By Jessica Ayre, content marketing specialist at Text Request
Relying solely on phone calls and emails to reach job candidates won’t cut it anymore. Phone calls tend to go straight to voicemail, and emails can sit unread in an inbox for days, or even weeks.
The recruitment process is filled with back-and-forth communications, and you can’t let qualified potential employees slip through your fingers by moving too slow. 77% of people say texting is the fastest way to reach them — that’s why you need to use texting to connect with candidates quickly to save time and smooth your workflow.
Texting allows your hiring team to communicate with prospects instantaneously, so you can do things like:
- Confirm you received applications
- Schedule interviews
- Ask quick questions
- Share interview tips
- Follow up after interviews
- Share important paperwork, including onboarding materials
Additionally, you can do all this through your existing office phone number and app, so you don’t have to use your personal cell number if you’d rather keep things separate. All it takes is a well-equipped business texting software.
Below, you’ll find five ways to use texting to streamline your recruiting process and fill jobs faster.
1. Vet candidates through text
Before you start texting candidates, you’ll need to get their consent to text them. Just ask for permission on the job application. They’ll most likely give it, since 84% of people want to receive texts from a business.
You can then send text messages to candidates to ask questions related to basic screening, such as:
- What is your availability?
- What are your qualifications?
- Can you do remote or hybrid work?
- Are you in the area?
From there, you’ll be able to determine if the candidate is a possible fit for the job before scheduling an interview. Getting these answers back quickly will help you with the decision making process, allowing you to move on and be more productive, and for the applicant to understand what the next steps are.
2. Schedule interviews by text
You want to get promising candidates on the phone or in the office ASAP, but they won’t answer calls from unknown phone numbers and emails often land in a spam folder.
With high open and response rates for texting, you can effortlessly schedule interviews, whether you’ve got one person or dozens to interview.
The SMS interview scheduling process can look something like this:
- Text a virtual calendar link with available interview time-and-date slots, so they can pick one that works.
- Depending on the timeline between scheduling and having the interview, send a text reminder an hour or two before the interview to the candidate to ensure that everyone is on the same page.
- After the interview, send a text to thank the candidate and let them know that you’ll keep them posted about the next steps.
Confirming these interview slots quickly through text ensures you lock in more quality candidates.
3. Encourage applicants to text their questions about the position
Candidates may have questions that aren’t necessarily worth the effort of an email or a phone call, and that’s where texting comes in handy for quick correspondence. Applicants are going to have questions pop into their heads outside of the times you’re talking to them.
Keeping the line of communication open via text allows them to reach out when they need to, creating a great applicant experience.
People want to gain a better understanding of a role, and as a recruiter, you need to put your best foot forward.
Encourage your potential hires to text you about any questions they might have. Some of these questions could be:
- What is the timeline for the hiring process?
- When can I expect to hear back?
- What is the next step in the process?
- What is the salary?
- What are the goals related to this position?
- Is there a 90-day plan for onboarding?
Texts like this not only help out potential hires by acknowledging that their applications are in the pipeline, they also establish a quick line of communication for when you need to get their attention again.
4. Keep candidates in the loop about their application status with text updates
There’s no such thing as a one-and-done recruitment process. You still have tons of information to gather and application status updates to share. Use text to touch base with candidates about:
- When their application is received or reviewed
- Any follow-up documents you may need
- What’s next for them
- Deadlines or important changes
Additionally, it never hurts to give candidates some helpful tips about what to expect or what could help them during the next round of interviews and the process from there.
This is great if you’re with a staffing agency or HR department, where you do the initial vetting before sending applicants to interview with a department head. You want them to look good and be prepared, because it makes you look good while helping the interview be more productive for everyone.
You can also use these follow-up texts to make sure that the applicants are still interested in moving forward with you, especially if there have been any delays on your end.
5. Provide onboarding steps via text after offering a position
New hires have questions to ask and forms to sign before they can hit the ground running. Text them all the information and forms they need, including:
- Sending links to short documents
- Links to useful company resources
- General reminders, like dress code requirements and parking spots
- Instructions on how to clock in and out
Texting also makes it easy to complete any necessary paperwork and to pass along company documents like the handbook. All you’ll have to do is add the document as an attachment, or a shared cloud folder where all the important documents can be found and read.
This helps new hires go through the onboarding process faster and smoother, which ultimately benefits everyone involved.
Add texting to your recruiting strategy
Texting is a valuable way to communicate with candidates during the hiring process, and the best way to do it is with a business texting software that fits your needs. One of the most important things a recruiter can do is engage and enable applicants along the way, and that’s why texting is so helpful during the hiring process.
Jessica Ayre is a content marketing specialist at Text Request, a business texting solution. If you want to utilize texting to strengthen your recruiting efforts, Text Request can give you all the tools and resources you need to create a successful text messaging strategy.
