Text candidates
Send and receive texts on the candidate's own thread — with consent recorded first, STOP handled automatically, and cold texting made impossible.
Texts get answered. Candidates in the trades and in healthcare often will not open an email during a shift but will reply to a text in a minute.
InsightHire texts from a number shared across the platform, and every text sits in the same conversation as your emails. One rule governs everything here: you can only text someone who agreed to be texted.
Before you can text anyone
Three things have to be true:
- Texting is switched on for your organization. It stays off until the carrier registration for your messages is approved — ask your InsightHire contact where that stands.
- The candidate has a valid mobile number on file.
- The candidate has opted in.
Record consent
There are two honest ways to get consent.
They tick the box when they apply. Candidates who enter a mobile number on your careers page see a checkbox: Yes, text me about this application. It explains that they will receive texts about their application, interview scheduling and hiring updates, that message and data rates may apply, and that they can reply STOP to opt out or HELP for help. It says outright that consent is not a condition of applying. Ticking it records the opt-in and the exact wording they agreed to.
They tell you, and you record it. If someone agrees on a call or in writing, open their Messages, switch to Text, and choose They agreed — record consent. You are asked to confirm:
Only record consent if this candidate agreed to receive text messages from your team (for example on their application, or verbally on a call).
Do not tick that box on a hunch. It is written to a permanent consent record with your name on it, and it is the evidence you would rely on if the opt-in were ever challenged.
Candidates imported from a spreadsheet are never opted in. An imported list is not consent.
Send a text
- Open the candidate and choose Messages.
- Switch the toggle from Email to Text.
- Check the chip next to the toggle: Opted in, Opted out, or No SMS consent on file.
- Type your message. The counter shows characters out of 1,600 and roughly how many segments that is — keep it to one or two.
- Choose Send text, or press Ctrl+Enter (Cmd+Enter on a Mac).
Texts show as green bubbles in the thread, tagged Text, with Delivered once the carrier confirms them, or Failed with the reason if they do not go through. Replies land in the same thread and in your Inbox.
STOP, START and HELP
These are the candidate's controls, not yours, and they work whether or not you want them to.
| They text | What happens |
|---|---|
| STOP, STOPALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, QUIT | They are opted out immediately, and any sequence they are in stops |
| START, UNSTOP, YES, SUBSCRIBE | They are opted back in |
| HELP, INFO | They get help text with how to reach support and how to unsubscribe |
The confirmation and help replies are sent by the messaging carrier, not by InsightHire, so they go out even if something on our side is having a bad day. The wording is set at platform level and can be edited by an InsightHire administrator.
An opt-out shows as a red Opted out chip on the compose bar, with a note that they can text START to opt back in. You cannot override it, and you should not ask a colleague to try from another channel.
Carriers can also opt a number out at their end. If that happens, InsightHire records the opt-out for you.
Quiet hours
Quiet hours apply to sequences, not to messages you type yourself. A sequence sends only between its window — 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM by default, in the candidate's own time zone — and steps that come due outside it are held until the window opens rather than dropped. See Sequences.
A text you send by hand goes the moment you choose Send text, at whatever hour that is. Check the clock where the candidate lives.
Cold texting is not possible
This is worth being plain about, because it is the first thing a recruiter asks.
InsightHire refuses to send a text to anyone whose consent status is not opted in. That check sits on the server, on both the manual send and the sequence step, so there is no screen, import, bulk action or sequence that can get around it. A sourced person you found this morning cannot be texted until they apply with the box ticked, or tell you directly that you may.
Texts are also refused for anyone on your do-not-contact list, anyone with GDPR-restricted processing, and any number that is not a valid mobile.
Allowance
Texting has no monthly cap. Segments are counted so you can see the cost under Settings → Plan & features, but a message is never blocked for volume.
Related
- Sequences — add a text as a follow-up step.
- Unified inbox — where replies arrive.
Unified inbox
Every candidate conversation, email and text, in one list — with snooze, assignment and read state so nothing sits unanswered.
Phone screens
Have InsightHire call a candidate, run your interview template, and post the recording, transcript and summary back — with consent recorded before the call is placed.