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Nudging candidates with incomplete applications 

It’s a great practice to reach out to people who were *this close* to finishing your application. Often, all it takes is a small nudge to get candidates to finish their application. A bit of genuine interest goes a long way in removing hesitation candidates sometimes feel before applying.

Proactive outreach also shows candidates how supportive you can be, which can be a boost to your employer brand and organization’s reputation. 

Channels run:
Email | Video

KPIs affected:
Application conversion | Applicant per job


Set-up steps

In your ATS & CRM: 

  1. Search people with the status “application incomplete.” 
  2. Add them to your Application Incomplete campaign. 
  3. Set up the campaign with only the kickoff email example below. 

Alternative for marketing automation technology: 

  1.  Create a campaign and navigate to your campaign builder. 
  2. Add a condition if the candidate’s status is “application incomplete,” add them to the Application Incomplete campaign with messages like the ones below. 

Subject: Did you forget something? 

Body: Hi [candidate first name], 

We noticed you started applying for [role] and are thrilled you are interested in [organization]. It looks like you didn’t complete the application, so we wanted to reach out and see if there were any difficulties filling it out. If so, please reply to this email.  

To pick up where you left off, click the link here [link to application]. 

Best, 

[Signature] 

Subject: We miss you! Complete your job application today. 

Body: Hi [candidate first name], 

We get it life can get busy, and sometimes submitting a job application can slip through the cracks. We’re still really interested in you, so we encourage you to take a few moments to finish your application so we can consider you for the role. 

To finish up, click here [link]. 

Best, 

[Signature] 

To provide a better experience for candidates that may not have submitted the application due to technical issues or usability issues, you can provide videos in your emails. Some ideas: 

  • Screen recording of you going through the process of applying 
  • You or someone else answering job application FAQs 


Next steps

For those that still don’t fill out the application, that’s ok — it still means they’re highly interested in your brand; they just may not be 100% ready to take that next step. You’ll be ready to welcome them with open arms when they are. In the meantime, keep sending them nurture content, like your newsletter, blog post, CEO messages and more.

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