Should I text my recruitment candidates?

Mankind sends and receives over six billion text messages every day! In the mobile-first age, it has become the quickest and easiest way to communicate with our peers.

So why is the trusty SMS still underutilised by recruiters when contacting their candidates? Here we explore the benefits of using text messages in recruitment, and how you can make the process easier…

Benefits of using text messages in recruitment

Many recruiters prefer emailing candidates to communicating via text; it’s often seen as the more appropriate platform for the professional setting. 

However, there are a number of benefits that make texting the more effective choice for your candidate comms…

– Speed: 90% of texts are read within 5 minutes!

Did you know that 90% of text messages are read within 5 minutes?

Think of it like this: how often do you check your emails when you’re out of the office? Now compare that with the number of times you look at your phone in a day – or even in an hour! 

Texting applicants is an effective way to speed up recruitment response rates, making the hiring process quicker and more efficient for your colleagues and candidates. It also ensures they never miss out on vital information, as is all too easy with email.

– Efficiency: Candidate SMS comms can be automated!

Contacting candidates individually is a time-consuming process. Luckily, SMS comms can be automated in many cases, allowing you to keep candidates in the loop without the unnecessary hassle!

You can even schedule text messages to be distributed at specific recruitment stages, such as receipt of application, interview booking, selection and onboarding.

– Visibility: Keep candidates engaged with your employer brand

How many of your friends still use email in their everyday, non-working lives? With the accessibility of instant messaging on our mobile phones, the answer is probably ‘not many’…

Unless candidates are obsessively checking their email inboxes, there’s a good chance they’ll miss out on your employer brand collateral. This can quickly lead to a disconnect in engagement, increasing the risk of applicant drop-off early in the process.

Texting candidates helps to keep them informed and engaged with your employer brand, and the opportunity in question. This is crucial for delivering an effective hiring journey, and giving new recruits the best start possible with your business.

Can I text candidates directly from my ATS?

Quick answer – YES!

Texting candidates no longer requires you to pick up a mobile handset. Using personal or business mobiles can be fiddly for recruiters – especially when dealing with multiple applicants at once!

Thanks to contact scheduling automations within your ATS, it’s possible to draft, schedule, and send text messages to candidates straight from your hiring dashboard.

This allows anyone from your hiring team to respond to candidates’ queries and submissions, without the need for individual candidate-recruiter relationships.

Not only does this make life easier for your hiring team – it also ensures candidates always receive a response from your business, even when their specific contact is unavailable!

Read more: How to make recruitment mobile-friendly

Read more: Why are my recruitment candidates ignoring me?

Introducing…

Talos ATS: Automate your recruitment communications

Want to automate your recruitment comms across email and SMS channels?

Talos ATS comes with a fully-integrated candidate communication suite, allowing you to create, schedule, and send email/SMS comms directly from your hiring dashboard!

SMS/Email automation for candidate updates

Our contact automation suite allows you to schedule personalised SMS/Email communications to be delivered automatically at specific hiring stages. 

360-degree recruitment software

We’ve combined all the next-generation hiring tools into one user-friendly, mobile-compatible platform – making it easier than ever to manage hiring on the go.

Talos ATS is the only tool you’ll ever need to manage recruitment. Say goodbye to multiple software subscriptions, and hello to our user-friendly, all-in-one recruitment solution!

Intuitive hiring automations

The platform comes with a number of intuitive ATS automations, making life easier for your HR team, and promoting a positive candidate experience.

These include:

• Automated data streaming from application forms
• Automated screening & progression of your strongest applicants
• SMS/Email automations at each progression stage
• Workflow management & notifications for your hiring team

Discover an easier way to manage recruitment: