Job portal Monster India finally launches iOS app; Why the delay

Monster India, an online recruitment solutions provider, has finally launched a mobile app for the iOS platform. The company has already launched apps for Android, BlackBerry and Windows platforms and the iOS app is the latest from its stable. It can be downloaded for free from Apple's iTunes app store (for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad) but would require iOS 5 or later versions.

Sanjay Modi, managing director (India/Middle East/South-east Asia) of Monster.com, said, "We are excited to introduce our latest addition, the Monster iOS app, to our suite of Monster mobile solutions. The Indian smartphone industry is witnessing high-intensity growth and is expected to comprise 12-14 per cent of the mobile handset sales in 2012."

Headquartered in Hyderabad, Monster India started its operations in 2001 and has its presence in 11 more cities, including Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Chandigarh, Jaipur and Cochin. The company also runs Rozgarduniya.com, a job portal focusing on rural India. Plus, it has partnered with DishTV for Monsterjobs Active – a job searching service for TV.

Here's a close look at the features of the newly introduced app.

First of all, the app allows jobseekers to search for jobs on the move (a no-brainer). Users can either log in from their existing Monster India account or create a new one. Once a job search is complete, one can also apply to job postings directly from the app. It also allows users to manage their Monster.com accounts – so that they can view their profiles, view employer activity and send resumes to employers.

A career services section has also been included in the app, offering career advice and tips through services like XpressResume+, RighResume, CareerBooster, ResumeHighlighter and VSkills Certifications. If you click on any of these options, you are directed to a page where a contact number is provided. Alternatively, users can also leave their contact details for Monster.com representatives.

Once you access the app, you have to select the country and in the process, the default Monster site. Available options are India, Gulf, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam. The app is pretty clean in terms of look and feel, and the navigation is pretty fast.

The default options available in the app include login, career services, search jobs (which means you can search for jobs without even logging in) and registration. When you login, additional options like 'fresh jobs' (jobs matching user's profile), 'my profile', 'employer actions' and 'forward resume' also pop up. Jobs can be searched sector-wise, and you get a plethora of options like IT, finance and accounts, marketing and communications, human resources, customer service/call centre/BPO, legal, purchase/logistics/supply chain, sales/business development and admin/secretarial.

The app is pretty simple to operate but there are still a few pitfalls. For one, users can only view their profiles but can't modify/update those. Also, you can't upload a resume which means you have to create an account on the website and upload your CV before using the 'forward resume' option featured by the app. When we tried using the option without uploading the CV, the app actually sent a blank message to the employer instead of informing us about the absent resume.

Also, we wonder why the company waited so long to introduce an app that's iOS-compatible. Probably due to the high cost of iPhone in India (Rs 45,000 for the cheapest model) and the mindset that only the well-to-do can purchase the device (hence, reducing the target audience drastically). But the growing popularity of the iPad in the country might have accelerated the launch.

Other job portals featuring iOS apps include Naukri.com, TimesJobs.com and Indeed.com, and these can give Monster India (a late entrant) a run for its money. Although not a direct competitor (at least, not right now), LinkedIn, too, features an iOS app. So the race for traffic, even on the iOS platform, is bound to hot up soon.

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