Resources
3 min read
Texting Statistics for Recruiters
Talent acquisition is all about building relationships. So, good talent acquisition technology needs to make that process easier in order to be worthwhile. The challenge is that communications preferences change constantly, so the tools required to build relationships effectively must also change. For the last 20 years or more, email and phone calls have been the ‘go to’ tools for recruiters looking to communicate with candidates and prospects. However, changing communication habits have made both dramatically less effective in recent years as email/phone have been replaced by texting as the communication medium of choice for most users. Here are several statistics that illustrate the how pervasive texting in recruiting has become, confirming that it’s an essential tool for modern hiring teams. 81% of Americans own a Smartphone1 In 2011, only 35% of Americans owned a smartphone. Today, 92% of adults age 30 to 49 own one, while 96% of those aged 18 to 29 do. Even devices that aren’t ‘smartphones’ support text messaging, so virtually all mobile phone users are reachable by text. 292 million people in America use text messaging2 292 million represents 80% of the US population. On average, each American office worker receives 121 emails, with an average open rate of 20% or 24 emails.3 By comparison, the average American sends/ receives 94 text messages per day, with an astonishing 80% response rate.4 The divergence in response rates illustrates the fact that users attribute significantly more importance to texts than emails. Messaging is the #1 reported use of smartphones5 The average American has installed between 60 to 90 applications on their smartphone. Yet in that crowded field of choices, native text messaging apps are the most popular. Clearly, any recruiter that ignores the most popular mobile communication tool available is putting themselves at a massive disadvantage. Americans spend 55 minutes a day texting on average6 Research indicates that Americans spend 3 hours and 35 minutes on their phones each day, 25% of which is spent texting.7 That time represents an enormous window of opportunity for recruiters to get the attention of candidates that are otherwise distracted and hard to reach. Average response time for texting is 60X faster than for email.8 What’s your own response when you get a new text message? How about when you get your 200themail of the day? Job seekers have the same reaction! The average response time for text messages is only 90 seconds. If you’re serious about reducing time to hire, you need to take advantage of that fact. 89% of people like to text with business and service providers9 Texting is easier than communicating by other means. We can do it in the elevator, when we’re standing on line at the store… we can do it whenever is convenient. That’s why people prefer texting. And, if we have a relationship with a business (or want one), there’s no reason not to prefer it in that case too. Clearly there are exceptions… most people don’t want to be texted by a business for pure marketing purpose. But, if there’s something in it for the consumer, then most people are on board. Today’s job seekers want that convenience in their interactions with prospective employers too. 60% of employers are currently texting candidates According to a recent CareerXroads survey, 36% of companies have been texting candidates for some time now and 24% are just starting to integrate text recruiting. The bottom line is that texting is pervasive. If your organization doesn’t embrace text recruiting then your competitors will. That will make your job harder and harder over time. The good news is that it’s easy for recruiters to get started with texting. 54% of consumers want text messages from marketers But only about 11% of total businesses are sending them out. Jobs can be included in marketing messages. “BTW, we’re also hiring click here” could be a great message to send after a confirmation interaction with your customers. This 2019 survey found that native text messaging apps are most popular among smartphone users. Usage on these apps was 3X as likely as on Facebook Messenger, 6X over WhatsApp, and 11 X versus Instagram. 23% of people wouldn’t mind receiving an SMS from a brand if they opt-in for the service Contradictory to what is generally thought, SMS marketing trends say that users wouldn’t mind receiving an offer from a brand via text. Customers feel this way because of the personal touch of text messages, along with the fact that, for companies to reach out via SMS, consumers have to deliberately choose this means of communication. (Marketing Profs) Emissary’s text recruiting software makes it easy. Book a demo today.1. PEW Research Center, 2019 2. PEW Research Center, 2019 3. LifeWire, 2019 & Emissary.ai4. TextRequest, 2018 & Emissary.ai 5. Axway, MarketingCharts 6. TextRequest, 20187. Marketer, 2018 8. CTIA, HubSpot 9. PEW Research Center, 2019 10. Small Business Trends
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4 min read
Why Texting Should Be a Part of Your Recruiting Process!
