Across the recruiting landscape adoption of text messaging as a primary means of reaching candidates is growing rapidly. Each day, recruiters are using text recruiting to communicate with their prospects to schedule interviews, clear up questions and send reminders. But where else in the process can texting add value?
Here are some ideas/opportunities:
- Apply Reminders – Applications get abandoned far more often than they get completed… almost 10X more often. But, many of the people that abandon are qualified and interested in the job. Employers can increase their ROI on existing recruitment marketing spend by letting candidates sign up for text/SMS reminders to apply. Click through rates and apply completions from reminders are very high. Emissary offers an apply reminders widget that can be setup with very little effort. .
- Application Status – Some ATS providers offer application status updates to candidates, but status emails often get lost in the shuffle or get misdirected to the spam folder. Employers need a better approach to maximize engagement. The candidate experience is too important not to keep your candidates in the know about where they stand. And, communicating well enhances your employment brand.
- Content for Candidates – Do you prep candidates before they come to interview? Consider sending them tips and company background to ensure that they see your organization as an employer of choice in a competitive recruiting environment.
- Interview Details – After the interview is scheduled, a brief text with the time/address/directions should be sent. You might even think about including links to the LinkedIn profiles of those employees that they will be interviewing with.
- Internal Communication – Text recruiting tools like Emissary are also great for communication with your employees. Need to make sure everyone knows when open enrollment is about to end? Texting gets message through more reliably than email. Need to notify workers about a weather related facility closure? Texting is the fastest option. Got a hard to fill job? Text it to your employees and ask them for a referral.
- Apply by Text – Job applications are hard, especially in a mobile first world. But, employers can capture short form applications or even run through a longer list of screening questions on an automated basis using chatbots and AI in conjunction with texting. Though you can’t really collect resumes by text, this kind of recruiting automation can be transformational, especially for high volume employers, because it delivers results at scale while freeing the recruiting team for high value work.
What else do you think texting can do for recruiting? We’d love to hear your ideas!
