What is chat recruitment?

Chat recruitment utilizes a chat function on your website to communicate with job seekers and applicants. You can use a live chat option where an employee responds back and forth with the applicant, or you can use a chatbot program, which is software that automatically responds to what the person types. Both options let interested parties have a real-time conversation to get answers and information about your job openings or the hiring process. 

Chatbots and live chat

Both chatbots and live chat options can be beneficial in your recruiting efforts. Chatbots make answers accessible at all times, even when no one is in the office. This sophisticated software uses what the person types to give a response that answers their question. If it can’t answer the candidate’s question, it can give them an option to talk to a real person or send a message to you that you can respond to later.

Chatbots can have pre-programmed answers based on what the user types, or they can be powered by artificial intelligence. The AI option often results in more organic responses that sound less robotic. 

With live chat, a human is on your end reading and responding to what the job seeker types. This option lets you personalize the responses, and it’s easier to give candidates the exact answer they want. You can have an internal employee who responds to the chat inquiries, or you can outsource it to a customer service company that specializes in chat support. Some companies use internal employees during working hours and outsource outside of work hours so candidates always get a live person.

Benefits of using chat recruitment

Adding chat-based recruiting to your hiring strategy gives you a new way to reach candidates. Some of the benefits include:

• Initiating the conversation: Chat options on your website encourage interested job seekers to initiate a conversation earlier than they would with a traditional application process. Having interactions with your company via chat can increase their interest in your opportunities and encourage them to apply.  
• Fast communication: Using chat is a fast way for someone to get answers. They don’t have to wait for an email response or a phone call back from HR. When you use chatbots, applicants can get a response immediately, any time of day, even if you don’t have a staff member monitoring the chat.  
• Barrier removal: If you have a chat option available, interested candidates can clear up confusion or find out more about the position to see if it’s a good match. This can make them feel more comfortable applying, or they might decide it’s not a good match for them, which means you’re more likely to get applicants who are interested in the job.  
• Time savings: Chatbots can automate some parts of the recruitment process. They provide quick answers to applicants with common questions. This frees up your recruiting staff to focus on other activities instead of answering the same questions repeatedly. 

Drawbacks of chat in recruiting

There are some potential negatives to using chat as part of your recruitment process. Some things to consider include:

• Less personal: Typing in a chat box can feel less personal than talking on the phone. This is especially true if you use chatbots.  
• Incorrect responses: If you use chatbots, the software could present the wrong response, or it might not be able to figure out what the candidate is asking. Inconsistencies in how people message or phrase things can make this worse. This can be frustrating, and it delays the response since they have to wait for you to answer manually.  
• Unappealing to some: You might have interested candidates who don’t like using chat functions. Perhaps they’re not comfortable with technology, or they prefer talking to a person directly. This could discourage them from asking questions, especially if you don’t offer an alternative contact method. 

Chat recruitment software

Choosing recruiting chat software makes it easy to communicate with prospective applicants. You can find chat software that’s part of larger recruiting programs or stand-alone products. You can set it up on your website and choose whether to use live chat or a chatbot. These software programs have a wide range of features that let you customize the experience and how the chat works. Some potential features include:

• Enhanced security 
• Mobile-friendly chat 
• Data reporting 
• Integration with other apps and software 
• AI-based chatbots 

Explore various products to find one that best matches how you want to use chat for recruitment. 

Chat recruiting methods

If you want to try chat recruitment, these methods will help you get started with chat-based recruiting.

1. Automatic message box

When you use chat software, you can choose settings that make the chat box pop up automatically when someone lands on your careers page. This can encourage a casual visitor to initiate a conversation. It’s an effective way to engage visitors. You might ask a question to encourage a job seeker to chat or invite them to answer some screening questions. Engaging job seekers in this way can prompt them to take action.

2. Feedback

Using a chat feature lets you get quick feedback from candidates. You might pose a question about how easy your careers page is to navigate or how interested the candidate is in an opportunity with your company. This feedback can help you improve the candidate experience and make your recruiting techniques more effective.

3. Prescreening applicants

You can set up your chatbot to help prescreen interested job seekers. The conversation can ask candidates about their qualifications, including their experience and skills. You can also use it to collect their contact information. By gathering this data through chat, you can narrow the candidate pool to those who meet your requirements. If you have live recruiters answering the chat, they can ask the questions and follow up with additional questions if necessary. 

4. Scheduling

Automated interview scheduling through chatbots can save your recruiters time. You can set this up by having an interested candidate answer some screening questions first and schedule a screening interview online if their responses match your needs. Live chat agents can handle the scheduling as well. Since the response is immediate, it’s more efficient to schedule interviews this way instead of playing phone tag trying to find a time that works for both parties.

5. Application support

If you have an online application, including chat support along with it can be a helpful feature. If applicants aren’t sure about something on the application, they can get an immediate response. This can increase the chances of job seekers finishing the application instead of abandoning it if they run into issues. 

6. Onboarding

Many parts of the onboarding process are the same for all employees. You can use the chat function to walk new employees through those standard tasks. You can send them to online tasks they need to complete or have a live agent guide them through onboarding tasks via chat. This can make onboarding easier for remote employees and make the response time faster.