Best Practices - Texting Candidates

Clear communication with candidates is so important when you're hiring.  Hire has built-in options for emails that are accessible by any user right on the candidates' profile.  If you'd like to text with candidates, have some tips and tricks to get started - as well as a software suggestion to text right from your Hire account.

Best Practices for Texting Candidates

Always be professional

Texting can feel informal - but be sure you are using complete sentences and correct grammar, just as you would in an email.  If emojis are on brand for your company, that's fine - but keep them to a minimum.  And restrict your messages to communication about the hiring process.

Brief is best

Keep texting simple and short messages - like interview reminders or quick follow-ups if you haven't heard back.  Email is better for anything more than a sentence or two.  

Tell the candidate who you are!

Make sure you introduce yourself and your company with every communication.  They likely do not have your number or information saved and may have several applications open at different jobs!

Pay attention to timing

The best time to send a text message is between 9:00 am and 12:00 pm in the candidate's time zone.  Never text outside of business hours, except when initiated by the candidate - for example, if they are texting to reschedule an interview.  It's appropriate to confirm you've received a message after hours.

When not to text

Don't deliver job or interview results via text - and never reject a candidate via a text message!  If a candidate isn't responsive via text, discontinue the communication, and reach out to them via email or a phone call.  If texting becomes drawn out or extended, switch to another form of communication - long messages can be confusing. They may even get split up or not delivered in the correct order.  Be sure your communication remains clear!

Communicating via Text in Hire

If you'd like to communicate via text - perhaps to send out interview confirmations or gauge interest with a prospect - we suggest using the external program Rectxt.

Rectxt is a Google Chrome extension allowing you to text candidates from their profile within Hire.  It includes options for mass messages to groups and easy unsubscribe options.

Using Rectxt with Hire

To start, you'll want to create your Rectxt account, select your subscription level, and log in.  Follow the prompts to install the Rectxt Google Chrome extension.

Texting Candidates

From your Hire account, navigate to the candidate you'd like to text.  You should see a Rectxt icon appear next to any valid phone numbers.

Click on the phone number or the Rectxt icon from the extension toolbar to get started.  A pop-up will appear, and the phone number should auto-populate.  Fill in the rest of the information to create the candidate profile. Rectxt allows you to group candidates, so select from the Talent Pools drop-down to further organize candidates.

Once the candidate has been imported into Rectxt,  click the Text Now button to compose your message.

Write your message, and then send it to the candidate!

The message will be sent as a text to the candidate, and they can unsubscribe or reply from their phone.  When they reply, you will receive a Chrome alert, and the incoming message will appear in your chat.

You can also mass message groups of candidates - Rectxt's talent pools - in the Mass Message tab.

To search through chats or candidates you've added into Rectxt, toggle to that specific tab. 

Important Notes

For additional information on Rectxt, check out their support documents or visit their pricing page. And if you'd like to see a full Hire integration with Rectxt, please let us know.