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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.heymilo.ai/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

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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!

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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.

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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

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Prerequisites

Make sure you have:
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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.
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Step 2 — Quick Setup & Configuration

When you open the SMS screening card, you can control how the agent runs at a high level.
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Step 3 — Customize Candidate Messages

This is where you control how SMS feels to candidates.
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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.
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Step 5 — Nudge & Timing Settings

These controls protect the candidate experience.
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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
💡 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.
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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.
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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.
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Step 9 — Review SMS Screening Results

SMS results appear in the candidate profile under SMS Evaluation. There are two tabs:Together, these give you both the data for you to make the decision and the context to move faster. Happy hiring!

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Things To Remember When Setting Up SMS Questions

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Additional resources

For additional information not covered here, reach out to your dedicated customer success manager or sales@heymilo.ai.