When (and what) to text?

Texts have a lot going for them. They’re cheap to send, quick to create, and delivered almost instantaneously. Even their drawbacks (they’re short) can work for you (so make your message short and sweet). Best of all, nearly every working professional has a mobile device that is on their person, and physically turned on, between eight and 18 hours per day.

Despite all these advantages, a lot of recruiters are still unclear on the best way to use text messages to their advantage. We turned to the blogs to find out the best ways to deploy a truly killer text.

TIP 1: Create an easy way for candidates to follow up using “text and tag” services. 

Kristin Gissaro at TalentMash recommends using text and tag so jobseekers can have a shortcut to research a job later. A simple message similar to an American Idol vote (”text the word JOB to 12345″) is easy to remember or jot down. This is great when the job is being advertised in a medium that goes by quickly, such as radio or TV.

TIP 2: Text time-sensitive messages.

Texting feels urgent; use that feeling to your advantage. Some issues are truly time-sensitive, and while texting lacks formality, a candidate on the road to an interview will appreciate a last-minute reminder or agenda change sent to their phone — not to their e-mail. In writing about the way mobile communications are changing the talent acquisition model, Izzy Leizerowitz at Mobile Marketer has some great suggestions about the way text messages can be used to save time and help candidates be agile when faced with last-minute changes.

For potential candidates the recruiter will use mobile technology to send interview schedules, briefly write up job descriptions, maintain employer contact information, and get directions to make sure the candidate has everything in the palm of his or her hand before going to the interview and is very well prepared. Using common short codes the recruiter is able to provide the ability for the candidate to respond to his messages, confirm the interview and send a message if he gets delayed.

TIP 3: Texts are great for transactional messages.

They may not be the best for nuanced discussions or salary negotiations, but texts are fabulously direct when used for simple transactions such as timesheets, referrals, and reminders. Thomas Shaw of Recruitment Directory shares his favorites, complete with sample text: 

• Notify job seekers when a new role matches their profile “Thomas, 2 new roles with CLIENT, PAY, LOCATION. For more info URL”
• Remind candidates about attending interview. “Thomas, just a reminder you have a interview with CLIENT, TIME/DATE, LOCATION. Problems call me”
• Administration “Thomas, 5 new resumes from JOB BOARD” or “Thomas, JOB AD TITLE is about to close”
• Referrals “Do you know a JOBTITLE? LOCATION, PAY RATE, REFERAL REWARD more info URL”

So there you have it — three tips for making texting work for you. They’re easy to remember when you consider that they all play to the greatest strength of a text: the fact that it is short, quick, and direct. If you deploy your texts according to these rules, you’ll be seeing great success in 140 characters or less.

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