There is no denying that the hiring landscape in 2022 has changed. While the current recruitment market is highly competitive, this new landscape has also brought with it unique opportunities for talent acquisition teams. Remote hiring technology has accelerated overnight, and recruiters can now seamlessly hire via SMS and pre-set conversational text message workflows. Not only has text hiring increased throughout the pandemic, many job seekers now see it as a norm. If you’re wondering how to approach text hiring, here are some best practices you can implement in your hiring strategies.
Can you hire with a text message?
Text messaging now plays a large role in the recruitment process. Candidates expect to apply for a job easily and quickly on their phones. Globally, the average mobile application rate is 25% —1 in 4 applications are submitted on a mobile device, according to PageUp research. According to data from GSMA Intelligence, there are 5.31 billion unique mobile phone users in the world, which makes it an easy choice for recruitment marketers who want to reach candidates. Additionally, 48% of job seekers prefer using their mobile devices to search for jobs, with 89% seeing their mobile phone as an essential tool during a job search.
It’s important for hiring teams to reach candidates via their preferred medium, but it is equally essential for hiring teams to execute a well thought out SMS hiring strategy.
How does text hiring work?
Text hiring comes with its own established etiquette and best practices. Here are four steps to ensure success:
- Secure permission from potential candidates to send text messages at the beginning of the hiring process. Including a simple opt-in question within the job application form is a simple way to do this.
- Clearly identify your business within the initial text message along with the name of the recruiter who will be communicating with the candidate.
- Compose text messages using short, concise language to ensure their readability on small phone screens. Keep the language and communication professional by spelling out words entirely and avoiding emojis and slang.
- Track and organize communications using a dedicated recruitment marketing platform. The purpose of text hiring is to save time, not to lengthen or complicate the process.
What are the benefits of text hiring?
- Higher engagement rates: Almost 100% of mobile users read all of their text messages. That is a significantly higher open rate when compared to email’s 20% open rate .
- Faster response rate: 50% of mobile users respond to their text messages within three minutes, with 58.7% responding within five minutes. Quicker responses to recruitment communications results in an overall faster hiring process. Not only will a fast hiring process save your business money, it will give you the advantage in a highly competitive job market.
- Reduce interview no-shows: Sending text message reminders ahead of scheduled interviews reduces the chance a potential candidate misses an interview with your hiring team. This is why 41% of employers in the U.S. use text messages to schedule job interviews.
What are the challenges of text hiring?
- Potentially costly for candidates: Not every candidate has unlimited text messaging on their cell phone plan, making text hiring a costly process for them. It’s important to get approval from a candidate before using SMS messaging in the hiring process.
- Complicated communication tracking: Texting is not the only medium your business will utilize during the hiring process. Adding an extra communication method may complicate your hiring team’s workflow. It’s important to find a tracking system that works seamlessly with your texting platform to ensure a smooth implementation of SMS messaging.
- Maintaining consistent messaging: It is important to train your hiring team properly with software that ensures professional communication before using texting messages within your hiring process.
When used strategically as part of a recruitment process, text hiring is a great way to ensure your messages and communications get read. In this fast-paced, remote and competitive job market, text hiring is here to stay. With Clinch, your hiring team will have the proper tools to swiftly move candidates through the hiring pipeline. Clinch’s Text Engage platform allows your team to communicate with hard-to-reach job seekers on the devices they use every day —all while tracking communications seamlessly.
