Think about how your team interacts with candidates throughout the hiring process. You might end up playing phone tag trying to schedule interviews while your candidates don’t have time to step away from their current roles to pick up the call. Or another option is communicating with candidates via email, but most people receive so many emails each day that messages can easily get overlooked.
No matter the form of candidate communication you use today, there’s always room for improvement. And one of the most effective ways you can improve how you interact with candidates is through text messaging (SMS). While phone calls might be missed and emails overlooked, Hireology data found that users who leverage our candidate text messaging feature see an average response rate of more than half (56 percent).
Whether you don’t currently have candidate text messaging in place or are looking to improve the way you interact with candidates via SMS, we pulled together some tips and best practices below.
How to Implement Candidate Text Messaging
When it comes to text messaging, it can be overwhelming to think about your HR team or hiring managers texting candidates from their personal or work phones, as a process like this can get disorganized fast. But the entire text messaging process can be simplified with a recruitment CRM platform. Rather than using a personal phone number, a recruitment CRM platform enables all candidate data and communication to be centralized in one place.
In addition streamlining all candidate communication, partnering with a recruitment CRM platform that has SMS capabilities offers the following benefits:
- Create and Save Templates: Save time and ensure professional text messages are sent every time with available templates, or create and save your own for future use.
- Reconnect with Candidates: Tap into your network of past candidates you’ve interacted with through your recruitment CRM platform to share new roles that might be the perfect fit.
- Send Mass Text Messages using Dynamic Fields: Rather than sending one-off text messages as your hiring managers might if they were to text via their personal phones, a recruitment CRM platform enables you to send mass texts. For example, if you want to reach out to several candidates asking for interview availability, you can send a mass text, using dynamic fields to personalize their names and specific roles.
- Avoid Added Fees: With a recruitment CRM platform, text messaging is included with your base subscription, so you don’t need to worry about tapping into your budget for an outside text messaging service.
Types of Candidate Text Messages
You have several opportunities to tap into candidate text messaging during the hiring process. Some examples include: reminding candidates to take a pre-screen survey to move forward with the hiring process, coordinating interview times and sharing directions to your business location. Candidates can also easily reach your team to confirm interview times, reschedule an interview or clarify directions.
Best Practices to Craft the Perfect Text
Hireology data found that the best day of week to send candidates text messages are Sunday – with a response rate of 79 percent – and Thursday – with a response rate of 75 percent. And the average character length for these messages tends to be 211 characters. If you’re just getting started with candidate text messaging, consider testing out these days and keeping the messages short and sweet to receive higher candidate response rates.
Beyond the right timing, make sure to be as professional and informative as possible when texting candidates. Start by introducing yourself with your full name, title, company and location. Also thank candidates for applying and let them know the purpose of your message. Depending on the step in the hiring process, also leverage text messaging to share details such as: requirements of the role, your company address and directions, your team’s availability for interviews and links to complete certain hiring steps online – including background and reference checks.
Given the record-low unemployment rate and competitive hiring market, it’s critical to keep candidates engaged and excited about joining your team throughout the hiring process. Candidate text messaging enables you to continuously communicate with candidates and, as a result, hire top talent up to 8 days sooner. By speeding up your hiring process, you can secure qualified candidates before the competition and fill open roles quickly, boosting productivity.
If you’re a Hireology customer and haven’t tapped into our candidate text messaging feature, log in to your account to get started today. If you’re not a current Hireology customer, get a demo to learn more about how candidate text messaging and our full-stack recruitment CRM software can help your team attract and hire top talent.
