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Candidates communicate with your team through three primary communication channels: Email, SMS, and WhatsApp. The entry below outlines the current functionality and compliance for how the unsubscribe systems work in relation to SMS communications.
SMS unsubscribe logic
When sending messages to candidates, they can choose at any time to discontinue SMS communications with Paradox by triggering an unsubscribe response.
There are two ways that the candidates can unsubscribe via SMS:
-
Hard Unsubscribe:
- Candidates use a Twilio keyword (i.e. STOP) that ceases all messaging.
- Once a candidate unsubscribes, the candidates preferences cannot be altered by Paradox. Only carriers control this feature and Paradox is blocked from sending any further communications.
- Note: System-generated verification codes sent when a candidate is accessing the Manage Preferences page are the only exception to this block.
- Every CEM that uses that number will be blocked from sending traffic to that candidate.
-
Soft Unsubscribe:
- Candidates use an opt-out phrase that is recognized by Paradox, but not by Twilio and its carriers.
- The company ID will be blocked from communicating with that specific candidate ID via SMS.
- Paradox can still receive candidate responses when they soft unsubscribe and can talk to them if needed. They can also resubscribe themselves when prompted.
- Candidates who receive multiple failed messages will also be soft unsubscribed from receiving messages via SMS. When this occurs, the candidate receives the following message: “Due to SMS failures, you have been unsubscribed. You will not receive any more messages via SMS. Reply START from your phone to resubscribe.”
Paradox nor its customers can update the candidate’s communication preferences without the candidate’s consent as this would violate SMS compliance regulations. Candidates must resubscribe themselves or update their communication preferences manually regardless of which method they used to unsubscribe.
If a candidate has their email listed within their Candidate Profile, then email becomes their default candidate communication preference when they are soft unsubscribed.
Opt-out keywords
Unsubscribing from communications is triggered by the candidate sending specific keywords, which are outlined below.
- Note: All Paradox keywords are vetted through NLP and, thus, there is no hard list of keywords to draw from. The words listed below are examples of keywords that are confirmed through Engineering to be functional for soft unsubscribing and resubscribing.
Subscription Type |
Paradox Keywords (Soft Unsubscribe) |
Twilio/Carrier Keywords (Hard Unsubscribe) |
|---|---|---|
| Opt-out |
("take me off your list") ("i don't want to receive texts anymore") ("stop sending me texts") ("stop texting me") ("stop texting") ("bye stop texting me") ("unsubscribe me") ("remove me") ("stop now") ("stop now!") ("stop now !") ("remove me from your system") ("stop talking to me then") |
("stop") ("stopall") ("unsubscribe") ("end") ("quit") (“revoke”) (“optout”) |
FAQs
All cases described below are the same whether the candidate is hard or soft unsubscribing. However, the method that the candidate uses to unsubscribe will determine how they must resubscribe in order to continue receiving messages.
Can a candidate receive communications from another feature on the same CEM they unsubscribed from?
If they unsubscribe from SMS, then they’re unsubscribed across all numbers associated with that account. Paradox will not be able to send any SMS communication to the candidate even if they use multiple long codes. The candidate will not receive messages from any of them unless they resubscribe.
Resubscribing would require the candidates to send a resubscribe keyword, but if they used a Twilio keyword to unsubscribe, they will need to use a Twilio accepted resubscribe keyword. Managing their preferences in the case of a hard unsubscribe will not have any affect as the candidate’s communications are blocked by Twilio and not Paradox.
How does unsubscribing work with short codes?
The logic functions the same between short codes and long-code phone numbers. If a candidate unsubscribes to a short code that is shared across multiple job applications and or accounts, they will need to resubscribe to that short code in order to continue communications with those applications or accounts.
Can the candidate receive communications from another feature or from another number on the same CEM account they unsubscribed from?
All numbers associated with that specific CEM will be blocked from sending traffic if the user unsubscribes from any of the features for that account. However if they unsubscribe through their PREF page, only the individual application (EX: Talent Communities) will be blocked.
Unsubscribe Examples:
- Soft: Candidate says “Please unsub me” to a number tied to an account that has multiple phone numbers/short codes. That specific account they unsubscribed from can no longer send messages from any of their numbers. Any other CEMs that use that same number still will be able to communicate with the candidate.
- Hard: Candidate unsubscribes by saying “STOP” to a phone number/short code. The candidate will be unsubscribed from all CEM accounts that use that number.
Resubscribe Examples:
- Soft: A candidate says “Please unsub me” and then “Resubscribe” to a phone number/short code tied to a specific account with multiple numbers. All numbers from that specific CEM will now be able to communicate with the candidate again. However, the candidate will only be resubscribed to that specific account. If they soft-unsubscribed to multiple CEMs that use the same number, traffic on those accounts will remain blocked until the candidate resubscribes to them individually.
