Turn to Texting to Find Your Next Job

Seems like everyone these days is glued to their phones. Some people are on Instagram, making fun of their frenemy’s new haircut while others are playing Candy Crush or whatever this week’s equivalent is. But with over a billion smartphones sold a year, is there anything better we can be doing with our phones? Glad you asked because the answer is yes, we can get jobs with them!

Text recruitment is a growing hiring tactic in the HR world today. Employers know that text has a 97% open rate, which means more exposure for their company and their job ads. As with most new things though, text raises concerns amongst job seekers.

Concern: Is text recruitment professional?

Historically, texting is known as a very casual form of communication so I get why job seekers may be hesitant to engage. The thing is though, the employer initiated. You aren’t sending the CEO a text saying “hey man, can I have a job?” Most likely, you’ll be sending a one-word answer, indicating whether or not you are interested. Even if you are texting with the recruiter, just keep in mind that you’re texting a professional, not a friend. Refrain from using abbreviations or slang and you’ll be fine.

Concern: What if I have a typo?

Typos happen whether you’re communicating on LinkedIn, email, or text. While it’s not the end of the world, a simple proofread of any text will help ensure your message is mistake free. If you’re really worried, turn off autocorrect before responding to avoid misspellings being replaced by wonky words. If you treat a recruitment text like you treat a recruitment email, you will come off as intelligent and professional.

Concern: I don’t want to be harassed.

As I mentioned earlier, this recruitment tactic is still up-and-coming. Companies like Nexxt promote it by connecting employers with a pool of candidates open to job opportunities via text. With these mass communication messages, an easy opt-out is required by law. This means if you’re not into it, you can simply remove yourself from the list! Just remember, recruitment texting is like a job posting being sent directly to you –if you opt-out you will no longer be sent opportunities.

Concern: Doesn’t it lose a personal touch?

Let’s face it, to most people today, texting is personal. It’s actually the preferred method of communication for candidates between ages 18 and 44.  Plus, text recruitment doesn’t necessarily have to be a mass communication. Companies like TextRecruit help recruiters connect with candidates one-on-one. It’s just like a phone call, but better! Keep in mind though that different laws apply to one-on-one communication compared to mass messages. Either way, you won’t be bothered any more than you would during a ‘traditional’ recruitment process.

Fun Facts:

If you’re still on the fence about embracing this method, here are some fun facts that just might make up your mind!

1. Only 32% of candidates consider text recruitment unprofessional. That means 68% of your job seeking competition is embracing this tactic – and getting the jobs.
2. 75% of the candidate pool can’t respond to calls. If you’re in the majority of candidate who are working full-time while job hunting, then you probably fit into that stat. So, embrace texting because 25% can still answer calls and you don’t want to respond once it’s too late.
3. The average person checks their phone 150 times a day. That’s a lot of times! Might as well make the most of it and have job alerts come to your phone. We both know you’ll see them!

Still undecided? Remember, you can unsubscribe at any time, and will be participating in the latest recruitment trend. Just think, instead or spamming your friends with boredom Snapchats, you can be locking up interviews left and right.

You can opt-in to receive job texts by clicking here.