There has been a lot of controversy about the increase in automation as it relates to recruiting. Some see it as a demise of the industry and I quite disagree. I don’t imagine robots and automation eliminating jobs but rather, I see them decreasing the necessity of certain tasks and thus allowing recruiters to perform other duties. As I say this, I realize how often that mantra is repeated by proponents of technology. So, allow me to speculate 15 minutes into the future on how text recruiting, recruiters and automation operate in concert to hire great talent. RECRUITERS ARE MASTERFUL NETWORKERS After attending a company-wide town hall meeting, the recruiter understands the vision of the CEO and the overall direction that the company is heading towards. This knowledge is ideal because it helps the recruiter know where he/she should be focusing their networking efforts. If the future is widgets, then one sure step is to build relationships with all related widget user groups and their community leaders. Not only that, they would reconnect with past applicants inside the company ATS by sending a group text to all who opted in to receive such notifications. Perhaps a text saying, “Hi (Candidate’s name here), I was in a meeting with the CEO and he has widgets on his mind. At a glance, you seem to have an expertise in widgets. Are you still open to new opportunities related to widgets? If so, text “I’m in” to 123-4567 and I will keep you up to date on those specific job opportunities. Thanks! – (Insert Recruiter’s name here) While networking at a user group – Widgets Rock USA, the recruiter speaks with several passive candidates. They seemed interested at the event but, who truly knows. Would they pick up the phone if called tomorrow? Who can say for sure? To mitigate the chance of losing a connection with a potential hire, the recruiter creates a card with multiple short codes on them to help connect with you via text. As the recruiter mingles, short codes on cards are passed around and passive candidates interested in widget jobs can get notified of widget jobs as they become available and subsequently answer a few basic questions about their related experience. With this process, the recruiter can focus on the more qualified candidates yet, still retain a connection with those that cannot be placed at the moment. A short code is an effective text recruiting tool in use by many employers already. RECRUITERS ARE MARKETERS The Recruiter does not end his efforts with networking as there were certainly other rivals present at the event and no doubt, attempting to hire the same people. This is why a significant amount of time is spent analyzing data concerning the talent market. Where is the talent likely to work? Where does the talent likely live? What is the average market rate for the skillset of creating widgets? Armed with this information and other data, the recruiter know the best places to advertise his jobs. At the same time however, the recruiter is aware that life can sometimes get in the way of the job search. So, in addition to making the application painless, there is also an option given to apply later. In this way, candidates who choose this option will get reminded later to begin or complete the application process on the role they had an interest in. RECRUITERS ARE BRAND AGENTS Recruiters understand that for many candidates, company culture trumps salary expectations. So, they are sure to involve themselves in company programs that reflect a sensitivity to a societal cause that the company supports; breast cancer awareness or supporting our veterans, for example. This will help them when speaking to candidates as they will be able to relate a first hand account of how the company gives back to the community. CANDIDATES APPRECIATE THE AUTOMATION For as long as companies have been posting jobs online, the most persistent point of exasperation has been the blackhole of resumes; commonly referred to as an applicant tracking system. In times past, it was an accepted evil by jobseekers to apply for jobs and mostly hear nothing back beyond a canned response that the role was filled. Now with automation, such days are gone. Candidates often now have the option to opt-in to text recruiting messages that notify them of jobs and update them on the status of their application, in addition to other campaigns such as company news updates. Imagine a candidate journey to hire that proceeds along this wise: · Candidate sees recruitment advertising and opts in to be notified of new openings. · Candidates gets a message about a job that interests them. Subsequently, the candidate answers a few questions via text to further qualify them for the role. · Candidate receives a text from the recruiter that allows them to book time on a recruiter’s calendar to further discuss the opportunity. · The day before the interview, the candidate receives a text with directions to the office an itinerary of scheduled interviews and a link to a YouTube video where the company culture is shared. · The day of the interview, a reminder text is sent mentioning who the next interviewer is and a short list of their hobbies, for small talk purposes. · A day after the interview, the candidate is sent a text to complete a survey about their candidate experience. · A few days later the candidate is called by the recruiter to discuss an offer that they accept. · On the first day of work, the candidate is given an onboarding itinerary and a choice to opt out of