What is Indeed Messaging?

Indeed Messaging lets you connect with candidates directly through Indeed. You can access it easily through your Indeed employer dashboard, where you can send messages to candidates to express your interest, ask questions, schedule interviews and more.

Candidates can respond to these messages to inquire further about job opportunities or provide answers to your questions, which keeps the line of communication open between you and candidates.

Indeed Messaging is centralized so all your conversations across all of your jobs on Indeed are consolidated in your Indeed inbox. Rather than going back and forth between Indeed and your email inbox, you can keep track of where each applicant is in the hiring process all in one place.

3 ways to message candidates on Indeed

Below, find out how you can use Indeed to message candidates.

1. Indeed Messaging

You can use Indeed Messaging to contact candidates who’ve applied for your open jobs on Indeed.

This is a good way to send hiring timeline updates, ask follow-up questions or schedule interviews. From your Indeed employer dashboard, you can easily read past conversations, review candidate details and share attachments.

You can also streamline repetitive messages like scheduling intro calls or sending follow-ups to candidate applications using automated messaging.

Sponsored Jobs that automatically reply to candidates connect with candidates 48 hours faster and make 25% more hires.^[2] Customize templates to reflect your brand voice while saving time and maintaining a personal touch.

2. Indeed Connect Mobile App

The Indeed Connect Mobile App allows you to message candidates directly from your phone, allowing you to stay connected on the go. It takes a “messaging-first” approach to help you connect with candidates quickly.

Indeed Connect uses features like push notifications and Indeed message templates to help you stay organized, monitor candidate correspondence and keep the hiring process rolling.

Using Indeed Connect to stay proactive at any stage of the hiring process may help you bring in top talent—in fact, employers who send messages using the Indeed Connect mobile app make 41% more hires than those who don’t.^[3]

3. Smart Sourcing

No matter if you’re using Indeed Messaging or Indeed Connect, Smart Sourcing may help you customize your candidate outreach. Smart Sourcing is a paid subscription feature designed to help you match and connect with quality candidates.

With Smart Sourcing, you can create customizable AI-assisted messages that allow you to tailor your correspondence to fit a candidate’s specific skills and the job description. (Please note: AI features are not available in certain markets.)

While any hiring team may benefit from using Smart Sourcing, you may find it particularly beneficial if your team deals with a high volume of messaging. With Smart Sourcing, you can set alerts to notify you of new applications and trigger messages to be sent automatically according to set conditions.

Benefits of promptly communicating with candidates

Promptly communicating with candidates can have many potential benefits for both your hiring efforts and your organization’s overall reputation. Some of these benefits might include:

A positive candidate experience

When candidates receive timely responses, they’re likely to feel valued and respected, which can enhance their perception of your company. Creating a positive candidate experience can also potentially help you:

• Build a strong talent pipeline
• Improve your job offer acceptance rate
• Enhance your brand reputation.

The better your brand reputation, the more potential and current customers may be likely to trust and support you, which may lead to increased customer loyalty and retention.

Faster hiring

Reaching out to candidates directly through Indeed’s messaging system can help you bypass email or phone calls. This can help streamline your hiring process and help you connect with candidates more quickly.

Using message templates and features like automated responses, push notifications and Smart Sourcing’s AI-assisted messages also help you stay on top of conversations and move candidates through the hiring process more efficiently, which may lead to faster hiring.

Enhanced employer branding

Being responsive to candidates can earn you a Responsive Employer Badge on Indeed. This badge highlights your responsiveness, making you stand out to job seekers and potentially attracting more applications.

How to send a message on Indeed

Depending on your needs, you may choose to message candidates through either Indeed Messaging or Indeed Connect. Whichever you choose, consider following these step-by-step guides to start connecting with candidates.

To message candidates who have already applied using Indeed Messaging:

1. Log in to your account at employers.indeed.com
2. Navigate to your Candidates page
3. Click on the candidate you’d like to message
4. Click the Message button under the candidate’s name
5. Write your message to the candidate
6. Click the blue paper airplane icon to send your message.

When crafting your message, you can write your own custom message directly in the Indeed message box or create and save a message template (to be used across multiple candidates/jobs). Indeed also has several pre-made message templates for following up, requesting more info or even sending rejection letters.

For example, if you’re unsure about how to send a rejection letter, you can use the built-in “Rejection note” template. If you find you want to edit a rejection message on Indeed to better suit your needs, you can use some rejection letter samples to guide you and then edit the template.

