So you’ve got a job opening. What now? There’s always someone close by who needs a job, but recruiting top-level talent isn’t always easy. Traditional methods may eventually garner you a decent pool of applicants, but there has to be a better, smarter way… and there is! It turns out that texting isn’t just for gossip and meme trading anymore. Some 75 percent of mobile phones are now SMS-enabled, with that number expected to hit almost 90 percent in about 10 years. People are more reachable by text than ever before, and that means they’re primed and waiting to be contacted by your HR department. Here’s how you can be a better recruiter using automated SMS:
Set Up a Subscription List
Automated SMS messaging requires an SMS list, which means you need to start by setting one up. Offer potential applicants the ability to opt-in for text messaging when they sign up for job alerts, submit an application, use an online form to ask for more information about our company, fill out an info card at a job fair – wherever you’re searching for talent, give yourself a forward-thinking, efficient way to contact that talent by getting permission for SMS.
Send out Job Alerts
Now that you’ve got an SMS list built up, you have a captive audience to whom you can send your job alerts as positions become available. One of the bonuses of SMS lists is that you can send group messages; not only does this save you time by allowing you to contact potential applicants in bulk, you can also organize one large list into sub-lists tagged with demographic data or department names so you can target only those smaller groups that are best suited for the opening currently being addressed.
Ask for Applications
Once a job seeker has indicated interest, you can text asking them to file an app. Don’t forget to include a link in the text that leads right to the job application itself, as well as a follow-up texting letting them know where they can contact you for more information or read a full job listing to make sure it’s a position they’re interested in. It’s not just initial applications you can ask for either. There are some questions recruiters forget to ask on apps, and sometimes the questions you do ask illicit answers that practically demand a follow up that can easily be asked and answered by text.
Remind Recruits About Important Dates
We’d all like to think that an upcoming job interview is the most important thing in our recruits’ lives, but the truth is – sometimes stuff happens. We’re all incredibly busy, and sending out a reminder of an appointment can prevent everybody from wasting time on a no-show. Text reminders are also an ideal way to nudge applicants who are missing one or two uploads such as a professional letter of recommendation or W-2 form.
Continue Texting After Onboarding
There is evidence that job applicants like interacting through text, but that preference doesn’t stop once the hiring process is over. Consider that 60 percent of consumers surveyed said they actually preferred customer service representatives to contact them via text rather than by phone. People like having a way to communicate that doesn’t require muting the television or having a private voice call in a public place. Use SMS with current employees to update.
There are a lot of benefits to mobile marketing automation that will likely eventually change you company in incredibly exciting ways, but for now it’s time to concentrate on recruiting via text. It’s an exciting opportunity to connect with applicants in an almost immediate and very efficient way, and it’s set to completely alter how you find the people you want to work with most.
What’s Next?
What do you think of what I’ve covered so far? Will you consider automated SMS for your next job recruit? I would love to read your comments below.
Author Biography
Sophorn Chhay
Sophorn is the marketing guy at Trumpia, the most complete SMS software with mass text messaging, smart targeting and automation.
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