Whether you are texting the dreamy hunk from the wine bar, the cute girl from trivia night, or even just your candidates: writing the perfect text can be intimidating. Since when did 160 characters become so scary and why make it a part of recruiting?  

Texting is important because 90% of job seekers are using mobile devices in their job search, and despite the initial intimidation, text messaging candidates is one of the most effective forms of mobile recruiting. Texting typically generates 3x the response rate of emails and phone calls.  

Mobile recruiting by text can add value throughout the entire recruitment funnel, and is best built as a complete hiring strategy all the way from your first introduction to employee onboarding. Here are 7 recruiting text message templates you should be sending to candidates.

Making the Introduction

When a candidate signs up to join your candidate database the worst thing you can do is sent a generic email that sounds like: “Yeah, we received your information. Hold tight.” Candidates want to know that their information is being read by a human being and that your talent acquisition team is paying attention.

A message like the one above not only notifies the candidate your received their information and directs them to your careers page but also begins to build a strong rapport. It also strikes a tone that is professional and accessible making it extremely easy for the candidate to reply.

Tell Me About Your Background

Asking the same qualification questions over and over can be a major time waste for recruiters, and can make us burn out quickly. Automating these questions via text message makes sure you are only spending time with the right candidates. Consider these text messages:

Followed up with a question about the candidate’s experience level like this:

If the candidate is not a good fit for the position add them to your nurturing campaign, if they are a good fit then schedule an interview.

Just Checking In (Nurturing)

Turning down a candidate is never fun, but how you do it can make candidates promoters or detractors of your employer brand. A “No” message to candidates from recruiters should always include at least one of the following forms of feedback:

A. How to improve their candidacy for similar positions in the future;

B. How to stay in touch with the talent acquisition team should future opening emerge; and

C. Referrals and even introductions to similar employers that are hiring.

After providing feedback, you should routinely schedule nurturing texts to keep candidates engaged like:

The Big Interview

If the candidate is qualified and passes the initial screening it’s time to get started with the interviews. Start out by scheduling a phone screen:

If everything goes well...

And a quick reminder the day before the in-person interview can keep your hiring process on schedule, and keep your time-to-fill low.

To recap, job seekers are spending more time on their mobile devices than ever. Recruiters that can leverage mobile to better engage candidates will have a leg up on attracting more talent.

Text messaging for recruiting, like all new platforms, requires practice and these templates are a great place to start. For more great tips on using mobile throughout the recruitment funnel, you can download the Mobile Recruiting 2.0 eBook.

Bio: Birch Faber

Birch is the Marketing Manager at TextRecruit, a mobile recruiting platform that helps attract and engage candidates via text message. He loves writing about how technology is changing the way we work, and frequenting craft beer festivals in the Bay Area. You can find him on Twitter @BirchF.