[Excerpted from recruitingtrends]

New tools and features may help mid-sized companies build a stronger talent pipeline.

Job boards are the second-most popular means of recruiting behind employee referrals, and many companies still find the best talent through this channel. However, as the talent base accessed through these platforms widens, it's sometimes difficult for a recruiter to find the right candidates. Mid-sized businesses spend as much as 30 percent of their recruitment budgets on job-search sites, so it's important that they see returns on their listings.

In order to maximize their investment, companies can take steps to make better use of these platforms. Talent-acquisition departments can perform an audit of their current vendors, look to platforms that segment their users into "communities" for a more targeted approach to selecting candidates, utilize mobile recruiting tools, and tell a strong brand story through their job listings and online advertisements.

When I was a kid, I wanted to be bilingual, I still wish I was but lucky for me there’s an app for that. Traveling to a foreign country doesn’t seem as intimidating anymore. In theory I could simply speak into an app and my words could be translated to the cab driver in Spain or the train conductor in Italy or the street vendor in Vietnam. It’s amazing what these mobile devices in our pockets have given us, but it’s also sad to think about what they have taken away.

No longer do you need to talk to a person to make plans—you send a text. You don’t have to call to make a reservation—you click a button. And you don’t have to even call to order a pizza anymore—you send a pizza emoji. Communicating is completely different now, thanks to technology, and while so many things are better because of it, the art of communication is dying—especially when it comes to the world of work.