You have your list of candidates sitting right there in the sourced column of your recruiting Kanban board. You’ve sourced them, verified they are a perfect fit for your role, and now you’re ready to contact them. Way to go!
But, what do you do next? Your list may include 50+ individual candidates, and you still have other roles to fill. The easiest solution is to use email automation to streamline your initial efforts to warm up passive candidates. Lucky for you, Loxo recently launched email automation, eliminating the need for the investment in yet another tool, but I digress.
With email automation, you can build drip campaigns, a sequence of pre-built emails that will be sent out automatically on a schedule of your choosing.
While recruitment email automation can be a godsend, it can also hurt your outreach efforts if not used properly. Before you dive right in, make sure you know the do’s and don’ts of email automation.
- DO narrow down your candidate list again. I’m going to get real serious with you for a moment. It’s incredibly important that you take the time to narrow down your list of potential candidates. This alone is the absolute most important thing you can do, and if you don’t, you might be shamed on social. Okay, maybe that’s a little harsh, but let’s be honest. No one wants to be that person so do yourself a favor and make sure the candidates you sourced are a good fit for the role and take it up a notch with the use of tags to segment your list ever further.
- DO personalize your message. I get it, you’re building an email campaign that is going to be sent to multiple recipients. It’s impossible to personalize every single email with a heartfelt message that demonstrates how much you know about the candidate, but you can use personalization tokens from contact attributes to create a more engaging message. Use tags like first name and company to catch your candidate’s interest from the beginning.
- DO understand your client’s hiring needs and translate it into an exciting opportunity for the candidate. Messaging is everything, and you have to know what you’re selling to craft an enticing message. Turn job requirements into a story, sell the value proposition, define the opportunity, and outline the long-term value. At that point, you will have created a message enticing enough to pique your candidate’s interest.
- DO follow up with anyone who hasn’t responded. Timing is everything, and email automation will only get you so far. If a top candidate hasn’t responded, it’s time to take a break from email and pick up the phone. Life gets busy, and a lack of response doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t interested. By this point, they will likely have read your email and have more background on the role. Don’t abandon the value you have built, and give them a call before you rule them out completely.
- DON’T copy and paste job requirements. Honestly, has this ever worked for anyone? Don’t make candidates read a wall of text when you already know they would be a perfect fit for the role. Tell them why and sell them on the opportunity. If you want, provide a link to the external job posting, but avoid copying any part of the job description directly into the body of your email.
- DON’T forget about your campaign. Even if you fill the role, stay in touch with the contacts you have built. You sent these candidates an email for a reason. You clearly thought they were qualified for the role. So, why wouldn’t you consider them again for a future opportunity? This is your chance to build a long-term relationship and become an asset to the candidate, keeping you top of mind when they’re ready for their next career change.
- DON’T underestimate your recruiting brand. Your email campaigns serve more than one purpose. While you are trying to engage candidates for a specific role, this is also an opportunity to build your recruitment brand. Include links to your online accounts so that candidates can follow you, your hiring advice, and upcoming opportunities. Be sure to be subtle with these additions. They should only add value and complement your overall message.
- DON’T spam your candidates. Just because you can send hundreds of emails over the course of weeks, months, and even years, doesn’t mean you should. Be intentional with your content and your how frequently you reach out to your contacts. Your candidates will not only thank you, but they will begin to trust you.
That’s it! You’re now ready to jump into the new, exciting world of email automation. Have fun automating your process, but be sure to always look for new opportunities to improve your communications.