employment history. You then add some contact information at the top, perhaps some personal and proficiency data at the bottom, and deem that your resume is complete.

But many people struggle when it comes to past honors and awards received, particularly those that are from your distant past and have little bearing on your current line of work. People also struggle determining what constitutes an honor in the first place. Sure, a Nobel Chemistry Prize would probably do the trick. But what if you were once a motivational speaker for conferences? Does that fit the bill?

Are you a LinkedIn power user? If you are, you still may be surprised to learn about LinkedIn Labs. LinkedIn Labs is a small set of projects and experimental features built by the employees of LinkedIn. In this episode I focus on two of my favorites: Resume Builder and Hero Connect. I think that both of those apps are incredibly useful to recruiters and job seekers. Click here to download the show notes.

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