OS Text: Setup Walkthrough and Candidate Texting Playbook
Everything a recruiter needs to turn on OS Text inside the portal, launch a compliant texting campaign, and handle the replies that actually come back, including the "where did you get my number?" question.
1. What OS Text is and where to find it
OS Text is the portal's built-in business texting tool. It sends SMS from a carrier-registered business number, tracks every conversation in a shared inbox, drafts replies with AI, and enforces opt-out and quiet-hours rules automatically so you can focus on the conversation.
To open it:
Log in to the portal and make sure you are in the Recruiting workspace (OS Text does not appear in the BD view).
In the left sidebar, under the Build group, click OS Text.
Prefer a full-screen view? Go to /text directly. There is a "Back to portal" link in the corner.
You will not see a second login. The portal signs you into the texting engine automatically.
2. One-time setup
The first time your workspace opens OS Text, you will see a setup wizard instead of the app. Each step shows a status pill: To do, In review, or Ready. Texting stays off until every step is Ready.
1
Get a texting number
Provision a registered number to send and receive texts.
Enter a preferred area code and click Provision a 10DLC number. Pick an area code local to your market when you can: local numbers get answered more.
2
Set your texting rules
Choose your opt-out keyword and the hours texts are allowed to go out.
Defaults are sensible (opt-out keyword STOP, no texts between 8:00 pm and 8:00 am). Click Save consent rules.
3
Connect your candidates
Point OS Text at your Candidates pipeline so you can text them in a click.
Click Connect to Candidates.
When every step reads Ready, the Turn on OS Text button unlocks. After launch you will see a green banner ("OS Text is live on your number") and the texting app loads in place of the wizard. A Settings button reopens the wizard any time.
3. Launching your first campaign
OS Text organizes outreach into campaigns: one role, one list, one message template. Inside the app you will see four tabs: Campaigns, To-dos, Spend, and Create campaign.
Coming from JD Sourcing?
Lists from JD Sourcing arrive here as campaigns that are already about 90% built: contacts loaded with every merge field, your name and email on the campaign, and a safe starter message prefilled. Skip to polishing the message, then Activate. The sections below cover campaigns you build from scratch.
Create the campaign
Click Create campaign and fill in:
Campaign name: name it after the role and client, for example "Sr. Maintenance Tech, Confidential Mfg, Dallas".
SMS template: your first-touch message (section 5 covers what to write).
Send window: the daily hours texts are allowed to go out. Default is 9:00 am to 7:00 pm. Sends pause outside the window and resume automatically.
Schedule send (optional): a future start time. Otherwise Activate starts it now.
Position summary / job description: paste the real JD. The AI uses this to score candidate fit and to draft replies, so the more real detail here, the better the drafts. That said, AI drafting is a nice-to-have: it's always best to respond manually so you come off more natural.
Recruiter name, email, and calendar link: these feed your merge fields and reply drafts.
LLM mode: keep Draft only (recommended). The AI drafts every reply but you approve each one before it sends. Semi-auto (AI sends clear positive replies on its own) is for high-volume campaigns after you trust the drafts.
Upload your contacts
Upload a CSV of contacts. Leave both checkboxes on:
Validate numbers and keep only mobile: drops landlines and toll-free numbers before you waste a send on them.
Skip people I've already texted: suppresses anyone contacted in a previous campaign, so nobody gets the same cold text twice from your workspace.
Personalization tokens
Your template can include merge fields in curly braces. Every CSV column is available as a token, plus these standard ones:
Token
Fills in
Watch out for
{first_name}
Candidate's first name
Your single highest-response token. Always use it.
{company}
Candidate's current employer
Only if your list data is fresh; a wrong employer kills credibility.
{job_title}
Candidate's current title
This is their title, not your open role. Type the role you are hiring for directly into the message.
{location}
Candidate's city
Useful for "roles near {location}" phrasing.
{your_column}
Any extra CSV column
Great for a per-candidate hook, like a certification.
Guardrail
If a contact is missing a field your template uses, that contact is skipped rather than sent a broken message. So only use a token if every row in your CSV has that field filled in.
Launch
Press Activate. That is the real launch: the campaign's numbers get cell-checked and fit-scored, then texting begins on its own inside your send window and keeps going, day after day, without you pressing anything else. Pause stops sending at any time; Resume picks up where it left off.
Want a batch out right now? Send batch pushes the next batch of pending contacts immediately (batches of 10, automatically paced). Statuses move from queued to sent to delivered; failures show the carrier error next to the contact with a retry link.
Running two campaigns whose lists overlap? Safe. A cross-campaign guard makes sure the same person is never cold-texted twice, no matter how many active campaigns they appear in.
4. Working the inbox
Every reply lands in the campaign's inbox as a threaded conversation. The system reads each inbound and labels its sentiment (positive, curious, not interested, wrong person, asked about pay, asked for email, and so on), so you can work the hottest threads first. It also scores candidate fit against your job description.
To respond: open the thread, click Generate draft with AI, edit the draft so it sounds like you, and hit Send. Never send a draft you have not read. The AI is fast; you are the judgment.
Work replies within minutes when you can. SMS is a live channel: a reply answered inside 5 minutes converts dramatically better than one answered the next morning.
