On this page: Key takeaways · What makes a good recruiting text message? · Recruiting text message examples for each hiring step · Why do quick replies and reminders matter? · How do candidates know your text is not a scam? · Which texting mistakes cost you candidates? · What changes for staffing agencies? · How Radius helps · FAQ
Key takeaways
- One text, one action, one real day and time.
- Sign every text with your name, the company and the job, so it does not read like a scam.
- Never ask for money or a photo of an ID document by text.
- Send the hard facts of the job, such as start time and certificates, before the offer.
What makes a good recruiting text message?
It names the sender, asks for one thing and gives a date. Each template below draws on five parts:
- Who: your first name and the company, in the first line.
- Why: the job, and how the candidate applied.
- One action: confirm, pick a time or bring a document.
- A real date: a day and a time, not "soon".
- An easy no: a reply word that lets the candidate step out without a phone call.
Write it so it can be read on a lock screen, in plain words. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported in October 2025 that three million adults aged 16 to 75 in the Netherlands have low literacy or numeracy, based on 2023 data from the international PIAAC adult skills survey [4]. A text that has to be read twice can lose people for reasons that have nothing to do with the job.
The five parts in one text, template 10
- Who“Hi Ewa, Sanne from Example Staffing.”
- Why“You applied with us in March. We have an order picking job in Waalwijk, day shifts”
- One action“Interested? Reply YES.”
- A real date“starting Monday 2 November”
- An easy no“Reply STOP and we won't text you again.”
Recruiting text message examples for each hiring step
Use one template per step, and change the facts every time you send it.
Illustrative example: the names, company, sites and times are invented. Replace them with your own.
| Step | When to send | Example text |
|---|---|---|
| 1. First reply | Same day as the application | "Hi Ewa, this is Sanne from Example Staffing. Thanks for applying for the order picker job in Tilburg. Next step: a short interview. Can you do it by Thursday 18:00? Reply YES and I'll send the details." |
| 2. Language and channel | In the first exchange | "Which language would you like our messages in? And is a text or a call better for you?" |
| 3. Interview times | When you invite | "Can you come for a 20 minute talk at the Tilburg warehouse? Tuesday 10:00 or Wednesday 16:00. Reply 1 or 2." |
| 4. Booking confirmed | Straight after the reply | "Booked: Wednesday 16:00, Tilburg warehouse, gate 2. Ask for Sanne at the gatehouse. Bring your ID card or passport. Can't make it? Reply and we'll find another time." |
| 5. Day before | Afternoon before | "Reminder: tomorrow, Wednesday 16:00, Tilburg warehouse, gate 2. Reply OK to confirm, or NEW for another time." |
| 6. Missed interview | Same day | "Hi Ewa, it's Sanne. We missed you at 16:00 today. Everything OK? If you still want the job, reply and I'll offer a new time. If not, reply NO." |
| 7. Silent applicant | Two working days after your last text | "Hi Ewa, Sanne from Example Staffing. I haven't heard back about the order picker job. I'll keep your application open until Friday 12:00. Still interested? Reply YES." |
| 8. Shift facts | Before the offer | "Before we go further: this job starts at 05:30, Monday to Friday. Can you be at the gate by 05:15 every day? Reply YES or NO. Both answers are fine." |
| 9. Certificate | Before the offer | "This job needs a valid forklift certificate. Please bring the original to your interview on Wednesday. No need to send a photo." |
| 10. New job, past applicant | When a matching job opens, if they agreed to be contacted | "Hi Ewa, Sanne from Example Staffing. You applied with us in March. We have an order picking job in Waalwijk, day shifts, starting Monday 2 November. Interested? Reply YES. Reply STOP and we won't text you again." |
Template 8 is easy to leave out. A candidate who learns about the early start after signing has every reason to stop answering, as we argued in Tell Candidates About the 05:30 Start.
Want every applicant to get an interview they can take whenever it suits them? See how the AI Interviewer from Radius Hire works.
Why do quick replies and reminders matter?
Waiting reads as a signal, and reminders help people turn up.
- Delays send a message. In a study that followed student job seekers through their search, Rynes, Bretz and Gerhart found that applicants read recruitment experiences as signals about the employer, and that recruitment delays had strongly negative effects [1]. The study dates from 1991 and is not about frontline work, so treat it as a direction, not a measure.
- Reminders help people attend. A Cochrane review of eight randomised trials with 6,615 participants found that text reminders increased attendance at healthcare appointments compared with no reminder, and worked about as well as phone calls. The authors rated the evidence low to moderate quality [2]. The review did not cover job interviews.
Our view: we do not claim these templates will cut your no shows by a set amount. A clear text is a courtesy: the candidate gets the facts they need to decide.
How do candidates know your text is not a scam?
Sign it, name the job and never ask for money. The Dutch Fraudehelpdesk warns that fraudsters offer work while posing as staffing agencies or job sites, move the conversation to a messaging app and then ask people to pay before they can start. Its advice is never to pay for work you should be paid for [3].
Make your texts easy to tell apart:
- Text from one number, and keep using it.
- Never ask for payment or a photo of an ID document by text. Say where documents will be checked in person.
- If you send a link, say what it opens before they tap it.
Which texting mistakes cost you candidates?
Most are small: two questions, bare links and bad timing.
- Two questions in one text. A reply of "yes" then means nothing. Fix: one question per text.
- A link with no words. Fix: say what it is and how long it takes.
- Texting during the shift. Fix: send when candidates are off work. For night workers, that is not 09:00.
- Translations nobody checked. Fix: ask a fluent speaker to read each template once.
- No way out. Fix: a reply word to say no or stop, and you respect it. Keep your texts within your own privacy notice and data rules.
What changes for staffing agencies?
The candidate should always know who is texting: the agency or the client. Agree with each client who sends which text, so the candidate never gets two versions or none. Keep one set of fixed facts per client site, such as the gate, start time and safety shoes, and keep every reply on the candidate's record so the next recruiter sees what was said.
How Radius helps
Radius Hire is the AI hiring platform for frontline roles. Its AI Interviewer, Match and Radius Passport sit on one candidate record, and a recruiter makes every decision.
- The AI Interviewer gives every applicant a short, structured voice interview they can take on their phone, whenever it suits them. Candidates are told at the start that the interviewer is automated and that a person reviews the result.
- Where the employer uses Radius Passport, it checks identity and right to work with a trusted verification partner and records certificates with their expiry dates, so a recruiter can review the evidence before an offer.
- Radius never rejects a candidate on its own. See Match and the candidate FAQ.
The templates in this post work with whatever tool you use to message candidates today.