Mobile devices are changing the way we interact

Posted by: Andrew Linton, Web Consultant 25 Jun 10 - 2:36PM | Recruitment

Yesterday, 24th June, the hotly anticipated iPhone 4 was launched....and yes it does have a lot of extremely cool new features, yes it looks good and yes I want one!

My desire to get the new iPhone aside, one of the features that I find really interesting is ‘FaceTime’. FaceTime is Apple’s attempt at making video calls part of everyday life and i think this is going to work....we saw a few years back, the network 3, pushing the concept but it never really took off. And this wasn’t the first attempt,

Orange amongst others had tried many years before this. However, maybe now is the time, as technology has moved on maybe this is to be a case of ‘right place, right time.’ I can most certainly vouch first hand for the call quality and it is pretty amazing! Let’s be clear though, Apple haven’t revolutionized video calling as the concept has been around for a long time, but what they have done is made it a lot cooler.

Now, to the bit that potentially is going to appeal to recruiters – we have seen quite a lot of talk and discussions around the use of video interviews, video CV’s and general use of video in recruitment so we know its a popular and growing trend but has Apple just put the next step in place?

Until now, video CV’s and video interviews have relied heavily on the user having to be at their computer with a webcam (a lot of people don’t have one)set up for this to happen, but now potentially your iPhone can be used as an alternative – in turn opening the option up to other areas of the market. A similar trend can be seen already with the way we browse the web, more and more users are now doing this from mobile devices, something which has resulted in a massive number of mobile websites being developed to make this process as easy as possible. There is a definite and obvious trend towards everything going mobile.

Another extremely valuable point to make regarding the inclusion of video calling on mobiles is that some people have previously felt awkward using video technology to conduct and interview, however if this video calling starts to become as second nature to making a phone call, I’m sure a lot more people won’t think twice before taking part in a video interview.

There is also time saving to take into consideration for recruiter and candidate. If interviews are being conducted over the phone (at least at an initial stage) then there isn’t any time wasted travelling to and from meetings. Don’t get me wrong here; I’m a big believer in personal contact and actually going out to meet people!

I still think that although I see many positive arguments for the use of video, this is going to be a slow process but I’m sure the iPhone 4 along with other mobile devices will play their part, which may be considerable, in bringing video CV’s and interviews into the mainstream. And this in itself could pose many more conundrums for recruiters and advertisers concerning the most effective way to market and interact with an audience that in its own right is evolving in the way that it interacts with the world.