future job notifications with the company and/or to opt-in to other text campaigns like company updates or requests for community service volunteers. TEXTING IS GOOD BECAUSE TEXTING CONVERTS PROSPECTS (CANDIDATES) INTO BUYERS (OFFER ACCEPTS) To some reviewers of this process, it might look like an inordinate amount of texting in your recruiting process. I disagree. Several data points I have discovered point to the success in customer conversions as a result of a well implemented texting campaign. For your consideration, I will share the more compelling data. · Texting a prospect after initial contact can increase conversion rates by 112.6%. (Leads360, Crazy Egg) · Sending 3 or more follow-up text messages to prospects increases conversions by as much as 328%. (Leads360, Crazy Egg) · The average SMS campaign conversion rate is 45%. (Salesforce) · SMS verification conversion rates are 250% higher than email verification. (Salesforce) Creating efficiency for recruiters and an improved candidate experience is a compelling reason for implementing text recruiting software. While texting may not be the magic bullet for every recruitment campaign, I certainly see it as a solution for some. Allow me to encourage you to try something that would likely work verses residing in the safety of the status quo, as your competitors past you in the fast lane. Beep, beep! About the Author Over the past decade, Jim Stroud has built an expertise in sourcing and recruiting strategy, public speaking, lead generation, video production, podcasting, online research, competitive intelligence, online community management, and training. He has consulted for such companies as Microsoft, Google, MCI, Siemens, Bernard Hodes Group and a host of start-up companies. During his tenure with Randstad Sourceright, he alleviated the recruitment headaches of their clients worldwide as their Global Head of Sourcing and Recruiting Strategy. His latest project – “The Jim Stroud Podcast” explores the future of work, life and everything in between. More details highlighting his career and industry influence can be found on his blog – JimStroud.com.
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3 min read
5 Texting Strategies to Reach Executives
At the heart of any recruiting strategy is communication. Effective communication. But is all communication created equal? Albert Einstein once said, “I speak to everyone in the same way, whether he is the garbage man or the President of the university.” Notably, Einstein was referring to respect when he said this, but it does allow us to think further. Would our recruiting and communication strategy to hire a garbage man be the same as the President of a university? Certainly not. Recruiting executives and effectively reaching them in the search process is unique and does not follow a straight line. Texting is a commonly accepted form of communication for executives, but your communication strategy through this medium must be impressive. Here are 5 ways to master your text recruiting strategy to reach executives. 1. Be Discrete and Highly Confidential Getting the contact information for an executive you are recruiting can be tough. What’s tougher is getting them to be open with you through texting. Many executives are issued cell phones from the company and live and breathe through their device like most professionals. That doesn’t mean that they want to speak on any device that could be linked back to their organization or in a paper trail. When reaching out through text, be open about who you are, but establish their comfort level and restraints in texting out of the gate before you begin presenting the full opportunity. They will respect you more because of it. 2. Text Like a Human. Establish Credibility. Even with an executive, people want to speak to people that they can relate to and who they can trust. The first way to build trust is establishing credibility and making your executive a partner in their search. This means discussing all communication methods you will use, including texting. Establish communication timelines and the reason behind your text recruiting messages; meaning you will only text when a short and precise answer is needed. Don’t text a job description to an executive or a link to fill out a long, arduous application. You text as a business partner and only for an immediate responsive need. 3. Include Others in your Communication At the executive level, the networks and circles they travel in can be smaller than imagined. From the outset, use your current board of directors, investors, and C-suite to connect to potential candidates first. Executives are more likely to respond to people whom they know in text versus a stranger. If your executives don’t have the time, use their name and their executive titles when texting candidates. This will increase your texting response rate and allow a an easier “in” with a hard to reach C-suite candidate. 