Workable Texting is a premium feature that can be used to communicate with candidates over text messages. Using the primary phone number on the candidate's profile, text that number through Workable.
When candidates reply to your text, you are notified through Inbox notifications in the Workable app and desktop site, as well as through updates on the candidate's Timeline. For each job posted, the sender number is randomly generated automatically by Workable (we are not using your personal number). The format of the number used to contact candidates is based on the job's location.
Sending a text
When viewing a candidate's profile:
- Click the text message button
in the toolbar.
- A messaging form will open on the right, where you can confirm the number at which the candidate will be texted.
- Type your message (up to 1600 characters at a time) or select a communication template from the dropdown.
- Click Send message when ready to send it immediately or click the split button to schedule it for a future date and time.
Workable automatically generates a random number per job based on the job's location, through which the candidate can be contacted. Depending on the job's primary location, a country code will be assigned to the generated number. Also, an alphanumeric sender ID is supported for selected countries.
| Job location | Number format |
|---|---|
| US | US |
| Canada | Canada |
| UK | UK |
| EU | UK |
| Rest of world | US |
The candidate will receive the text as if it were a normal message; they can even add it as a contact on their phone. When the candidate replies, you will receive a notification through the Workable app and desktop site, and you can reply through your Workable Inbox. Updates to the conversation are always posted on the candidate's Timeline, too, and you can set the visibility level of the conversation to protect sensitive information.
You can also create communication templates and send text messages in bulk or via automated actions to contact multiple people at once individually.
Texting consent management
When candidates apply, there will be a tooltip under the Phone field letting them know that the hiring team may use this number to contact them.
If they add their phone number, the system will mark them as consenting to receive text messages.
Candidates can opt out of receiving texts by replying STOP, UNSUBSCRIBE, or CANCEL to your message.
If the candidates have been uploaded/sourced, we recommend asking them to provide their written consent over email before texting them. You'll be notified about their consent status if you attempt to send a text. If the candidate mentioned over email that it is alright to text them, click the link to enable text messaging.
Edit texting consent
Candidates' contact preference is always listed on their candidate profile, and texting can be disabled or enabled for a candidate as needed.
- Edit the candidate's profile (click the three dots icon > Edit Candidate).
- Locate the 'Contact preferences' section and click the pencil on the right.
- Enable/disable the toggle accordingly.
Supported countries
The texting service is only available for candidates with phone numbers from specific countries. Whether you can text a candidate depends on their phone number (country code), not your company or job location.
We recommend exploring alternative texting solutions or email communication for candidates in unsupported countries (not on the list). You can see the supported countries below in alphabetical order:
| Aland Islands Albania Angola Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Aruba Australia Austria Bahamas Bahrain Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Canada Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic |
Denmark Dominican Republic East Timor El Salvador Estonia Faroe Islands Finland France Germany Gibraltar Greece Greenland Guam Guernsey Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Italy Japan Jersey Korea Republic of Laos PDR |
Latvia Lebanon Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao Malaysia Maldives Malta Mexico Micronesia Moldova Montenegro Montserrat Namibia Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway Palau Paraguay Peru Poland Portugal Puerto Rico |
Republic of North Macedonia Romania San Marino Saudi Arabia Seychelles Singapore Slovakia Solomon Islands South Africa Spain St Kitts and Nevis St Lucia Svalbard and Jan Mayen Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Thailand Turkey United Kingdom United States Uruguay Venezuela Virgin Islands Wallis and Futuna |
Alphanumeric sender ID setup
Messages sent to specific EU countries will display an alphanumeric sender ID instead of a randomized mobile number.
The default alphanumeric sender ID is derived from the first 11 characters of the account’s subdomain, and it can be customized when you attempt to send an SMS to a candidate in a country that supports alphanumeric sender IDs. Note that special characters are not supported.
Message sender per country
| Country | Message sender |
|---|---|
|
Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden |
Messages to these countries will appear as sent from the alphanumeric sender ID set by each account. Candidates can reply by clicking the Response link appended to the message. |
| Romania, Saudi Arabia |
Messages to these countries will appear as sent from "Workable", and the company name will be prepended to the message content. Candidates can reply by clicking the Response link appended to the message. |
| All other supported countries |
Messages to these countries will appear as sent from the generated number with the formatting explained here. |
FAQs and Troubleshooting
- What languages are supported?
- Currently, English and Greek languages are supported.
- Why wasn't my text message able to be delivered?
- Check our troubleshooting guide for sending texts.
- Can we change the number that we send messages from to another number?
-
As the integration with our Texting provider stands now, changing the phone number is not possible.
- How specific does the generated phone number get to the job location?
- The number doesn't get as specific as city area codes. It is randomly generated, and depending on the job location, a country code will be assigned as shown here.
- What happens if a candidate replies to a text after a job has been archived?
- When a job is archived, the phone numbers previously used will be released, so any text message replies from candidates will not be visible on the candidate's timeline.
- Why is the text message button greyed out?
- This candidate’s phone number is most likely from an unsupported country (not included in this list). If you hover over the icon, you will see an explanation.
- Is it possible to text candidates in the Talent pool?
- Texting is not available to candidates in the Talent pool. Workable's texting is only available for active jobs. If you want to text a candidate who has submitted their application to the Talent pool you would need to move them to an active job.