Recruitment platform Canvas set to screen candidates by TEXT message

by Startacus Admin

Launched yesterday in the US, Canvas helps recruiters screen more job candidate's, and market employment brands to millennials with the first text-based interviewing platform. GR8 idea or LOL, we took a look at all the details to see if the fingers can really do the talking…

We've heard of people being sacked by text, and even rejected for a job by text, but not, on the whole, being interviewed by text. Looking to change this is Canvas, a platform that wants to help reach out to, and engage with the so called 'millennial' workforce who can often just ignore the phone when it starts to ring - thus causing headaches for recruiters who need to screen high volumes of candidates.

We know recruitment. Alastair Cameron, co-founder of Startacus for example, had a career in commercial recruitment, before launching Startacus. And admittedly, while texting candidates and text message CRM systems are nothing new, we like the idea of a platform that puts TEXT conversation at the forefront of the initial interview and screening process. 

Through Canvas, busy recruiters have access to a portfolio of interview questions that can be sent with the touch of a button. Canvas also recommends the right message at the right time for the recruiter. The platform enables recruiters to easily send employment brand information, such as culture videos, benefits and job descriptions, straight to the candidate’s mobile phone. Canvas also eliminates the need to manually take notes. With conversations and reactions documented in real time, recruiters can easily share interview transcripts and candidate feedback with peers, managers and agency clients.

Candidates receive and answer questions from recruiters via standard text messages, while recruiters have the option to use the Canvas desktop or mobile app version—available on iOS and Android—to facilitate the interviews. Internally, recruiters can rate applicant responses, make recommendations on best job matches and streamline their communication with colleagues.

“In today’s society, we’re willing to screen a potential spouse with a swipe on an app, but we’re still screening job candidates over the phone,” said Aman Brar, CEO of Canvas. “Recruiters are playing drawn-out games of phone tag with candidates who are willing to respond instantly to a text. Canvas is transforming the interview process to help companies, from financial institutions to tech-based businesses, reach more candidates in a much shorter period of time.”

Prior to founding Canvas alongside Chief Talent Officer Kelly Lavin and Chief Operating Officer Jared Adams, Brar served as president of Apparatus, which sold for $34.2 million to Virtusa in 2015. Joining Brar and Adams on the Canvas board of directors is Tom Linebarger, chairman and CEO of Cummins.

Launched with $1.7 million in seed funding already in the bag (nice work team), the platform is available through a subscription-based model and is scalable for companies of all sizes and in all industries that are in need of hourly workers or full-time employees from entry level candidates to career professionals. 

We look forward to seeing if this candidate screening tool takes off. Canvas, drop us a TEXT or tweet (@iamstartacus) and let us know how the platform develops - we are all ears and eyes.

For more information on Canvas, visit www.gocanvas.io

If you want to read about other disruptive recruitment and HR platforms, you might want to read our previous article on Recruitment and HR Solution Startups.

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• #text message
• #canvas
• #us
• #america
• #millennials
• #text
• #screening
• #interview
• #candidates

Published on: 14th June 2017