4. Keep Messages Short and to the Point Executives are easy to find, but harder to reach. Executives are busy and have a lot on their plate, so you need to grab their attention fast. Working in your favor is that executives want to hear from you! An Experteer Career Services Survey on C-level candidates stated that 97% of C-level candidates want to be found or be approached about relevant vacancies. Knowing this, have 3 quick bullet points ready to share about your opportunity in your text after you have garnered initial interest. These can include the value they will bring, why it is important and how the role is key to the specific product or technology. Even sweeter is if you can keep it to 140 characters or less. 4. Go the Extra Mile in Creating a Personal Relationship It’s well known that recruiting is about building relationships. What’s different though for executives is that during the search process you are not just their recruiter. You are their eyes and ears to the market, to the company and their lifeline. Most executives don’t make many career moves in comparisons to millenials. When they do make a career jump, it is thoughtful, calculated and meaningful. Your communication should go the extra mile. Be available after hours, invite them to dinner or a baseball game. Your recruiters need to build a relationship so deep that you are just one text message away and a valued business partner who has their best interests at heart. The result? A future client, an offer accepted, more referrals, and a feather in your cap of credibility. Ultimately, mastering the art of text recruiting to an executive can be learned and mastered by being smart about the messaging and the frequency of communication method. Allow texting with your executive to open the door to future business conversations and be just a text away.
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Recruiting
2 min read
A Guide to Increasing Offer Acceptances
As of March 2019, the US unemployment rate is at a record low at 3.8%, making it the ultimate candidate’s marketplace. With the market tight and more jobs opening than recruiters to keep up with, the one area that can always be refined is the offer acceptance rate. Top echelon recruiters follow a formula to ensure that offers are accepted even in this hot market. Here are the top 8 tips to use as your guide to taking your recruiting game to the next level and making every offer count. #1: Create Transparency in your Job Ad There are job descriptions and then there are job ads. People want to know not just the skills and requirements of the position, but also what’s in it for them. This includes not only specs of the position, but the cultural expectations, benefits and most importantly, what the job is paying. Being open about the company and the salary range will save you time and surprises from candidates who you fell in love with during the interview process, who ultimately you can’t afford. #2: Roll Out the Red Carpet Highly qualified candidates have options, many options in the marketplace. This means that not only do you have to sell your candidates, but you need to roll out the red carpet to them in the interview process. From your very first interaction, you want every candidate walking away wanting the position, even if you are still unsure. Share information about your company, talk about a day in the life, get hiring managers on board, share personal experiences and create a first class candidate experience until the very end. #3: Time Kills All Deals You have heard the saying, and it’s true, especially with candidates. The market is moving fast and candidates want to be chased and wooed. Move your communication to texting instead of emailing to increase faster response rates. Having a sense of urgency in the hiring process will maintain candidate interest, reduce negotiations and ensure your offer is at the top of the candidates list. #4: Know Your Market Intel As a recruiter, your job doesn’t stop at creating a short list of candidates for hiring managers and driving the process. Your value to hiring managers, executives and clients is your keen market intel and network in your space. They seek you out as a key business partner to understand who is moving where, what companies are buying who and how competitors are reaching talent. Keeping an ear to the ground will allow you a competitive edge with candidates in the offer process. #5: Get Personal People are attracted to people like themselves. This includes who we chose to work with. Get to know your candidate on a personal level by asking deeper questions to understand their expectations and lifestyle needs. Get to know what is truly motivating them to move and be open to them along the way. Include more personal ways to connect with them, including texting. By the time the offer is ready to be presented, you are not just presenting a job with numbers, but a life changing opportunity that is customized to your candidate. #6: Be Open to Negotiation Everyone loves to “win” a negotiation. Be prepared on the front end to negotiate your offer and have your negotiation window ready when the offer is presented. Allow your candidate the opportunity to “win” a negotiation while still meeting your hiring expectations. It’s a win-win. #7: Remove Obstacles By the time you are extending an offer, you know your candidates wants and desires, but understand that some obstacles need to be removed for them to take your offer. For instance, if you are offering to relocate a candidate, be prepared to offer a relocation package. Or, if you are asking for significant travel, be prepared to increase their weeks of vacation. #8: Ask the Tough Questions At the end of the offer process, ask candidates the uncomfortable questions, such as, why they are rejecting your offer or what can you do to overcome their reservations. Many times, it’s the answers to the uncomfortable questions that are the most telling in ways that we can improve our offer acceptance rates or finalize a final offer. Ask and you shall receive.
