According to research by Indeed.com, the global trend shows 82 per cent of job hunters use a mobile device as part of their job search, with the majority using the technology to find a job while commuting to and from work. During the day they tend to use a desktop computer.
The company also claims that employers who make it easy for job hunters to apply for jobs using a mobile device will likely receive twice as many applications for every job that they advertise (compared to those who don't).
Walker says when people find a job of interest on their smartphones they will often wait until later to apply via a desktop computer because most people do not have a copy of their CV available.
He suggests job hunters store a copy of their CV on a cloud service so it can be accessed at any time.
"When candidates update their rsum on their desktop, they should not forget to update it on any of the online cloud storage solutions or online job sites they're using," he says. "From job sites it's easy to access a number of different versions of your rsum and apply for jobs from an app or a mobile website.
"Furthermore, many job seekers are deterred from applying for a job if a company's career site or job listings are not mobile optimised."
With demand growing for mobile services, he says companies without the ability to receive applications by mobile are at a disadvantage when competing for talent.
"Our research has shown that most job seekers have yet to make the shift over to doing their job searching mainly by mobile. However, once job seekers believe it is no longer difficult to apply for jobs on a mobile device, searching and applying for jobs on a smartphone is likely to become the new normal."
Data from a global survey of recruitment firms by professional networking site LinkedIn reveals that just 13 per cent of firms believe they have invested enough in mobile-friendly recruiting, just 20 per cent have mobile-optimised websites (referred to as "responsive" websites), and only 18 per cent have optimised their job posts for mobile devices.
Meanwhile, across the planet, there are now more mobile devices than people. According to GSMA Intelligence, in October there were 7.22 billion active mobile devices being used. Although there are 7.2 billion people on Earth, less than half of the global population own a mobile device.
Ximo Soler, chief marketing officer Asia Pacific at recruitment firm Randstad, says last year 17 per cent of its job applicants arrived at its site via mobile devices, whereas today it is 30 per cent.
"Applications via mobile devices tend to happen during commuting time, which is very exciting," he says.
"Most people check our job site using a mobile device between 6am and 9am, there's a little traffic via mobile during lunch time, and then it goes up again between 5.30 and 7pm."
Randstad is in the process of converting its websites to work natively with mobile devices. Its responsive site in Australia has been up and running for a few months and it has just launched a new version of its site in New Zealand.
Soler says changing its website has led to an increase in traffic, and placed it higher up in Google searches, but says the move hasn't been without its risks.
"When you move to a responsive website there is a risk you will confuse people when they look at your new website, navigation is different, but I can't see any success for the industry if that investment isn't made," he says.
From what Soler says the current generation of job hunters expect to do everything with their smartphone.
"The challenge for the recruitment industry is to be agile, because we are already dealing with candidates in their teens who are absolutely digital natives and their demands are different [to older job hunters]," he says.
"And the way companies such as ours are interacting with social networking sites such as LinkedIn is very exciting, and perhaps in five years' time websites will be out of the equation altogether. We are facing a very exciting evolution in the recruitment industry."
