10 ways to use chat for more effective recruitment

The future of recruitment: the instant text communication channel

Today, everything has to move fast, everything has to be available quickly. This is true for purchases, deliveries, media news and so on. It's not surprising that talks between potential employers and potential candidates are also moving in this direction.

Time to hire is increasingly important, but must not override the quality of the candidate relationship. The challenge is to do things quickly and well!

And chat messaging can provide a very interesting answer. 

Is the telephone dead in recruitment?

It would be too easy to say yes... but we're not far from it. Especially as time goes on and the younger generations will become increasingly preponderant in the job market over the next few years.

Generations Y and Z see phone calls as “an intrusion, particularly because they stop people doing what they're doing” (according to Catherine Lejealle, digital sociologist and professor at ISC Paris).

Let's take two figures:

• 23% (nearly a quarter) of 18-34 year-olds say they never pick up the phone
• 56% consider an unscheduled phone call to be bad news

Considering that in 2030 (almost tomorrow), 75% of the working population will come from generations Y and Z, we need to make the switch now. Which way to go?

More “practical” formats such as WhatsApp-type instant messaging. Because, as Catherine Lejealle points out, they are associated with freedom, independence, the ability to take a step back and the feeling of comfort and trust.

Today, these channels are fully adopted by the targeted generations: a habit that everyone needs to capitalize on.

WhatsApp, SMS: huge instant messaging figures

Why this chat passion? It's all a question of usage and appropriation. Instant chat is a reality in personal life as well as professional life (Slack and Teams, to name but two). These are habits anchored in every part of our lives.

In the professional world, there are several non-negligible advantages to instant messaging, totally in line with most candidates' wishes:

• Availability: there's less need to be available for a message than for a call or interview.
• Ability to respond: It's easier to read and respond, even in meetings or at the office.
• Control: There's more control over exchanges and responses, since they're not “live”.
• History and written record: There's a written history that's easier to find and consult when the need comes.

You should also know that :

• 92% of SMS messages are read within 4 minutes of receipt (Médiamétrie)
• 98% of Whatsapp messages are opened (Landbot)
• 91% of people have their phone in their hand throughout the day (SMSMode)

Companies and their recruitment & HR teams therefore need to make this shift quickly, to be where the profiles they're interested in already are. Where they're most available, and most likely to succeed in making contact.

Chatting is also widespread, thanks to the massive use of another “instant” communication channel: social media.

Instant messaging and chat are also on social networks

While direct messaging is available through dedicated channels like WhatsApp or SMS, direct chat is also available on social media networks like Facebook Messenger, Instagram and TikTok. It's obviously the case on other platforms too.

Meta predicted the world's move towards chat. The proof, for example, with the acquisition of Instagram in 2012 and the launch of its chat function in 2013. Meta followed this up with the purchase of WhatsApp in 2014. By maintaining chat functions on these three platforms (Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp), the company was well inspired, because:

• WhatsApp has seen its number of monthly users grow from 450 million to 2 billion (exploding topics)
• Instagram counts 375 million monthly users on its chat feature (spectrm)

What's really interesting is that companies can publish job offers on social media, reach passive candidates and convert them through chat applications on that same channel to make the experience seamless for the talent.

Is messaging the only way to reach your targets where they are? Of course not. In the end, it's not just a matter of using instant messaging, but of multiplying communication channels in an intelligent way that's adapted to: your target, the moment and the message.

👉Find out more about multi-channel communication in recruitment

Now let's take a look at the different possibilities of chat communication. 

Chat and chatbots: differences and similarities

There isn't just one way to communicate via chat. When you hear the word “chat”, you might also think of chatbot, as this technology is based on the same codes as classic chat: short messages, quick replies and so on.

The difference between chat and chatbot is quite logical: on one side, the conversation is with a human; on the other, with a robot (which, depending on the type of technology used, may or may not be closer to the reality of a conversation between humans). In fact, there are several types of chatbot that can be used in the world of recruitment.

In the end, the chatbot has the advantage of 24/7 availability, while the human has the advantage of interaction relevance.

At the heart of these two types of instant messaging lie several key benefits, including :

• proximity,
• ease,
• centralization,
• speed,
• optimization for mobile devices and digital target uses.

Good to know:

1. At CleverConnect, chat is included in our chatbots, available on our career site tool and on our digital referral platform. 
2. At PastaHR, the whole candidate journey can be done through chat (WhatsApp or Instagram): from questions before the application, the application itself and then the communication with the recruiting team. An AI-enhanced automated chat will ask any relevant questions for the application, before direct chat with the recruiting team can be activated.

Chat at every recruitment stage: our tips for actions you can apply

Below you'll find 10 best practices for using instant conversation in your recruitment strategy, whether these exchanges are generated by a human or an artificial intelligence (or both!).

Attracting candidates: chat is a motivating assistant in the job search process

You might consider :

1 - Create the most comprehensive possible FAQ

As a team, list all the questions you regularly hear during the first phases of an interview, in order to design relevant answers. This database will be used to build your chatbot, or can be used to save time if you have human “chatters”.

