Jobalign launches new candidate messenger tool

Jobalign, a Seattle-based candidate engagement platform for hourly workers, this week launched a new messenger tool to improve communication between recruiters and job seekers.

The tool, which integrates with applicant tracking systems that have open APIs, is one of the only products on the market tailored to hourly workers, many of whom use texting — not email or voicemail — as a primary form of contact and are frequently traveling to and from minimum wage jobs.

“It’s for somebody who is on their way home or traveling 45 minutes to get back to their house,” says Jobalign CEO Douglas Johnson. “They want a job that’s a dollar more an hour, that’s 20 minutes closer to home.”

The Jobalign Candidate Messenger tool, which has the capacity to translate English and Spanish, allows recruiters to send a message via text that they’re interested in the candidate.

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The candidate can then fill out an application via text message by answering questions such as:

· Can you lift 40 pounds?
· Are you a U.S. citizen?
· Are you over 18?
· What’s your address?

The messenger system also allows applicants to answer questions through voice recordings, which are particularly helpful for recruiters to determine if applicants are qualified for customer-facing jobs, such as front desk workers at hotels or restaurant hosts, at one of the 200 companies using Jobalign.

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The company says it processes roughly 100,000 applicants a month, with about a 20% abandonment rate; most companies abandon 80% to 90% of their applicants due to the abundance of recruiting technologies, he says.

Jobalign’s clients, which include Revlon and FedEx, pay between $10 and $15 per applicant, Johnson says.

“The ability to leverage Jobalign Candidate Messenger to communicate via text message with my candidates directly, without having to use a mobile device, will significantly improve my ability to connect with potential future employees,” says Reykha Bonilla, HR manager at Vantage Apparel, a New Jersey-based apparel company.

Vantage Apparel is one of 10 early adopters of the messenger system, which is currently available in the United States.

Although the messenger tool is a free upgrade, existing Jobalign customers need to receive onboarding before integration. Because of this, Johnson says he expects the rollout to take a few months but did not have a timeline. New customers will have the cloud-based messenger tool available upon installation.

Customers will also have access to every text interaction, which is discoverable for search and audit history.

“The entirety of the job platform can integrate with any device because flip phones, in some populations of our society, [are] their mobile device,” Johnson says. “With that job seeker in mind, we have designed that platform to be competently used so that anyone could find a job.”

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