Source candidates from the mobile internet

Vodafone launched their new mobile web services this week which offers Vodafone subscribers advanced web access on their phones and a one off price of 7.50 per month for pretty much unlimited content. The mobile network operator Three has also launched a similar package and the whole industry is moving in the same direction to overcome ëcostí the last major barrier in universal mobile web browsing.

With a growing consumer base of mobile internet users and ever greater quality in content available, the internet has finally gone mobile and job content has gone with it. Over 15.5 million UK consumers accessed the internet via their mobile phone in March this year and consumer demand for mobile content downloads has tripled in the last two years creating an estimated global market of Ä7.6 billion in 2006.

As with the fixed web this creates vast opportunities, particularly in industries where the internet has and will continue to have a huge impact. Job search and general job information online grossed over 200M in 2006 and it is widely anticipated that mobile, a wider reaching advertising medium, will dwarf online job information revenues worldwide within a matter of years. Mobile integration globally is growing at three times the speed of PC integration and there are now an estimated 3 billion mobile phone subscriptions Worldwide. In fact, global mobile revenueís excluding revenueís for voice calls (so only money generated from SMS, MMS, mobile web and other data services) at $135 billion in 2006, are as big as - the total internet content industry, plus internet advertising revenues, global video gaming revenues, Hollywood box office revenues worldwide and the global music industry, combined!! These are staggering statistics for an industry many organisations still believe is in its infancy!

So how can the recruitment industry capitalise on the mobile generation? asap.mobi Plc, a company specialising in mobile classified search recommend taking a hybrid approach. Peter Holsgrove, Managing Director explains, ìWhile all the statistics for delivering job information over the mobile internet point in the right direction, it is important for recruiters to not over complicate their mobile offering. Simplicity in delivering the right user proposition is vital. We are recommending that recruiters first look to integrate mobile within their fixed web platform before offering a completely stand alone serviceî. Peter also suggests that now is the time to invest in mobile; ìAs with the early days of the online world, the companies who choose to pioneer mobile will be the ultimate winners and recruiters now have the opportunity to secure their section of the mobile job spaceî.

asap.mobi have developed a ëjobs by mobileí service that enables job seekers to review and apply for jobs seamlessly from their mobile device and enables recruiters to accurately track the activity of candidates on mobile. Not to be confused with SMS and MMS messaging, the ëjobs by mobileí solution provides job seekers with the same user experience and functionality as the fixed web but in a much more private, convenient and readily available format.

Colin Minto, ex Managing Director of the RECís technology subsidiary and key supporter of asap.mobiís technology believes the mobile content era is upon us. ìI met the asap.mobi team whilst at the REC and was impressed with the sheer volume of knowledge, experience and expertise they demonstrated in the mobile content marketplace. This is one technology that recruiters must embrace now and whole-heartedly; I can say that with great confidence because organisations like Microsoft, Google, Yahoo!, YouTube, MySpace and Facebook are already delivering their offerings via the mobile internet so if they are exploiting the opportunity, the mobile internet Gold Rush has startedî.

The asap.mobi team consists of mobile industry experts who are working with recruiters, newspaper groups and other media owners to take their content mobile. If you would like more information of the mobile internet industry and the opportunity it represents for your business, contact asap, ASAP. Peter can be contacted directly at pgh@asapplc.com