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Recruiting
2 min read
Candidate Experience Hacks
Providing a good candidate experience is gaining more traction inside talent acquisition departments as it gets harder and harder to attract talent. From an applicants perspective, the “Candidate Experience” is simply how they perceive your company’s recruiting process. And since perception is many times the ‘reality’, employers must take a more holistic approach to shape that journey. Ideally, this is what you want to happen when someone has a great candidate experience: “Even though I didn’t get the job I’m so impressed by your firm that I’m going to tell my friends and family how valued I felt during the process.” Obviously not everyone will say this, but it should be every employer’s goal to make them feel this way. Imagine how your employer brand will look then! With that in mind here are 10 hacks you can implement today to impress your future applicants. 1. Let Them Express Interest Most people hitting your career site are just passive candidates not ready to apply. You need to have a way to capture these folks so you can stay in touch with them when they are ready. Capture their name and email so you can add them to a talent community and send them regular updates about life at your firm. 2. Set Expectations Tell them what to expect in the hiring process and alert them each step of the way. Here’s how Google does it. Be upfront about how you hire and what they can expect to face as they make their way through your process. 3. Give Them A Peek Show off life at your company through photos, blogs and videos. Candidates are dying to know what it is like to work there so the more transparent you can be the more they will love you for it. 4. Re-write Revamp all your automated candidate communications, from auto responses to rejection emails, give them a second look and rewrite them to be more personable. Include ways to interact with you on social and other channels. Add value to those responses by personalizing them as much as possible. 5. Over Communicate Touch base with your shortlist of candidates once per week to keep them updated. Let them know where they stand. Even if it just a quick note to say “hang tight”, they will appreciate the effort. 6. Orchestrate Onsite Interviews Have a greeter prepped so they know to expect the candidate. Make sure they get enough breaks and offer them water/coffer as they head into their first interview. If they have multiple interviews in one day give them an agenda ahead of time so they can better prep. 7. Give Feedback This may be the hardest thing to do for some employers but candidates crave real feedback. Good or bad, they will learn from it. Be as honest as you can about why they didn’t make the cut. 8. Ask For Feedback You can’t improve your candidate experience unless you know what’s wrong. So survey your applicants after they apply and after they interview. You will gain valuable insight into where your flaws are. 9. Pick Up The Phone If a candidate took the time to come to your office for an interview they deserve a timely yes/no follow up call. Respect their time and don’t leave them wondering. 10. Onboard them with Tech Use cool onboard technology to get them started like being able to sign paperwork electronically. Many ATS providers now offer this or you can use external services like HelloSign. Shaping the right candidate experience takes time and a little effort, but it goes a long way towards making you an employer of choice. They also love it when companies leverage new tools like chatbots, texting and other new technology to engage. In the end, if you care about their experience, they will reward you for it.