With your chat tool, you can then record other questions to develop your list and always do better to get as close as possible to 100% reassurance.

✅ Possible on: chat & chatbot

2 - Stimulate interest with proactive messages

Have you succeeded in attracting visitors to your career site? Congratulations! But what if it stopped there and visitors remained visitors without ever becoming candidates? The conversion rate on a career site is crucial.

That's why it's a good idea to set up your chatbot so that after an action (staying a certain amount of time on a page, consulting 3 pages in a row, etc.), it automatically sends a message to trigger actions or guide the visitor to find what they're looking for: information, job offers, unsolicited application form, and so on.

✅ Possible on: chatbot. By the way, did you know that an optimized career site can save you money on your recruitment budget? 👉 Make your free simulation in 1 minute.

3 - Apply via Chat - through social media

This is where your potential candidates are every day, whether they're on professional or personal networks. If you are running job ads on these networks, you can easily add a link to a chat application, this will improve your conversion rate and thus increase your number of applications. Another option is adding a chat button or QR code icon alongside your social network posts and ads. It can even be a good way of getting their attention: “Do you have questions? Shoot us a message or just apply via chat in 2 minutes”.

✅ Possible on: chat & chatbot & PastaHR test application

Analyzing needs and pre-qualifying profiles: chat saves time for you and your candidates

You might consider :

4 - Ask questions to better understand needs

Don't hesitate to use chat as a way to gather information that will be useful to your candidate attraction strategy. Once you have a better understanding of users' needs.

Not only will you be able to propose fully relevant and personalized offers based on the responses, but you'll also be able to rework and improve your various messages, and this across any candidate communication channel.

✅ Possible on: chat & chatbot

5 - Offer to join a talent pool

It can happen: a potential candidate can't find what he or she is looking for among your offers. It's a pity to lose them, because they're motivated and you may need to count them among your candidates over the coming months and/or years.

If no job offer matches your candidate's profile, you can quickly identify it thanks to chat, and offer an alternative solution to avoid losing them: an unsolicited application. Even if you use chat with one of your team members, there are options available to automatically guide unsolicited applicants through the application process quickly and easily.

Candidate experience and talent pool are enhanced!

✅ Possible on: chat & chatbot

6 - Pre-qualify profiles

Instant messaging and chatbots can be an excellent first step before a telephone exchange, a pre-recorded video interview or an interview. In fact, they can even replace or complement some of these solutions.

With predefined questions, you can already get a clearer picture of the profile, its skills and experience. But also about their desires and ambitions. If you need to, you can of course offer to go further in the exchange with a member of the team.

✅ Possible on: chat & chatbot

7 - Analyze and improve the candidate's journey

A chat is a great way to guide your potential candidate from A to Z through the steps leading up to their application (or even their hiring, if you use a chat tool that follows them throughout the application process). And, as these instant messages are used at every stage, it's also an excellent way of identifying :

• the relevance of application sources,
• detailed abandonment rates by stage,
• time to hire overall and between each stage

✅ Possible on: chat & chatbot

Converting talent into candidates: chat to finalize the process

You might consider :

8 - Offer a quick and easy application process

The application form may be too long and complex, or difficult to find on a career site, for example. Perhaps even both! So you risk losing candidates who don't apply at all, or who decide to give up mid-application.

Chat can save your visitor/applicant conversion rate! Directly in the chat, there are pre-fill features that allow you to create a form based on user responses. It's also possible for them to upload a CV on which the parsing technology magic can extract the essential information for an application, without any extra effort from the candidate.

✅ Possible on: chat & chatbot

9 - Schedule interviews with candidates

Chat and chatbot share useful features that make it easy to schedule interviews, whether over the phone or in person. Thanks to chat, you can send a list of available slots to make it easier to book appointments and send invitations to both candidate and recruiter.

You can also send follow-up or even reminders to complete the candidate experience.

✅ Possible on: chat & chatbot

10 - Share the next steps in the recruitment process

Your candidate attraction strategy doesn't stop when the application is done. Because even if a talent has applied, they can also quite easily decide to ghost the recruiter and you'll lose them.

The chatbot can help to improve the experience immediately after the application, in particular by offering the brand-new candidate information on what's next:

• useful interview preparation documents ,
• tips on how to present themselves,
• information about the company and its objectives,
• etc.

✅ Possible on: chat & chatbot

Bonus: this is another tactic you could implement that goes beyond converting talent into candidates. Have you ever considered using instant messaging to gather feedback after the application? This is also possible even without an application, after a simple chat - automated or not.

This will enable you to improve this communication channel and do even better.

Instant chat and GDPR compliance: choose your chat tool carefully!

When it comes to instant chat tools in recruitment, GDPR compliance is an absolute requirement. Candidates' personal data, whether it's their name, phone number or answers to questions, must be collected, processed and stored in strict compliance with regulations.

A poorly secured or non-compliant chat tool can expose your company to legal risks and damage your image. To guarantee safe and responsible use, choose solutions that offer :

• data hosting in Europe,
• certifications (e.g. ISO27001),
• explicit consent features for candidates.

You're now ready to add a chat tool to your recruitment strategy!