When WhatsApp is enabled for your account, the Candidate Inbox will include several additional features and functions that can assist in providing a more efficient experience in searching for and communicating with candidates.

Session time indicator

To make it more clear to users when they can freely message a user, a WhatsApp Session indicator was added to the Candidate Profile as well as in the Candidate list in the left panel of the Candidate Inbox to show the time remaining in the Candidate’s WhatsApp 24 hour session. Once this timer has expired the user will only be able to send the user pre-approved messages. 

The above are the indicators for both the Candidate Profile and the Candidates list. It is important to note that this timer will reset with every new message. 

You can hover over the indicator to view the specific time remaining. Once the time falls below one hour, the tooltip will display the minutes remaining.

• Note: A dot in the middle of the Candidates list indicator will display when the candidate has not been viewed, per existing logic.

Out of session message

When a candidate is outside of their 24 hour messaging session, the WhatsApp icon will be listed in place of the send button.

Click the WhatsApp icon to view a list of pre-approved messages that can be sent to the candidate to re-engage them in the conversation. Once a template is selected, you can then choose to send the message at a later time to the candidate to initiate a new 24 hour messaging session.

Filter by communication preference

The Communication Preference filter was added to the filtering modal in the Candidate Inbox and Candidate Management page for an easy way to filter for candidates who use WhatsApp.

Sort by time remaining

The sorting selector will include two additional options that reflect the time remaining in candidates’ WhatsApp sessions:

• Most Time Remaining – This will display the WhatsApp candidates with the most time remaining to those with the least time remaining followed by expired WhatsApp candidates and then non-WhatsApp candidates.
• Least Time Remaining – This will display the WhatsApp candidates with the least time remaining to those with the most time remaining followed by expired WhatsApp candidates and then non-WhatsApp candidates.

You can select your preferred choice to better sort the Candidate Inbox.

Schedule a WhatsApp message

You can set the time in which to send messages to candidates by following the steps below:

1. Navigate to the preferred Candidate Profile.
2. Click into the chat box and enter your message.
3. Click the Send Later button that appears above your message.
   
   
    
4. A scheduling modal will then open. Set the date, time, and time zone in which the message will be sent. The candidate's preferred communication method will be listed in the title and in a sentence above the calendar for reference.
   
   
    
5. If the time frame set is greater than 23 hours away from the candidate’s last response, then a checkbox will appear that, when clicked, will ensure to send the message an hour before their 24 hour session ends. This will be checked by default but you can uncheck this box if you want the communication to be sent after their session ends.
   • Note: If the candidate has multiple communication channels selected as their preferred communication method, then the communication will be sent at the same time.
     
     
     
      
6. Click Schedule.

View / Edit a scheduled message

Once scheduled, a scheduled message will be noted above the chat box with a View option. Clicking View will open a slide-out drawer where you can view the scheduled message.

From this drawer, you can edit and save any necessary changes to the scheduled message.

Sending messages outside of the 24 hour session

If you leave the Send before session ends box unchecked, this means that the candidate will receive your scheduled message outside of their 24 hour messaging session. As a reminder, candidates must consent to messaging your company. This is done through pre-approved messages. Once consent is given, you will have 24 hours to communicate in free form messages.

In order to account for this requirement, a pre-engagement, opt-in message will be sent first before any messages scheduled after the Candidate’s 24 hour messaging session. Once the candidate agrees to continue messaging, then your scheduled message will be sent.

Any re-engagement messages sent will include a Why was this sent? tooltip that, when hovered over, will display the purpose for the message as additional reference for your users.