Texting for Recruiting
Candidates apply from their phones, then wait for an email they may never open. Emissary lets recruiters text candidates from inside the ATS to screen, schedule, remind and keep offers warm, with every message logged to the candidate record and every opt-out honored.
Today 11:02 AM
Hi Andre, it's Sam from Northgate Logistics. Thanks for applying for the warehouse associate role. Can you lift 50 lb and work a Sat shift? Reply Y/N. Text STOP to opt out.
Y to both
Great. Pick an interview: Tue 10am, Tue 2pm or Wed 9am. Reply with the one that works.
Tue 2pm
Booked Tue 2pm at 400 Dock Rd. Invite on its way.
Why recruiting teams are moving to text
Between "applied" and "started" there are a dozen small waits: for a screen, a time slot, a reply, an offer, a start date. Each one is a chance for another employer to text first. Most of them can be closed in a sentence.
Two-thirds of job applications are now submitted from a mobile device, and in hospitality, warehousing and manufacturing it is closer to 77%. Those candidates are already holding the one device a text reaches: 98% of U.S. adults own a cellphone.
Appcast · Pew Research Center40% of job seekers lose interest after a week without a response, and a slow process is the most common process-related reason candidates give for ghosting. New hires now field about 16 applications and 2 offers before they start, so the first team to reply usually wins.
Addison Group · Indeed · ZipRecruiter78% of job seekers say they have ghosted an employer. 84% of employers have had candidates skip an interview and 65% have had new hires miss their first day, and 41% of organizations say ghosting is still rising.
Indeed · SHRM“The candidate who went quiet usually wasn't ignoring you. They just never saw the email.”
Use cases
Each one runs from the candidate record in your ATS, so the right candidates get the right message and every reply lands where the whole team can see it.
Book a demoThe moment an application lands, a text confirms it arrived, says what happens next and asks the first knockout question. Candidates who hear back the same day are the ones who don't start interviewing elsewhere.
Three or four knockout questions a candidate can answer on a break instead of a 15-minute phone screen you both have to find time for. Answers write back to the record.
Offer three slots, book the reply, send a reminder the day before and the morning of, with a reply keyword to reschedule. 84% of employers have had candidates no-show an interview.
When a req reopens, text the qualified candidates who applied last time before posting the job. They already know you, and the message costs nothing.
A short code or QR on the hiring sign, the truck, the receipt: a candidate texts a keyword and starts the application from their phone, with the recruiter in the loop from the first message.
A text when the offer goes out, a reminder when it hasn't been signed, and a one-tap way to ask a question. Nearly 60% of employers have had candidates accept a verbal offer and then disappear.
Start time, parking, dress code and documents by text in the week before the start date, and a hello from the manager. 22% of job seekers who ghosted have skipped a first day.
One send to everyone qualified for a hiring event, a new shift pattern or a referral bonus, with replies routed back to the owning recruiter.
A short, honest text to the runners-up, and a check-in two months later. The next req fills from this list.
Every text is sent from a company number, logged to the candidate record, and stops the moment someone replies STOP.
By the numbers
The candidate is on their phone, deciding between you and whoever answers first.
of job applications are submitted from a phone; 77% in hospitality, warehousing and manufacturing
Appcast Recruitment Marketing Benchmarkof job seekers lose interest after a week with no response
Addison Groupof job seekers say they have ghosted an employer
Indeed, 2023of employers have had a candidate skip a scheduled interview
Indeed, The Ghosting Guideof people invited by text answered a survey the same day
Gallup researchers, AAPOR 2025hires every month in the U.S., and 3 million quits to backfill
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, JOLTSCompliance and trust
Texting candidates means texting people who have not yet said yes to you. Emissary honors opt-outs instantly and keeps every message on the record, so recruiters can move fast without a compliance review on each send.
Works with your ATS
Requisitions, candidates, stages and fields come from your ATS; replies, screens and interview bookings go back to it. No exports, no second inbox.
Also integrates with Dayforce, BambooHR, symplr HealthcareSource, BrassRing, Jobscore and Visibility.
All 11 integrations →We'll connect to a sandbox, send a real text to your phone and show you where the reply lands in the candidate record.
Already a customer? Candidate texting is part of every Emissary plan; ask your account team about text-to-apply and campaigns.
Dayforce
BambooHR