- Hard: A candidate says “STOP” and then “START” again on the same number/short code. Every CEM that uses that number will be unblocked from sending traffic to that candidate.
Can a candidate still apply to a company with multiple CEM accounts again without resubscribing?
It depends on how the candidate unsubscribes as a soft unsubscribe is at the CEM level while a hard unsubscribe is at the number level.
Unsubscribe Examples:
- Soft: Candidate says “Please unsub me” to a number/short code tied to a CEM with multiple job applications. The candidate will not be able to receive traffic from any job applications tied to that CEM until they resubscribe.
- Hard: Candidate unsubscribes by saying “STOP” to a specific number/short code tied to a CEM with multiple job applications. They will not be able to receive traffic from any job applications tied to that CEM or any other CEM that uses that same number.
Resubscribe Examples:
- Soft: A candidate says “Please unsub me” and then “Resubscribe” to a specific number/short code on a CEM with multiple applications. Only the CEM that the candidate resubscribed to will be unblocked from sending traffic across all of their applications.
- Hard: A candidate says “STOP” and then “START” again on the same number/short code that is tied to a CEM with multiple job applications. The candidate will be able to receive traffic from all CEMs (and their subsequent applications) that use that number.
What if customers reach out using a different phone number tied to the same account? What if they reach out from a different CEM account?
If the customers have multiple numbers, they still will not be allowed contact the candidate. In the case of a different CEM, users will be able to contact candidates as the unsubscribe feature is set up by each individual account.
Unsubscribe Examples:
- Soft: Candidate says “Please unsub me” to a number tied to a specific CEM with multiple numbers/short codes. The candidate will not be able to receive traffic from any numbers tied to that specific CEM until they resubscribe. Other CEMs will be able to contact the candidate even if they share the same number with the CEM that the candidate unsubscribed from.
- Hard: Candidate unsubscribes by saying “STOP” to a specific number tied to a CEM with multiple numbers/short codes. They will not be able to receive traffic from that CEM or any CEM that uses that same number. CEMs that are not associated with the number that they unsubscribed from will be able to contact the candidate.
Resubscribe Examples:
- Soft: A candidate says “Please unsub me” and then “Resubscribe” to a number tied to a CEM with multiple numbers/short codes. All numbers from that specific CEM will now be able to communicate with the candidate again. Different CEMs even under the same customer will remain unaffected by the unsubscribing and resubscribing.
- Hard: A candidate says “STOP” and then “START” to a number tied to a CEM with multiple numbers/short codes. Every CEM that uses that number will be unblocked from sending traffic to that candidate. Different CEMs that are not tied to that number (even under the same customer) will remain unaffected by the unsubscribing and resubscribing.
How does unsubscribing work when it comes to multiple applications on the same account or those for the same company, but on a different account?
This is the functionality regardless of whether each application uses different phone number e.g: Conversation: A.I Phone numbers, Events: Event Phone Numbers or if they use the same phone number.
Unsubscribe Examples:
- Soft: Candidate says “Please unsub me” to a number tied to a specific CEM with multiple job applications. The candidate will not be able to receive traffic from any applications tied to that specific CEM until they resubscribe. Other CEMs will be able to contact the candidate even if they share the same number with the CEM that the candidate unsubscribed from.
- Hard: Candidate unsubscribes by saying “STOP” to a specific number tied to a CEM with multiple job applications. They will not be able to receive traffic from any applications on that CEM or any CEM that uses that same number. CEMs that are not associated with the number that they unsubscribed from will be able to contact the candidate.
Resubscribe Examples:
- Soft: A candidate says “Please unsub me” and then “Resubscribe” to a number tied to a CEM with multiple job applications. All applications from that specific CEM will now be able to communicate with the candidate again. Different CEMs even under the same client will remain unaffected by the unsubscribing and resubscribing.
- Hard: A candidate says “STOP” and then “START” to a number tied to a CEM with multiple job applications. Every application across all CEMs that use that number will be unblocked from sending traffic to that candidate. Different CEMs that are not tied to that number (even under the same client) will remain unaffected by the unsubscribing and resubscribing.
How are we staying compliant with the TCPA regulations that went into effect April 11, 2025?
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has recently updated its regulations under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The FCC has adopted regulations making it simpler for consumers (candidates) to revoke consent to receive unwanted robotexts and robocalls.
- New keywords “OPTOUT” and “REVOKE” will be added to the opt-out keyword list.
- Since these are Twilio/Carrier keywords used to hard unsubscribe a candidate, they will only be able to hard resubscribe via a Twilio/Carrier opt-in keyword.