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Recruiting
3 min read
Top 10 Ways to Build a Referral Pipeline
For many recruiting teams, building a candidate pipeline from scratch can be daunting. This is where referrals come in helping to bridge the gap and save you time and energy in your recruiting process. The question is, what is the best way to build a referral pipeline? Here are our top 10 ideas to build a referral pipeline that will continue to yield results in both the short and long term. 1. Incentivize Your Employees In a recent study by Careerbuilder, they noted that 82% of employers rated employee referrals above all other referrals and generating the best return on investment. We have also seen that employers also note that an internal referral can reduce their cost per hire by 3k on average.* Overwhelming support shows that employee referrals are of incredible value. The best way to continue to encourage these referrals in your pipeline is with a healthy incentive program that includes a generous monetary carrot. 2. Hone your Employee Value Proposition (EVP) Your Employee Value Proposition all comes down to messaging and your brand. People want to know that they are selling/referring to others. Your brand message should be authentic, easy to understand and personable. Hone your message and value proposition so that you communication stream to the market and to your top referrers is crystal clear. 3. Make It Simple No matter the source of your referral, don’t make the process difficult. Invest in technology and systems that create a seamless, mobile-friendly submission process. Less is more. Remove obstacles in the referral process and watch your submissions soar. 4. Support Mobile-First Recruiting In line with making your referral process simple is the next greatest step- making all of your recruiting and content messaging mobile-first. Our lives are on the go and in the moment. A mobile-first recruiting strategy includes partnering with vendors that share this same philosophy and have created user-friendly mobile applications to streamline your referral process. 5. Communicate Frequently Communicate often and on a frequent basis. Depending on your needs, this could be 5 times a week and others once a week. Figure out what works best for you, but keep it fresh and frequent. One of the best ways to reach your referrers and build the pipeline is through a strategic texting strategy. We know that more people check text than any other medium of communication. Start here and then grow. 6. Personal Touch While it’s great to have a lofty and relatable employment brand, people want to know what’s in it for them. Allow your messaging, your email and text campaigns, and your social strategy to relate to your ideal candidate persona. Make it as personal as possible when reaching out. While the person you reached out to may not be the best fit, they will be more likely to refer a person within their network to you that is the perfect fit. 7. Tap Former Employees While research shows that employee referrals are the pinnacle of a quality hire, the next in line would be your former employees. Harnessing the vast networks of your alumni who have lived and breathed the roles and the culture is crucial. Create alumni networking groups and allow them to work on your behalf to submit candidates that are more than likely a solid fit. 8. Energize Your Talent Community Members Whether you have built a talent community through social, a CRM or a job board, don’t let the opportunity pass you by to truly energize your talent community. Put them in action. Not all members of your talent community will be your next hire, but someone in their network will be. Share content to your community that is easy to share through text or social networks. Share content not just about jobs, but your culture and other relevant events that are happening. 9. Attend Events with High ROI If you have been recruiting for some time you have come to realize that not all events are created equal. When planning your event strategy have your referral pipeline strategy in mind. Focus only on events that members of your talent community, your employees and their networks or alumni may attend. Plan to attend events that increase your ROI by focusing on content management of the event and the communication strategy afterward. 10. Get and Give Feedback Your referral pipeline is living, breathing, ever-changing and developing. To feed its development is to actively gain feedback from those that refer and at the same time give feedback in return. No matter the source of the referral, the goal is a quality hire. Without honest and transparent two-way feedback the pipeline may begin to deteriorate. Be open to all feedback and alter your course accordingly.
