How to use conversational business texting to attract passive candidates

1. Look up your candidates’ “professional exhaust.” See if they have written white papers or blog posts that show their subject matter expertise. Or if they belong to a professional community online, join that and see how they interact with others. This will help you write more personalized texts when you’re ready to make contact.
2. Understand why candidates might be motivated to shift jobs. Can you offer something that they’re not getting at their current workplace? Discuss with your client on career advancement opportunities that you can offer, as that is often a key motivator for candidates to change jobs.

How a recruiter used conversational business texting to convert a passive candidate into an active one

Here’s a text message Dave at Top Talent, a technical recruiter, sent Ben, a developer:

The URL had the job description and a short form Ben could submit if he had interest in the position. Ben got an automated acknowledgement text message, mentioning by when he could expect an update.

Ben wants to know what would be the team size, so he texts Dave.

Dave had previously had a detailed discussion to understand the job role with the client, so he has this information. He texts back with an answer.

The next day, Dave texts Ben an update. This way, he’s building trust, by texting Ben back in the period when he said that he would reply.

Once Ben and Dave set up a time to talk, Dave tells Ben that Gods of Gaming will have a test, so he should be prepared. He also texted a URL where Ben could download pre-interview documents.

On Thursday morning, Dave texted Ben a reminder and the interview location, to reduce the chances of a no-show.

Ben texted Dave after the interview about how he did.

Dave then checked with Gods of Gaming about how Ben did and by when they would make a decision.

Once Dave followed up with Kate after a week, he learnt that Ben had got the job. He sent a congratulatory text.

At the same time, Dave texted the other candidates to update them and motivate them to stay in Top Talent’s texting database.

Most candidates replied YES, choosing to stay in Top Talent’s texting program.

Nurturing passive talent with conversational business texting

More than a third of North American firms make less than 25% of their total placements from candidates already in their ATS or CRM, according to a 2017 Bullhorn^[2] study.

Top Talent kept sending career tips to its database to keep them engaged. This ensured that the candidates remembered them when a suitable position came up and Top Talent contacted them. Here’s an example nurturing text message-

An automated message was sent every quarter to check which candidates in the database were now looking for jobs. Here’s what it said.

Those who replied entered Dave’s list of prospective candidates, widening his talent pool. This made it easier for him to restart a conversation with them, as they knew him and no icebreakers were required. He could then fill more open positions and reduce his time-to-hire, too.

This is just one example of how conversational texting can help you turn passive talent into active candidates. Now it’s time for you to use your hands.

Text DEMO, FirstName, EmailID to
36343 (USA),
61427142795 (AUS),
00447860017097 (UK & Other Countries).

^[1] Why & How People Change Jobs [PDF]
https://business.linkedin.com/content/dam/business/talent-solutions/global/en_us/job-switchers/PDF/job-switchers-global-report-english.pdf

^[2] 2017 North American Staffing & Recruiting Trends Report: Above and Beyond Business as Usual [PDF]
http://pages.bullhorn.com/rs/131-YQK-568/images/2017_Trends_Report_NA.pdf

The average cost-per-hire is $4,129, while the average time it takes to fill a given position is 42 days, according to the Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM’s) new Human Capital Benchmarking Report. [PDF] With tight budgets a reality everywhere today, it’s unlikely you’ll have more recruiters to help you quickly attract the kind of talent you’re looking for. “As the hiring volume rises, recruiters need to get creative and automate their workflow,” says the LinkedIn study.

Efficiency in Hiring is Important to Companies and Candidates

Phone calls are time consuming, as you have to first get your candidates to pick up. If they’re currently employed, they might be reluctant to take your call at their workplace. Then, you have to explain the job details to each candidate. Email is unlikely to get you the response rate you want, as your email might get lost in the hundreds of other emails every inbox gets today. Both of these communication methods end up requiring lots of back and forth, adding time to the hiring process.

SMS texting is a less crowded space. It’s also unobtrusive- your candidates can message you back even while they’re at their workplace, enabling you to converse with them in real time. You can segment your database to message candidates who qualify for a job position. Then, you can send them a bulk message about the position, asking them to reply using keywords to express their interest.

SMS texting allows recruiters to quickly filter for candidates who match the position’s requirements and are interested to create a shortlist. Once you’ve culled your list, you can set up automated texts to send based on workflows from your CRM, so you can begin a conversation with candidates before your competition has a chance. Making the hiring process more efficient is also important to candidates. A study by Robert Half found that 39% of candidates lose interest and move on when faced with a long hiring process.

It’s also important to create a talent pool of passive candidates and build relationships with potential talent so they’re predisposed toward your company when the right position becomes available. Nurturing passive candidates with texting is easy. For example, scheduling bi-weekly texts that share valuable career tips help candidates come to rely on you for advice. This proactive approach, coupled with understanding client needs, will help you accelerate your time-to-hire when your clients call with a new need for talent.

Shorten Time-to-Hire with SMS Texting

Top Talent, a recruiting firm was tasked with finding salespeople for a consumer durables company. As a small firm, they knew they couldn’t reach out by phone to the hundreds of candidates they needed to contact in the time period their client had specified.

Recruiters had been seeing progressively lower responses to their emails to potential candidates over the last few quarters. Top Talent looked for alternatives and discovered that texting was a channel gaining traction with candidates.

Here’s how they put their plan in action.

First, they filtered candidates with sales experience in their database to create a list. Then, they composed their text, personalizing it with the candidate name and including details of the position. They chose to use a keyword-based flow to allow candidates interested in the position to reply to schedule a phone call.

Then, Top Talent set up a workflow to trigger scheduling messages to confirm the phone appointment and send reminders to reduce no shows. They also set up a workflow to notify a team member when a candidate replied to a text.

This is what David, a candidate for the sales position, experienced.

Having spent a couple of years in sales in his current job, David was looking for opportunities as his career path with the company had no growth opportunities. While out on his sales beat, he was unable to check email as internet connectivity was poor. Just then, his phone beeped and he saw a new text message.

David was keen to work at Big Buy and immediately replied MORE to the message. He got another text.

Ron’s colleague, Pam received a text alert of David’s reply.

Pam texted David a screening question:

David replied:

Able to predict a cultural match with the client, Pam set up an appointment with David and texted him the details.

David spoke with Pam, and got an idea of what Big Buy was looking for in terms of a culture fit and agreed it sounded like a good match. Due to the speed of the conversation, Top Talent was able to quickly set up an interview for David with the client.

David aced the interview and got the job two weeks later. Pam kept him upbeat about his status during that time with several texts per week that let him know where the client was in making its decision.

By shrinking the hiring cycle, Top Talent made its client very happy because their average time to hire in the past had been nearly six weeks. David was hired in three. Top Talent also improved its client relationship and the opportunity for placing candidates it will need in the future.

This is just one example of how text messaging will aid you in attracting, engaging, and placing quality talent faster.