It might happen. In a tight labor market, employers are looking for ways to grab the attention of candidates, save money on quickly getting information on potential job seekers and stay in touch with job seekers. Text messaging, online chat and other technologies offer hiring companies more cost-efficient and streamlined platforms for recruiting and interviewing job candidates.
There are even companies which perform these tasks for employers. Mya Systems, which opened in 2016, works with several large staffing firms and more than 40 Fortune 500 companies, and uses “conversational” artificial intelligence to text with applicants about their qualifications, availabilities and interviewing logistics. Canvas, which utilizes machine-generated questions and human recruiters to message with candidates, describes itself as “the world’s first text-based interviewing platform.” TextRecruit and Trumpia also provide these types of services.
Like email when it first became a part of the hiring process, even Mya Systems and Canvas admit they need to be careful not to seem too intrusive. Eyal Grayevsky, CEO of Maya Systems, says his company is in talks with major job boards to see whether they could contact people who have signed up previously to see whether they’re currently looking.
Text-based recruiting is largely being used for high-volume categories such as retail, food service, nursing and customer service. Canvas says they’ve used texting to recruit positions such as welders, machinists, graphic designers and software engineers.
Josh Bersin, an industry analyst who studies workplace technology, said that he’s not sure texting is super useful for higher-level jobs yet, but it’s getting very sophisticated very fast.
Scott Sendelweck, the human resources manager for Indianapolis Community Health Network, said he has used Canvas for many positions with the exception of physicians and he plans to add them soon. He said he can cut the time it take to fill positions from 30 to 45 days down to 25 to 35 days, and that texting is especially helpful for engaging with candidates who don’t work the same shifts as recruiters.
So the next time you get a text about a position, take it seriously and reply right away!
