It’s no secret that the world has become mobile-first. You shop on your phone, check emails, watch videos, stalk your high school nemesis, and now, also hunt for jobs. Candidates are definitely applying to jobs from their smartphones and smart companies are making that experience better. Without a doubt, it’s the fastest and most convenient way to attract and engage with potential candidates. The possibilities are remarkable, saving both job seekers and recruiters a lot of time and effort at every stage of the recruitment process.

With that said, it still remains a huge area of opportunity for many high-volume hiring companies, who although actively recruit through mobile messaging apps, fail to explore all the mobile-friendly recruitment strategies out there—one of which is QR Codes. Most smartphones already have built-in scanning capabilities, and there are a lot of free QR scanner apps as alternatives.

QR codes are everywhere, in your restaurant menu, your local grocery store — interested applicants could be one scan away from starting a job application.

📌 Here are some ways QR Codes can be used to engage with candidates:

1. Walk In Applications - Eager applicants might prefer going directly to your site. Candidates who come in for their interviews need guidance. Even if it is the receptionist's job, one would easily burn out and hurt their throat at the end of the day if they have to repeat themselves over and over again to accommodate walk-ins. QR codes are made to resolve this. Why not put up that welcoming standee with a QR code that routes applicants to all your open positions? Set up a QR code at your receptionist's desk to welcome and guide candidates so they know where to go. Drive that information across without sacrificing your time and voice.

2. Retail Outlets, Trade Events, or even on the back of buses – If you work in the retail industry, why not give your customers a chance to be future employees? They already support and know your product or services, meaning you’re already one step closer to possibly hiring them too! Have QR codes on your storefront stands, on door stickers, on sale banners, printed on staff shirts, check-out counters, or even on their take-out coffee cups and they can simply scan it to start their application. This recruitment strategy not only speaks about your creativity and technology-driven company culture but also takes out the need of having a recruitment team in your store.

3. Career Fairs and College Events – Professional fairs are always crowded. With limited staff to man these booths, having QR codes set up can help avoid long lines and waiting time. Interested students can immediately send their application simply by scanning the QR code from their phones, or you can also create one that provides all the answers to frequently asked questions.

4. Referral Process – Incorporating QR codes in your referral process benefits your recruiters as well as your employees. Recruiters can easily track applications coming from each employee by using customized QR codes. On the other hand, employees can easily share their own QR codes via social media or have a printed version on cards or flyers they can bring home to their families and friends.

Share these tips on your ad materials so your candidates will know how to scan your QR codes!

For iOS devices, the camera already has a built-in capability to recognize QR codes.

For Android users, there are 3 ways they can use to scan QR Codes.

2. Some devices can use ‘Google Lens’.

3. Old devices can do it via Facebook.

All strategies have their own share of advantages and disadvantages, but so far, QR Codes have proved to be one of the most convenient, cost-effective, flexible ways to engage with job seekers. And because it is mobile supported, it’s definitely the quickest way possible to start the interaction—whenever, wherever.

Check out these QR code generator sites for free to start generating your own: https://www.qrcode-monkey.com/ , https://www.qrcode-tiger.com/ , https://www.qr-code-generator.com/ .

For your Talkpush chatbots, our Conversational Design team already designed standard QR codes that can trigger the application flow. You can ask any from our team and we will send it to you.

In case you need a customized QR code that includes your company logo/branding guidelines, feel free to generate one from the suggested QR code generator sites above, and ask your Customer Success Manager for the URL (with event name) to use.

For landing pages, once you have your QR Code, follow these steps;