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Recruitment Marketing
2 min read
Talent Network Content Tips for Employers
Recently a startling statistic* came to light about employers’ content marketing efforts. Just 5% of Fortune 500 employers with a talent network send actual content (e.g., something other than job openings). That’s not the right way to lure potential applicants. People who sign up to talent networks want more information about your company, your industry and your culture. It’s a chance for employers to nurture relationships, build up their employment brand and be seen as an employer of choice. A jobs only strategy is not going to accomplish those goals. The problem stems from the fact that most talent acquisition departments are not trained content marketers. But, if you regularly collect contact info from those who haven’t applied yet, you need to use a variety of content tactics to encourage them to engage and apply. The good news is that companies are have lots of content to tap into, you just need to know where to look and set up a calendar to help guide your efforts. We’re not saying you need to create 1,000 word blog posts…simple, bite sized nuggets will do the trick. First let’s look at some general guidelines to follow. Your content should be conversational in nature. Keep it informal and authentic. Brevity is your friend. Keep it short, so it is easy to consume. Be visual. Images and video clips are attention getters. Have a call to action to learn more or apply. With those rules in mind, here’s a list of content ideas that should be part of your regular publishing across your email campaigns and social media channels. Promotions and New Hires Show off employees who are being promoted so you can highlight people who are progressing throughout their career and finding advancement with your organization. Candidates want to know that their next employer will offer opportunities to learn and grow professionally. Similarly, it’s also a great idea to welcome your new hires as part of an onboarding strategy. Take a picture of them and welcome them to the team via your social media (after getting their permission of course). It demonstrates that you represent a dynamic organization and provides you a stead drip of content to fuel interest from other prospects. Important Industry News Keep your candidates informed on important news and events happening in your industry. Become a resource for their career and keep them up to date on how your company’s activities fit within those trends. Tips on Applying Let candidates in on how to apply and what to expect after they do. The more you can prep them for how your hiring process works, the more thoughtful and professional your organization will look. If your application process looks accessible and well organized, top talent will apply. If it looks like a dehumanized black hole, they won’t. Also, offer them tips on how to impress as they interview with you. Insurance giant GEICO does a good job at this. Employee Spotlights Ask your star employees to answer some questions about their experiences with your organization and use that as content. Integrate their answers into short stories on your career site and let your candidates read about the people they will be working with. Reasons to Work There From perks to benefits to culture, every company has something about them that is unique. Use that as talking points for why you should work there. Do a quick survey of your employees and ask them what their favorite aspect of working at your company is. Their responses can then be used as content pieces to attract new talent. Finally, don’t be afraid to show off your employees in action through video and pictures. Today’s candidates, especially the next generation, love visual content. So, be sure to show off your office environment to help them get a peek inside. *Source: Smashfly
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2 min read
Proof You Need to Adopt Text Recruiting Now
Many traditional communication channels that recruiters rely on have become dramatically less effective for reaching potential new hires in the past few years. As a recruiter, you have probably already seen that it has gotten much harder to establish first contact with candidates and to maintain contact over the course of the hiring process. We built Emissary because we believe text recruiting is a much better way to reach candidates in many instances. And, our customers see proof everyday that it works (texts typically have 95%+ open rates). But, many other indicators and outside sources point in the same direction. Below are several statistics that demonstrate why employers need to adopt texting as a primary recruiting method. Americans Only Answer Half of All Calls They Receive on their Mobile Phones Hiya, a scam call protection firm found that only 52 percent of all calls Americans receive on their phones are answered, which means that almost half of calls are sent to voicemail. And when the call comes from an unidentified number, the statistic rises with more than three in four (76%) calls going unanswered. Robocalls Are Becoming Pervasive According to new data from First Orion, a call protection company, the amount of junk calls will reach 46% by mid-year 2019. By the end of this year, that amount is projected to finally cross the halfway point, meaning that half of all calls will be spam. Scammers have also shifted almost completely to mobile. In 2017, 17% of scam and spam calls were to cell phones; now the number is at 69%, according to First Orion. InMails are Becoming Less Effective Although email continues to be important, with 38% of recruiters ranking it as the preferred outreach method, Linkedin inMails (13%) have dropped to 3rd place in the recent recruiting automation survey conducted by Entelo – a significant decrease since 2018’s report (30%). Even sponsored InMails only average 25%-45% open rates according to LinkedIn. Email Open Rates are in Decline According to a 2018 survey by Hubspot, which examined 25 million emails across 28 industries, the average open rate across all industries was 32%. That means 68% of targets never see the message, let alone take action! According to another survey by Mailchimp, Recruitment and Staffing emails have an average open rate of 19.33%, notably worse performance vs. other industries. Click through rates, the best measure of real candidate engagement, are painfully low as well. The same Mailchimp survey stated that emails have a click through rate (CTR) of just 1.81%. If your candidates are not responding to your calls, emails or InMails, then give some serious thought to the data points above and consider the ROI of a text recruiting platform. Every employer needs to make their messaging more accessible. Texting is the answer to filling your talent pipeline faster and more efficiently. Schedule a demo with us and find out how text recruiting can help you communicate more efficiently.