Call them from the thread
When a text reply deserves a voice, use the call button right in the conversation: a popup dialer opens with the number already loaded, and you talk from the browser. The call goes out from the same business number your texts come from; you are assigned one line for both calls and texts, so the candidate sees one consistent number either way. Text first, call the warm replies: it is the highest-converting pattern in the tool.
5. Writing texts that get responses
A cold text is not a small email. It lands in the most personal inbox a candidate has, sandwiched between their family group chat and their dentist reminder. The bar for earning a reply is: identify yourself, prove you are relevant to them specifically, and ask one small question. Everything else is cut.
The anatomy of a first touch
Four parts, in order, in under 160 characters:
Their name. Signals this is not a blast.
Who you are. First name plus recruiter plus firm. Unidentified texts read as scams and get reported.
Why them. One specific reason: their trade, their market, their background.
One low-commitment question. Ask if they are open, not if they will interview. "Worth a quick chat?" outperforms "Are you available Tuesday at 2?"
Example first touch
Hi {first_name}, Sarah with Lume Search. I'm hiring a Sr Maintenance Tech in Dallas and your background fits: days, top pay, real growth. Open to a quick chat?
The system automatically appends "Reply STOP to opt out." You never type it.
Do
Keep it under 160 characters: one message segment, one screen, no scrolling.
Lead with the one detail candidates in this trade care about most (shift, pay band, location).
Write like you talk. Contractions are fine. This is a text.
Send during business hours in their market.
End with exactly one question.
Don't
Put a link in the first message. Links plus unknown numbers equal spam filters and distrust.
Open with "I hope this message finds you well" or any email throat-clearing.
Name the client in a confidential search.
Ask two questions. They will answer neither.
Use ALL CAPS, exclamation stacks, or "URGENT."
6. Reply scripts: the questions candidates actually ask
These are the replies you will see most, with proven phrasing. Adapt the words to your voice, but keep the structure: acknowledge, answer honestly, return to the opportunity.
"Where did you get my number?"
This is the most common challenge you will get, and it is a fair one. Lead with the response below every time: your name came through a colleague, and the search is exclusive and confidential, so you cannot share who. It answers the question without giving up the search, it stays professional, and it flips a suspicious moment into a compliment.
The standard script
Who is this? Where did you get my number?
Candidate
Totally fair question. Your name came from a colleague of yours: I'm running an exclusive, confidential search and they pointed me your way. I can't share who, since that would break the confidentiality I owe them, but they clearly think highly of your work. Happy to tell you everything about the role itself. Open to 5 minutes?
You
Why this works:
It validates the question first. "Totally fair question" defuses the defensiveness before you answer.
Confidentiality reads as professionalism, not evasion. Serious candidates know exclusive searches exist and that discretion protects everyone, including them.
It embeds a compliment. "They think highly of your work" turns a suspicious moment into a flattering one.
It pivots immediately. You offer full transparency about the role, which is what actually matters to them, and re-ask for the call.
"Is this a scam?" / "Prove you're real"
This feels like a scam.
Candidate
Smart to check, honestly. I'm Sarah Chen, recruiter at Lume Search. You can look me up on LinkedIn before replying to anything, and I'll never ask for personal info by text. When you're comfortable, I'd love to tell you about the role.
You
Inviting them to verify you independently is the single most disarming move available. Scammers never suggest it.
"What's the pay?"
What does it pay?
Candidate
Straight answer: the range is $38 to $44/hr depending on experience, plus OT and a shift differential. If that's in the zone, I can walk you through the rest in 5 minutes. What's your number look like today?
You
Answer with a real range. Dodging the pay question is the fastest way to lose a candidate who was interested enough to ask. If the client has not authorized a range, get one before launching the campaign.
"I'm happy where I am"
Thanks but I'm good where I'm at.
Candidate
That's genuinely good to hear, and I won't push. Two things before I go: if anything changes, I'm a useful contact to have in your trade. And if someone in your circle is looking, I pay attention to referrals. Either way, good luck out there, {first_name}.
You
A graceful exit converts later. A meaningful share of placements come from "not interested" replies six months down the road, and from the referrals this message explicitly invites.
"Wrong person" / "I'm not in that field"
You've got the wrong guy, I'm not a maintenance tech.
Candidate
My mistake, and thanks for the heads-up rather than just ignoring me. I'll correct my records so you don't hear from me again. Have a good one.
You
Then actually mark the contact wrong-person in the thread so the suppression list learns.
"Can you email me instead?"
Can you send the details to my email?
Candidate
Absolutely. What's the best address? I'll send the full rundown today, and I'll include a couple times for a quick call in case it looks like a fit.
You
"STOP"
Do not reply. The system handles it: the contact is opted out instantly, the conversation closes, and every future outbound to that number is blocked automatically. Any manual reply after a STOP is a compliance violation. Let it go.
7. Quick-reference checklist
Before your first campaign (one time)
Recruiting workspace > Build > OS Text
Complete the setup wizard steps
Click Turn on OS Text
Every campaign
Real JD pasted in, pay range authorized by the client
CSV clean; every merge-field column filled for every row; both validation checkboxes on
First touch: name, who you are, why them, one question, under 160 characters, no links
LLM mode: Draft only
Send window matched to the candidates' timezone
Press Activate: the engine cell-checks, scores, and sends on its own inside the window
Every day the campaign runs
Answer replies fast; hottest sentiment first
Read and edit every AI draft before sending
Call the warm replies from the thread's call button
Mark wrong-person replies; never reply after a STOP