The rapid spread of mobile job searching is creating new challenges for recruiters. According to a recent data study by job search firm Simply Hired that looks into how job seekers are using mobile devices in their job search, mobile is predicted to surpass desktop and laptop computers as the primary way people access the web by 2015. More important, the number of workers searching jobs via mobile devices has skyrocketed from 2.3 million to 9.3 million in the last two years.

Clearly, the trend is toward using mobile for everything, including staying in touch with business and finding the right job. James Beriker, president and CEO of Simply Hired states, “Mobile job search is a natural evolution, more and more people are embracing mobile as their primary way to access the web. And we aren’t just consuming media on mobile—we’re incorporating our devices into our daily lives and using them for the same functions previously reserved for the computer.”

The Simply Hired study takes data from more than 30 million job seekers and delivers new insight into how and why more people are using mobile devices more now than ever before and exposes areas where recruiters must evolve in order to keep up.

According to its research, many companies are not keeping up and are missing out on many potential candidates. “Recent research estimates that only 20 to 30 percent of Fortune 500 companies currently offer mobile-friendly career sites and portals,” says Beriker.

“Recruiters must first figure out how to serve the mobile user or risk losing out on a massive pool of candidates. Our goal with this new research is to offer a data-driven picture of the mobile candidate in order to help recruiters reach these on-the-go candidates as effectively and efficiently as possible,” adds Beriker.

What are the biggest challenges facing recruiters?

Recruiters can no longer count on strategies developed 20 years ago. Many technology systems, such as applicant tracking systems (ATS), that employers use to manage their candidates pipeline are not compatible with mobile technologies . As a result, recruiters can’t easily get a full picture of search and apply activities across platforms, and they are faced with managing multiple systems and reports to get the information they need.

What should recruiters do to keep up with this fast growing trend?

The need to understand this unique mobile audience is essential. Once recruiters recognize this growing new audience, they need to innovate and build what is right for them. Based on the study data, Simply Hired advises recruiters to optimize their job sites for mobile, enable features like mobile applications, integrate with ATS systems, and allow candidates to go back and forth between mobile and web.

“Mobile innovation is a matter of capturing the explosive mobile candidate growth happening right now in your industry. In order to be a mobile innovator, you need to close the candidate expectation gaps for your audience and deploy a mobile-first approach,” says Beriker.