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Recruiting
2 min read
How Recruiters Can Avoid Being Ghosted
If you recruit today you’ve probably noticed that “ ghosting” may be creeping into your hiring process by candidates who consider themselves in charge due to a tight labor market. A recent Washington Post article highlighted that candidates are blowing off interviews and workers are turning into no-shows, unable to be contacted further. It’s especially problematic in lower wage positions. For years, candidates had been on the receiving end of this issue but now the tables have turned on hiring organizations. Until the job market shifts, candidates know they are in demand and will continue this behavior. The question now is what can you do about it. For companies there are things you can do to minimize the chances of being ghosted. You’ll need to take a hard look at your hiring process and tighten up loose ends to make it more candidate friendly. Here’s five ways to do that. Tell Them Where They Stand Let Candidates know where they are in the recruiting process (and what to expect). Though keeping candidates in the loop can be time consuming there are some software solutions to help automate this. Many applicant tracking systems have built in reminder emails you can use to provide feedback to candidates as they progress through your process. Go beyond the standard “Thank you for applying” response by telling them what to expect next. By detailing what will happen to their application once they apply you can make the process more transparent. Give them a time frame for their resume review and tell them what lies ahead. Constant communication is key and text recruiting reminders would serve you well to implement. Make a Point to Follow Up If a candidate goes dark on you send a reminder email or text but don’t be pushy about it. Share a piece of content about your industry that they would find interesting. By adding value to your conversation you may be able to grab their attention. Or go a step further by adding phrases like “2nd Attempt” or “I’m concerned” to the subject line or opening sentence. This tactic works well in sales so it should also help you get a response if they realize you are wondering about them. Make It About Them If your candidates are ghosting you after the interview you may need to look at that phase of your hiring. Be sure you are asking about their career goals and how they might align with your career advancement possibilities. Make it clear that you have their long term interest in mind as they proceed throughout the interview process. The more invested you are in them, the more they will care about communicating with you. Establish Clear Timelines When it comes to making an offer to a candidate have both your recruiter and hiring manager follow through. The recruiter should extend the offer via phone followed by an email with the official offer letter. The offer letter should have a clear timeline of the deadline for which the candidate must make a decision. Once accepted, have the hiring manager place a call to the candidate to welcome them to the team and set expectations for the start date. Fill the Cracks Every major employer has candidates that fall through the cracks. It is still a common problem in the job search process. Most Applicant Tracking Systems allow you to see if a candidate has been “touched”. Dedicate a time each week to review new applications and avoid the dreaded resume black hole. Every candidate that takes the time to apply deserves an acknowledgement that they have submitted their application properly along with a yes or no vote at some point for moving forward. One recruiter we know goes a step further. Stacy Zapar, a third party recruiter in California does her own “Friday Feedback Blitz” when she sets aside a few hours each Friday afternoon to update every candidate in her pipeline on where they stand. Ghosting is likely to continue in the job market until some kind of economic downturn hits. But by focusing on the tips above, your company can avoid being a victim of this new trend.
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Emissary is a candidate engagement platform built to empower recruiters with efficient, modern communication tools that work in harmony with other recruiting solutions.
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