A good recruitment message means starting the hiring process on the right foot. While potential candidates are bombarded with emails, DMs, and app notifications, you can cut through the noise with a well-crafted text message.
Text messaging allows recruiters to communicate with candidates after an interview and keep them informed about their application status. Job seekers can also use two-way text messaging to ask for more information about new job openings and ask questions.
Using templates for hiring employees will streamline the recruiting process, allowing you to reach out to more candidates and save time by reusing your best templates in future recruiting campaigns. In this article, we’ll cover a few ways you can improve your hiring using text messages.
Text recruiting statistics
Text messaging is one of the most commonly used forms of communication, especially among millennials. Surprisingly, only 41% of interviewees have ever received feedback after an interview. This suggests that despite a desire for frequent feedback, the reality may not align with these expectations. A simple SMS could help fix that, but that is not the only case where texting could end up saving an employer’s reputation, not to mention time and other resources.
Here are some text recruiting stats we found to be relevant:
- 73% of job seekers prefer to receive targeted job opportunities via text.
- A significant portion of employers, 60%, are currently engaging in text messaging with candidates.
- 89% of people are open to texting with businesses, including service providers and potential employers.
- 45% of job seekers use their mobile devices to look for new opportunities.
- 89% of job seekers think mobile devices play a critical role in the job hunting process.
- A significant number of candidates, about 55%, believe the time from the first interview to a job offer should be less than two weeks, highlighting the importance of quick and efficient recruitment processes.
The benefits of text messaging for recruitment
From speeding up the hiring process to enhancing the overall candidate experience, the benefits of incorporating SMS into recruitment are manifold. This approach not only streamlines administrative tasks but also addresses common recruitment challenges effectively.
Here are fifteen key benefits that illustrate how texting can transform the recruitment landscape, making it more agile, candidate-friendly, and successful:
- Speeds up hiring – Allows recruiters to send and receive responses from candidates almost instantaneously, shortening the overall hiring cycle.
- Boosts engagement – Enables a more interactive dialogue with candidates, leading to higher engagement levels compared to email or phone calls, which can be ignored or missed.
- Cuts no-shows – Quick reminder texts significantly decrease the chances of candidates missing interviews, as immediate SMS notifications are harder to overlook than emails.
- Eases scheduling – Coordinating interview times is easy with texting, as candidates can swiftly confirm or request to reschedule appointments.
- Improves candidate experience – A seamless communication flow via text messages makes the recruitment process more transparent and less stressful for candidates.
- Expands candidate reach – Texting can reach candidates who are often on the go or do not have regular access to emails, widening the talent pool.
- Collects feedback quickly – Recruiters can obtain post-interview feedback immediately through text, allowing them to quickly adjust strategies or clarify any concerns.
- Screens efficiently – Pre-screening questions sent via SMS can filter candidates more effectively before moving to more time-intensive interview stages.
- Offers communication flexibility – Text messaging allows candidates to respond at their convenience, providing a flexible alternative to real-time phone conversations.
- Simplifies referrals – Employees can easily share job openings with potential candidates via text, simplifying and speeding up the referral process.
- Ensures prompt updates – Candidates receive instant notifications about their application status, keeping them updated and engaged throughout the recruitment process.
- Reduces admin work – Automated text messaging systems can handle routine communications, freeing up recruiters to focus on more strategic tasks.
- Keeps candidates informed – SMS ensures candidates are well-informed about the necessary steps, documentation, and preparations for interviews or assessments.
- Manages applicants effectively – Text messaging platforms allow recruiters to manage and track conversations with multiple candidates efficiently, all in one place.
- Provides quick query responses – Candidates can get swift answers to their questions, enhancing the overall perception of the company and increasing the likelihood of accepting job offers.
Best practices for recruitment texting
So how should you go about text recruiting without becoming invasive? It is your texting strategy that will give candidates their first impression of the company.
To get it right from the first try, we strongly recommend adopting these practices:
- Get permission from your candidates before texting. Ask for their consent before the interview process starts. Let them know how frequently you will send messages and what information they can expect from you.
- Keep your messages short and simple. The job search can be a stressful experience for most candidates, so do your best to avoid long messages.
- Pay attention to the timing of your messages. Sending a recruiting text message at the right time will also have a significant impact on success rates. For most respondents, the best time to receive a recruiting text message was between 8 am and 12 pm.
Creating your text recruiting campaigns
Writing texts to job candidates sounds daunting, doesn’t it?
And it surely would be, if it were not for text messaging software. Text recruiting truly gets great when you find out you can compose, send or schedule your text messages from your computer.
Textmagic also offers the option of text message automation technology, based on keywords you choose. With our SMS software you can view all your candidates’ responses in one place. For example, you can ask a few standard job application questions to ease out the process of filtering out unfit candidates.
Try out our SMS templates today!
You’ll be able to track the performance and quickly tell what’s working and what isn’t. Text messaging services will also allow you to filter out unqualified candidates. You can accomplish this by setting up automatic text messages that ask standard job application questions. Based on the answers you get, you can determine whether a potential candidate is a good fit for the role.
Conveniently screening candidates with text message automation saves time and money, helping you fill out positions faster. You can also track the performance of your text messages so that you know what works best with your candidate pool.
Recruitment text message templates
The recruitment message examples shown below are a good starting point for your text message candidate search. You can modify each one to fit your brand voice and perform tests to see how each one shows the best results. Once you find a winning template, add it to your text automation software to send it out to your job candidates.
1. Job announcement template
2. Interview invitation text message
3. Follow up text message after interview
4. Interview reschedule
5. Contacting passive candidates
6. Retargeting a past applicant
7. Interview reminders
8. Application status updates
9. Onboarding information for new hires
10. Document requests
11. Screening questions to assess suitability
12. Requesting feedback after interviews
13. Recruitment event invitations
14. Referral requests
15. Candidate engagement
16. Tests/Assessments reminders
17. Providing directions to interview locations
18. Emergency changes
19. Reference check
20. Follow-up and next steps
Make it easy for candidates to unsubscribe
Once you start sending out text messages to candidates, make sure they have an option to opt-out at any time. You can easily do this by implementing a stop feature in your text messaging platform. It will not only help you comply with anti-spam laws but also help you target candidates who find value in your messages.
If you want more visibility over your unsubscribers, you can always set up automatic notifications whenever someone subscribes to your list. When you combine unsubscription, with smart networking, and automation, you’ll see an improvement in your SMS recruitment efforts.
Try out text recruiting yourself
Text message templates make the recruiting process more efficient by saving your time. Feel free to use these templates as they are, or modify them to fit your own recruitment campaign.
You can also save these templates in your Textmagic account and repurpose them in different campaigns. Job search websites like Jooble job aggregator might also be invaluable when searching for new employees.
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