How do I use the Agency chat?

Last updated: February 20, 2026

Maintaining clear communication with recruitment agencies is essential for successful hiring, but traditional email chains and phone calls often lead to lost or scattered conversations, delayed responses, inefficient information sharing and difficulty tracking discussion history.

The Advanced Agency Portal provides a communication system that keeps all agency interactions organized, contextual, and easily accessible within your recruitment workflow.

There are two ways to access the Agency chat:

  1. From candidate profiles (candidate specific chats)

  2. Through your inbox (both candidate specific and general agency communication)

In this article:

Accessing agency communications

  1. From candidate profiles

  2. Through your inbox

Starting conversations

Best practices

Help & support

Accessing agency communications

From candidate profiles

  1. Navigate to Jobs and select position

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  2. Click on the candidate name (who was introduced by an agency)

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  3. Locate Agency Chat within the tab Communication at the bottom of the page

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Through your inbox

  1. Click on the inbox icon in SmartRecruiters next to the search bar

  2. Click on My Inbox and choose Agency Inbox in the drop down menu. You'll see both direct conversations with agencies and you'll see specific, candidate related chats. Documents shared in your direct conversations will only be saved here, documents shared in candidate specific chats will also be shown on the candidate profile.

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Starting conversations

  1. Click "Write a message..." to open text field

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  2. Type your message

  3. Click send icon to deliver message

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Best practices

Effective communication

  • Keep all discussions within the platform

  • Reference specific candidates by name

  • Be clear and concise

  • Respond promptly to queries

  • Document important decisions

  • Search functionality:

    • Keyword search

    • Candidate name

When to message agencies

  • Requesting candidate information

  • Providing feedback

  • Scheduling interviews

  • Discussing next steps

  • Clarifying candidate details

  • Sharing updates or changes

Note: All chat history is permanently stored and can be accessed for compliance and audit purposes.

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