It's important for your users and candidates to receive your emails to help you stay on track with your hiring goals. However, email deliverability issues can occasionally arise.
To give your emails the best chance of reaching the right people, consider following the best practices outlined below.
Email Setup
Configuring your email setup correctly is crucial to ensuring that emails sent from Workable are delivered reliably to candidates.
Authenticate your domain
Workable enables sending emails using your company domain (via our Google and Microsoft 365 integrations). For maximum deliverability, authenticate your domain with SPF and DKIM records. These authentication mechanisms signal to email servers that Workable is authorized to send emails on your behalf, reducing the chances of emails being flagged as spam.
Configure DMARC
If you use DMARC, ensure it works with your SPF and DKIM settings. This additional layer of security protects against phishing and email spoofing, helping build trust with email providers.
Allow Workable URLs
Contact your IT colleagues and ask them to allow the email domains included here. Workable cannot disclose specific IP addresses to allow - our IPs are dynamic and are used by many other services. Allowing the above email domains should suffice.
Email Content
The content of your email has a direct impact on whether it lands in a candidate's inbox or the spam folder.
Add an email signature
Emails that have a signature are generally less prone to being flagged as spam. You can easily create and modify an email signature in your Workable account, and it will be automatically included in your outgoing emails.
Personalize emails with templates
Use Workable’s email templates to create consistent and branded emails. You can also personalize email content using placeholders, such as candidate names, job roles, and other specific information. Personalization increases engagement, which boosts email deliverability.
Avoid spam triggers
Email providers associate certain words and phrases with a higher likelihood of spam. If these are detected in your email, it may be marked as spam. Common spam triggers in the hiring industry include:
- References to earnings: "Be your own boss," "Fast cash," "Potential earnings," etc.
- References to remote work: "Home-based," "Online opportunity," "Work while you sleep," etc.
- References to personal finances: "Social security number," "Your income," "Debt," etc.
- Excessive use of exclamation marks.
- Excessive use of external links: Emails with too many external links or large images may be flagged by spam filters. Keep links to a minimum and ensure they point to reputable sites.
- Large Attachments: Use a link to a drive so the recipient can download the file instead.
- Short emails
Email Strategy
Your overall email strategy should focus on sending relevant, well-timed communications to candidates.
Optimize timing
Send emails at optimal times based on your industry standards (e.g., weekday mornings are generally the best for candidate emails). Workable allows you to schedule email sends to align with the best engagement times.
Replace outdated candidate email addresses
If you get a "failed to send" email, it may be due to an invalid address. Sending emails to invalid addresses can increase the chances of your future emails being marked as spam.
If a candidate's email is invalid, please inform them through another contact method. You can update the candidate's email with a new address.
Follow up emails
It's important not to overwhelm candidates with too many follow-ups, but you also want to ensure they remember their application. Consider sending a polite follow-up to those who haven't responded after a certain period, like 5-7 days. Finding the right balance is essential for keeping them engaged without coming across as too persistent.