This article is adapted from the business magazine Capital and is available here for ten days. Afterwards it will only be available to read at www.capital.de. Like stern, Capital belongs to RTL Deutschland.
Finding a new job can be tedious and frustrating: applicants struggle with cover letters, CVs and certificates. Companies invite you to an interview, then say “We’ll get in touch” – and then never let you hear from them again. For several years now, an antithesis to the well-known and formal process has become increasingly popular: applying via the WhatsApp messaging service. Although this is still a dream of the future for most companies, more and more human resources departments are turning to social media when looking for employees.
The popularity of this new route has increased significantly in recent years. In 2022, 42 percent of all successfully filled positions were also offered via social networks. The relevant platforms are primarily Facebook, Whatsapp and Xing. In 2015 the value was only 15 percent. This was the result of a survey by the Institute for Labor Market and Occupational Research (IAB), the research institute of the Federal Employment Agency in Nuremberg. Another finding: Social media was now the decisive way to fill one in fourteen positions.
Alexander Kubis, labor market expert at IAB, explains the significance of the trend: “In around seven percent of new recruitment processes subject to social insurance contributions, the use of social media is now crucial for finding personnel.” Social networks are now the fourth most important tool for finding employees after personal contacts, Internet job boards and the company’s own homepage.
What is astonishing is that it is primarily more traditional industries that are using the new approach. For example, Transdev, a private company in the rail and bus transport sector, is planning to start a corresponding pilot project this month. First, the company would like to target bus drivers specifically. The travel company Tui and the parcel service Hermes also announced that they were preparing similar tests.
At Transdev, the new process is explained as follows: After scanning a QR code, applicants have to answer a few predefined questions and can then send the application directly to the human resources department via Whatsapp. The entire application process should therefore be possible via WhatsApp. However, after this step, the company will contact the applicant again in the traditional way, namely by telephone.
The first test phase began at the Bremen port logistics company BLG in January. We are initially looking for drivers and warehouse logisticians. “We are currently in a test phase with a few selected vacancies that allow applications via WhatsApp. We have already received applications via WhatsApp,” says the company Capital. However, it is still too early to make a concrete evaluation of the success of the measure. An internal working group is working on further improving the channel. In addition to a QR code, a digital button should also be implemented so that applicants can start a chat directly from their cell phone.
The technology behind the new system: BLG has set up an interface from Whatsapp to the company’s applicant management system. This means that a message that an applicant sends to BLG via WhatsApp ends up directly in this system. There the message is processed and answered directly by the human resources department. “In the system, we then create the applicant in the vacancy for which she applied, add any attachments that may have been sent there and treat her like any other applicant, except that we have the opportunity to interact with her from within the system chat,” explains a spokeswoman for the company.
All data protection aspects were examined intensively in advance. The service provider that provides the interface to WhatsApp is certified according to the “ISO 27001” standard and works in accordance with the GDPR. Applicants would have to accept a data protection declaration in advance.
The application via Whatsapp has also been in use since 2019 at the DHL Group, to which Deutsche Post belongs. The messenger is primarily used for first contact, a spokeswoman told the dpa news agency. “In our experience, it is an uncomplicated way of making contact, for example to quickly clarify questions. The inhibition threshold seems to be lower than with telephone or letter, especially for younger target groups.”
Application expert Jochen Mai, who runs the online platform “Career Bible,” says to Capital: “Whatsapp is certainly a channel with a future because Meta has significantly expanded its offering for commercial use,” said Mai. “The opening rates of WhatsApp messages are on average over 90 percent. For comparison: for emails it is just 20 percent.” Due to the shortage of skilled workers, so-called active sourcing has been increasing for years: HR professionals are primarily looking for talent and specialists on social media.
“Linkedin is the main channel for this today,” says Mai. “Whatsapp could play a larger role in the future. But: It always depends on the media mix and the target group.” For example, job advertisements have been declared dead for many years and still aren’t – nor are job fairs. Active recruitment also includes successful employer branding that attracts talent. So-called corporate influencers in particular are playing an increasingly important role because they have greater credibility than advertising promises.
Arnim Köpke from the IT service provider Rexx Systems also says that social networks are becoming increasingly important when looking for personnel. “Just because of the great reach and increasing importance of social media.” Today’s young people grew up with it. For this reason, it is becoming increasingly important for companies that application processes are quick, uncomplicated and, above all, effective. “Generation Z, who rely heavily on mobility and social media, is also easier to reach,” Köpke told Capital.
This is not necessarily the best solution for the shortage of skilled workers. But especially in industries with relatively simple job profiles such as in the catering industry or retail, a quick and easy application option is very important.