SMS Screening
Connect with and screen candidates instantly using quick, adaptive text messages. It’s perfect for fast hiring, high response rates, and roles where speed matters.
We like to visualize this flow using Tyler the Texter, our SMS screening mascot. Tyler reaches out to candidates via text, asks short questions, collects their responses, and optionally filters them before moving them to the next step!
When SMS Screening Works Best
SMS Screening is a great fit when you want to:
Screen large applicant volumes quickly
Reduce no-shows and slow responses
Ask simple, mobile-friendly questions
Filter on must-haves before investing time
Engage candidates who won’t open long emails
It’s less ideal for deep skill assessment or long-form responses. That’s where voice/video comes in.
Where SMS Screening Is
SMS Screening is configured as part of your Interview Stages when you create a new Interviewer:
New Interview Flow → Generate Interview Plan → Interview Settings → Interview Stages → Questions & Scoring → Budget & Notifications
You can use SMS as:
a standalone screen, or
the first step before voice interviews for example
Prerequisites
Make sure you have:
☎️ Phone Number
Your HeyMilo workspace must have a phone number set up. Go to Home → Outreach → Phone Numbers to view or manage numbers. If you don’t have one, click Contact Support on the Phone Numbers page to request and register a number.
❓ Initial Question Plan
Decide how many Yes/No or Numeric questions you want to ask. Each message has a cost, so keep it concise and impactful.
Step 1 Create a new Interview Flow
In Interview Stages, add SMS Screening.
Click into the SMS Screening card to configure it.
This launches the SMS agent setup.
Step 2 Quick Setup & Configuration
When you open the SMS screening card, you can control how the agent runs at a high level.
Prompt Version
Select the AI model for SMS screening.
V1: Legacy
V3: Latest (recommended)
Includes custom messages, multilingual support, and advanced nudges.
Phone Number
The number candidates will receive texts from. Contact [email protected] to set up phone numbers. Pulled from your Interview Stages or Essential Settings.
Step 3 Customize Candidate Messages
This is where you control how SMS feels to candidates.
Intro Message
The first text candidates receive.
Use variables like:
{{name}}, {{interviewer_name}}, {{company_name}}, {{job_title}}
Example:
“Hi {{name}}! I’m {{interviewer_name}} from {{company_name}}. Thanks for applying, can I ask a few quick questions about the {{job_title}} role?”
Step 4 Context (Optional)
Context helps the Tyler understand why it’s asking questions.
You can enable shared context and optionally populate from the JD, then refine:
Company Information
Role Details
Hiring Process Overview
Interview Style & Approach
This improves follow-ups and message tone but is never shown verbatim to candidates.
Step 5 Nudge & Timing Settings
These controls protect the candidate experience.
Step 6 Questions & Scoring (Where the Real Logic Lives)
After setup, you’ll move to Questions & Scoring. HeyMilo automatically generates a baseline set of SMS questions for you. This is where you customize them and define what qualifies a candidate
Edit or Replace Auto-Generated Questions
HeyMilo generates a baseline set. You can:
edit
delete
add new questions
Required Qualifications (Dealbreakers)
Mark questions as knockouts for things like:
work authorization
shift availability
certifications
years of experience
If enforced, failing candidates are automatically disqualified.
💡 Tip: Each message costs money and may increase candidate drop off if the flow feels long. Keep questions short, mobile-friendly, and relevant. Consider using SMS early, then hand off to a resume screening agent and/or a voice/video interview agent if needed.
Step 7 Test Before Going Live
Test the flow you created before going live!
Testing lets you see:
how questions are asked
how nudges behave
how disqualifications trigger
how candidates experience the flow
Small tweaks here can significantly improve completion rates.
Step 8 Activate & Layer In Other Agents
Once SMS is ready, you can:
activate the interview, or
add additional screening agents like form, resume screening or voice/video interviews (do this before candidates interact as you won’t be able to change it after, or you can clone the agent and add in extra screeners)
SMS often works best as the first step, handing off only qualified candidates.
Step 9 Review SMS Screening Results
SMS results appear in the candidate profile under SMS Evaluation. There are two tabs:
SMS Score
Pass or fail status
Which questions were met or failed
Dealbreaker outcomes
Clear eligibility decision for next steps
SMS Transcription
Full text message conversation
Exact candidate responses
Timestamps and message flow
Option to continue messaging the candidate right in the tab
Together, these give you both the data for you to make the decision and the context to move faster. Happy hiring!
Things To Remember When Setting Up SMS Questions
✅ Keep the Questions short and to the point
There isn't much value in asking long and descriptive questions, as these questions are meant to be quick questions which can be used to filter out candidates instead of asking them at the interview.
✅ The questions are meant to solicit Yes or No answers or Numeric answers
HeyMilo.AI does not support long drawn out answers for SMS Screening, the idea is to get quick responses from the candidate, so that there is no time wasted.
✅ Set expectations with the candidate
By including ‘(Yes/No)’ OR ‘(Provide a Numeric Value)’ at the end of each question accordingly, to communicate with the candidate on what sort of answer is required for each question. This provides clarity to the candidate as well as yourself, to understand the requirement and avoid any potential issues in processing the answers that are provided.
✅ Each question comes with a cost
More questions mean more messages. Be intentional with your flow to manage costs effectively.
Additional resources
For additional information not covered here, reach out to [email protected].
Last updated