Mobile is omnipresent – at times it seems as though more people are on their mobile devices that actually talking to each other. Butwhat role is mobile playing in recruitment?

This was the question I set out to answer a few months back. (Thanks again to my co-sponsor on this endeavor, AllTheTopBananas!). The survey, which was targeted at HR and recruiting professionals in the U.S. and the United Kingdom, garnered a solid response of 155 completed questionnaires. Of these, 63% said they were using mobile in their recruiting efforts. 63% of the respondents were recruiters; the remainder were either some type of HR or hiring managers.

So, what did we learn?

• Direct text messages to candidates is the most popular use of mobile (66% of respondents)
• 40% of respondents have mobile versions of their career site
• 89% are using mobile in combination with social media
• Respondents are using mobile because it’s ‘always on’ (64%), immediate (58%), and provides another choice for the job seeker (57%)
• Spending plans are split: 37% have no plans for spending on mobile – but 34% plan to increase spending on mobile.
• The top three barriers to implementing mobile recruiting are: Lack of knowledge aboutmobile recruiting options (54%); lack of a mobile recruiting strategy (52%); and lack of knowledge about mobile recruiting technology (51%)

You can download the complete results here. (Free registration and Adobe Reader is required).