Learn 5 proven strategies to re-engage hourly restaurant candidates in 2025's tight labor market. Save $3,500 per hire, cut time-to-hire by 85%, and boost interview rates by 10% using AI-powered candidate reconnection techniques.
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May 6, 2025
Last week, I met up with a friend for coffee. We’d been trying to meet up since the beginning of the year.
But being out of town, parents visiting, falling sick, studying for exams for her Masters program, and the daily grind of work, “Coffee soon?” was swept under the rug.
Was this a veiled attempt to not actually spend time with this friend? Not at all.
Life just got busy.
While you could argue that we should both just have sucked it up and met up for coffee while we were busy, even if just for an hour, I disagree.
Meeting up for coffee at a time that worked for both of us, with no pressure to jump to the next thing, made catching up so much sweeter. Rather than a rushed meeting just to keep up the pretenses of adult friendship in the chaos of a busy life, it was a genuinely lovely time.
And it would never have happened if she hadn’t taken the initiative to send me a quick “Coffee next week?” text on a quiet Friday evening.
Your restaurant’s hiring process is not that different.
It’s no secret that 2025’s restaurant labor market is competitive. In a survey by the National Restaurant Association:
But rather than going back to the drawing board every time you need more candidates, why not consider your existing pool of applicants?
That’s like trying to make a new friend every time you want to hang out with someone, rather than texting someone you already have a relationship with.
Today, we’ll dive into 5 effective candidate re-engagement strategies that will help you boost your candidate pipeline, shorten time-to-hire, and secure top quality applicants.
You might be wondering – what’s the point of reaching back out to someone who ghosted me or who didn’t work out in the first place? Isn’t that counterproductive?
The simple answer is no.
In fact, data shows that re-engagement on an introductory message resulted in a 33% response rate.
Additionally, top hospitality employers were able to schedule 10% more interviews after re-engaging candidates.
The truth is that just because a candidate didn’t respond the first time doesn’t mean that they don’t want to work with you.
Remember the story I shared at the beginning of this piece? It’s not that I didn’t want to meet up with my friend, it was just that life got in the way.
The same goes for your candidates.
Here’s a list of common situations where re-engagement actually makes a difference:
According to industry data, the average cost to hire a single restaurant employee ranges up to $3,500 when accounting for recruiting, screening, interviewing, and training expenses.
When you constantly start from scratch with new candidates, you're essentially throwing away the investment you've already made in:
In an industry with notoriously thin margins, this repetitive recruitment cycle is an unnecessary financial strain.
Create a systematic approach to stay in touch with candidates who:
⭐ How to do it: Categorize these candidates in your ATS or hiring system with tags like "revisit in 30 days" or "check back during summer hiring" and set up automated reminders to reach out at the appropriate time.
For hourly restaurant positions, email is not the most effective communication channel. Text messages have significantly higher open rates (98% compared to email's 20%) and allow for immediate engagement.
Gen Z and Millennials, who make up more than 75% of the hourly restaurant workforce, favor SMS-based communication and expect a speedy application process.
⭐ How to do it: Send personalized text messages that reference previous interactions and express genuine interest in reconnecting about opportunities. For example:
"Hi Taylor! Hope you're doing well. I remember you applied for our server position back in March but timing didn't work out. We have new openings with flexible scheduling – would you be interested in a quick conversation about what's available now?"
Develop targeted communications that make previous candidates feel valued and specifically invited back.
Combine this with small incentives for candidates who pick back up in the hiring process – things like priority interview scheduling, signing bonuses, or even guaranteed hours – are enticing ways to restart the conversation.
⭐ How to do it: Create visually engaging social media posts or emails that directly address previous applicants with messaging like "We Remember You" or "Second Look? We're Still Interested!" Include specific details about incentives and what's new about your opportunities.
Consistency and timeliness are key when it comes to re-engagement. But how are GMs and HMs meant to tackle yet another task on top of their mountain of responsibilities?
An AI hiring assistant is a crucial tool to save time and drive consistent communication with candidates.
⭐ How to do it:
Re-engagement doesn’t have to be boring! Rather than just sharing plain text messages, consider adding visuals to significantly increase engagement.
Every touchpoint with a candidate is an opportunity to solidify your employer brand. Use re-engagement as an opportunity to showcase your brand’s stellar workplace culture or fun team vibes.
After all, what better way to re-engage a candidate than with engaging content.
⭐ How to do it: Send MMS messages that include brief video clips of your restaurant environment, photos of team events, or branded graphics with quick facts about working at your restaurant. Keep the file sizes small (under 1MB) to ensure deliverability.
For restaurant HR leaders, re-engaging hourly candidates isn't just about filling immediate positions—it's about building a sustainable recruitment strategy that reduces costs, improves hiring outcomes, and strengthens your employer brand.
By implementing these targeted re-engagement strategies, your restaurant can transform its hiring process from a revolving door into a genuine competitive advantage.
At LANDED, we’re working with brands like Tao Group Hospitality, Torchy’s Tacos, and Salt & Straw to automate candidate engagement at scale.
With our proprietary multilingual GenAI that integrates with all major ATS and HRIS systems, GMs and HMs don’t need to lift a finger to re-engage with previous candidates .
Our GenAI-powered engagement strategies led to:
Want to learn more?
