Communication is undoubtedly one of the cornerstones of great recruitment, but it’s also something recruiters seem to get wrong often. Candidates complain about slow communication, lack of responses, and generally, mismanaged expectations. When you consider how many processes a recruiter is managing at any given point, it’s no wonder that good communication practices are left by the wayside. For those managing a high volume of vacancies, recruiting email templates can be a powerful tool to keep your candidate communication in check and help you attract better talent.
Recruiting email templates: the pros & cons
Recruiting email templates can be a great tool to help speed up your hiring process and make your communication more consistent. However, like any tool, they need to be used responsibly and wisely. Recruiting email templates are preset texts that are sent when candidates complete a certain step in your hiring process. They can be automated so that when a candidate moves from one stage to the next in your talent pipeline, the email is automatically fired out to the candidate.
Pros of email templates
- Templates’ biggest benefit is the time it saves. Writing out each individual email to candidates can waste tons of precious time within your recruitment process. Using email templates and automating responses can free up time to connect with candidates.
- If you ever find yourself putting off a rejection email or having to type out the details of an interview invitation, recruitment email templates provide a hassle-free solution. By having templates on hand, you remove an additional barrier to response and you may even prevent yourself from procrastinating your responses.
- Email templates are quick and easy to use, which means that they often improve response time, creating more satisfied candidates.
- Email templates encourage more consistent communication with your candidates. By providing set text for each stage, recruiters are encouraged to maintain open lines of communication with candidates and provide a consistent point of contact for candidates to reach out to.
Cons of email templates
- Email templates are only effective if they are personalized and customized for your organization. Customizing them requires some additional time and effort at the outset. Ultimately, they will save time but the customization stage can take a good chunk of time.
- Even with customization, some candidates may be able to pick out emails as a template which can have negative connotations.
- While templates are intended to cover most circumstances within a certain stage, there will be times that you need an individual response.
Tailored recruitment email templates
When using email templates for your hiring process, it’s important to make sure they are tailored in order to maximize their impact. Templated emails that are not customized are easily picked out by candidates as bulk automated emails. And, while using them may save you time, uncustomized and obvious templates can have a negative impact on the candidate experience. Candidates can be left feeling as if their application was not worth the time spent on an individual response or that the company is a bit amateur in their communication.
Take the time to personalize and customize your recruitment email templates to achieve the best results. This can mean:
- tweaking the language for your own company personality;
- highlighting company resources depending on the stage and template;
- detailing the process at various stages;
- or altering the wording according to the vacancy or role.
2 most popular recruitment email templates
Compiling and writing (from scratch) your own recruitment email templates can be time-consuming. Which is why we’ve included three of the most popular recruitment email templates below. As an additional bonus, you can download 12 email templates spanning from application to offer at the bottom of this post!
1- Reply to applicants
Subject: We’re reviewing your application, [ candidate name ]!
Hi [ candidate’s name ],Thanks for your application to [ your company ].I would like to confirm that we have received your application and will be reviewing it shortly.You will hear back from us by [ insert the ending date of the short-listing stage ]. If you have any questions regarding your application, feel free to email us at [ your email address ] or call us at [ your phone number ].Regards,[ Your name ], [ Your title ] at [ Your company ][ Your email ] [ Your phone number ][ Your careers site’s link ]
2- Job Offer
Subject: We have some good news, [ candidate name ]!
Hi [ candidate’s name ],It was our pleasure to meet and get to know you.We would like to offer you a position at [ your company ] as [ the role ], with the following compensations and benefits:[ list of salary, health care, insurance, office equipment, vacation days, etc. ]Your expected starting date is [ date ].This offer is valid until [ date ]. To accept the offer, you just need to [ insert what candidates need to do in order to accept the offer ]. If you have any questions, feel free to reply to this email or call [ employee name ] on [ employee phone number ].We are looking forward to having you as a team member and helping you reach your full potential at [ your company ].Regards,[ Your name ], [ Your title ] at [ Your company ][ Your email ] [ Your phone number ][ Your careers site’s link ]
Free recruiting email templates
When used appropriately, recruiting email templates can save you a lot of time in your day-to-day recruiting tasks. Because we know they’re a great resource to have, we created a small archive of 12 email templates to speed up your hiring. You can download them by following the link below.