To edit a template, follow these general message template editing steps:

1. Choose the candidate you wish to contact
2. Click the three dots to the right of their name
3. Click Message
4. Click Templates in the message window and choose the template you want to edit

You can also attach a file in an Indeed message, such as a form, questionnaire or other resources to prepare the candidate for a potential next step. To do so, simply click the blue paperclip icon in the message to attach the file.

Additionally, if you’d like to schedule an interview with the candidate, you can do so by clicking the Calendar icon at the bottom of the message window

To message candidates on mobile using Indeed Connect:

1. Download the Indeed Connect mobile app if you haven’t yet or log in
2. Go to the Inbox tab and select the candidate you want to message
3. Open the message window and tap Message to open a new message window.
4. Write your message or use several pre-made templates (click the light bulb icon to access the templates)
5. Send the message by clicking Send

In addition to messaging candidates with Indeed Connect, you can also use the app to schedule interviews directly through the message thread by clicking the Calendar icon.

To send a message using Smart Sourcing:

The process for using Smart Sourcing integrates with Indeed Messaging and Indeed Connect. If you have Smart Sourcing, you’ll follow the processes above with some slight tweaks.

When you post your job on Indeed, you’ll instantly receive quality candidates matched to your unique job criteria. Then, to message a candidate:

1. Identify the matched candidate you’re interested in learning more about.
2. Click the Message button.
3. Follow the instructions above to create and send the message.

To enable Automated Messaging in Indeed:

Automated messaging is available for all Sponsored Jobs hosted on Indeed.

While posting a job:

1. On the confirmation page of the job creation (or edit job) funnel, you have the option to automatically message new, shortlisted or rejected candidates.
2. You have the option to use the pre-existing message template, or create a custom message to send to each new, shortlisted or rejected candidate.

The Automations Hub:

1. Navigate to the Automations Hub by hovering over Tools on the left side of the dashboard and clicking Automations in the tool bar.
2. Click Set Up to select the job to opt into the Automation (New, Shortlisted, or Rejected Candidates). Set up must be done one job at a time.
3. You have the option to use the pre-existing message template, or create a custom message to send to each new, shortlisted or rejected candidate.

Best practices for messaging candidates on Indeed

When messaging candidates, be sure to follow Indeed’s General Product Policies. Here are some other best practices to consider:

Consider timing: Understand when to call, text or email a candidate and plan your correspondence accordingly to increase your chances of getting a response.

Personalize your messages: For more effective candidate outreach, tailor your messages to the individual job seeker. Mention specific details from their resume or profile to show that you’ve taken the time to understand their background and how it aligns with the job opportunity.

Highlight employer branding: Emphasize what makes your company unique and why it’s a great place to work.

Use professional tone and language: ​​​​​​​Employers should use a professional tone and language when communicating with job seekers. Avoid using language that is discriminatory, offensive or inappropriate.

Communicate clearly and concisely: Keep your messages clear and to the point. Provide essential information about the job role, responsibilities and benefits. Avoid overwhelming the job seeker with too much information in the initial message.

Be considerate of candidates’ time: Aim to respond promptly to job seekers after they respond to a message, especially when they are seeking more information, need an answer to a question or are trying to schedule a call or interview.

Be on the lookout for post-application follow-up messages: Candidates can send follow-up messages after applying to introduce themselves or ask questions about the role. You opt to receive these follow-up messages during the message settings prompt when posting a job directly from your Indeed dashboard.

Be considerate of candidate privacy: Do not request sensitive information to be sent directly over a message. Consider candidate privacy while communicating on Indeed and throughout the hiring process.

Follow-up: If you do not receive a response, consider sending a polite follow-up message. Sometimes job seekers may miss the initial message, and a follow-up can remind them of the opportunity.

Avoid “ghosting” candidates: Ghosting candidates can damage job seekers’ trust in your organization. Send interview invites to your top choices promptly and consider sending rejection letters as soon as you know someone isn’t right for your role. Don’t forget that you can always personalize the Indeed rejection message template to suit your needs. Automated messaging can help you maintain consistent and timely communication with candidates. 

Set up Indeed Alerts to never miss a candidate’s message and respond more promptly.

These best practices can help you message candidates efficiently and effectively. Doing so may earn you a Responsive Employer Badge, which may help you stand out more to potential applicants.

Message candidates promptly with Indeed

Indeed makes it easy for you to connect with candidates quickly through Indeed Messaging and Indeed Connect, both of which can integrate with Smart Sourcing to customize your outreach.

When it comes time to send your message, consider using Indeed’s pre-crafted templates and following our best practices to create a positive candidate experience through effective messaging.

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