Unemployment is falling, and that’s great news. Fewer unemployed folks equates to greater labor participation and macro level growth. But as with most things, there are winners and losers. And while not losers in a traditional sense, when there are fewer people seeking employment, professional recruiting and headhunting firms need to get a bit more creative.
The need for good recruiters will always be there but differentiating their services from competitors in a tighter demand marker is where technology can help. In generations past organizations and companies could purchase lists of potential candidates culled from online profiles or educational records. Combined with geofencing technology, recruiters could establish a wireless fence around key areas where the targeted segment lived or worked (e.g. nurses, and when a nurse with the relevant credentials entered a geofenced zone, ads inviting them to apply to a hospital would appear on their phones).
Geofencing uses GPS and radio frequency identification to set up virtual, wireless perimeters — around an event, zip code or geographical area — enabling people in that area to receive messages or advertisements on their cellphones. However, in Europe, with GPRD, without the user’s consent companies are no longer able to buy profiles.
So, does this spell the imminent death of geofencing in recruitment? Not so fast! Apps using location-based information and geofencing technology possess a rare (and efficient) advantage in meeting the demand for short-term vacancies, particularly for students, freelancers and anyone looking for casual work.
For example, there are thousands of corner shops and small restaurants, many without a website. When a vacancy arises, they generally place a postcard on their shop window or an ad in their local supermarket and simply wait. If people knew about short-term vacancies in their local area via apps with location-based and geofencing technology, they could use their time more efficiently.
Geme.io is an app at the forefront of real-time, location-based connectivity. Once plugged in, an employer can create a free account and then a “Promotion Geme” (a virtual marker) that is dropped into the map under a category – “Jobs” for example. A jobseeker can engage in something similar, dropping a Social Geme with the title, “Looking for … and title it: “Job.” Anyone, from a café owner looking for baristas to a homeowner needing help moving furniture, can post a vacancy and get in touch with relevant candidates nearby without ever having to access the person’s data.
The virtual map on Geme.io displays the location of each job, and the user simply needs the app installed on his/her mobile phone. If an employer is followed by a user, the app sends notifications to those passing by and presents the job vacancy alongside the employer’s contact details. While not a classic recruitment tool peruse, Geme.io is particularly valuable to the recruitment sector in that it communicates supply/demand, in real-time, as it pertains to each local job market. The app is worldwide, so the data derived per city, county or state is based on real cases, not projected vacancies or demand forecasts.
Local data is as valuable as the manner one can access it. Ease of use is critical, and at its core is the human tendency to connect. Geme.io is taking us back to a simpler time, with the most cutting-edge technology available to date.
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