Texting in recruiting is becoming one of the must have tools for recruiting in today's job market. I'm curious how many of you have begun to use or investigate its usage?

If you think about the use of SMS vs traditional email sends you can see why it makes recruiting much more effective and speeds up the process. Typical email open rates from an ATS can be 30%-50% but a text message will be open 98% of the time!

There are a number of text recruiting options out there ranging from simple tools (like TextRequest) that just overlay a texting function onto your CRM or ATS to more complete functionality that fully integrates into your ATS. Players like Text Recruit and Emissary are doing more of the heavy lifting when it comes to embedding text into multiple uses cases.

Below is a good list of ways to leverage text recruiting.

Candidate Re-engagement

Many recruiting organizations already have a large database of interesting prospects in their ATS. Text messaging is an extremely effective way to reach out to those contacts at scale to rapidly generate interest in new positions. 

Campus Recruiting

SMS ‘short codes’ are five to six digit numbers that are often paired with keywords for use in text recruiting (ex. ‘Text JOBS to 12345’). Employers utilize them on signage at on-campus events to maximize ROI. They allow students to register interest in learning more about opportunities, even if they’re not able to speak with a company representative directly.

Initial Contact

Texting candidates to confirm that their job application has been received and is under review can be a great way to keep them engaged in the process. It makes the recruiting process feel more personal and less like a black hole.

Scheduling

Interview coordination is ideally suited to texting. Many candidates will already need to consult the calendar on their mobile phone, so responding from the same device is the natural choice. Some organizations text links to scheduling apps like Calendly to streamline things further.

Screening

High volume recruiters simply cannot respond to most applicants individually. Using text, they can qualify applicants faster using response templates and automated screening questions. Advanced recruitment texting platforms can be programmed to send back follow up questions, job application links or other content based on candidate responses.

The team at Emissary actually has a great guide for text recruiting if you want to learn more.