How the applicant tracking system process works : Martian Logic June 21, 2024

What is an applicant tracking system?

An applicant tracking system (ATS) is software that manages the recruiting and hiring process, including job postings and job applications. It organizes information about job seekers and makes it searchable. As hris its name implies, an ATS tracks candidates through the hiring process. It helps with interview scheduling, issues notifications and alerts, and sends automated emails to candidates and employees, such as recruiters and hiring managers.

But these systems are far more than organizers. An ATS is also used to cull applicants and recommend the top candidates. It may conduct a preliminary analysis of the applicants to find the best fits for a job. It may also look for keywords or use ai-type algorithms that run a deeper analysis of the job applicant. The goal is to speed HR's review of job applications and resumes.

How the applicant tracking system process works

An ATS helps an organization manage each step of the hiring process, from writing the job ad to Organizational Chart making a job offer. This includes to streamline job postings, organize applications and allow candidates to create profiles. The ATS keeps track of all the Employee Onboarding Software activity that takes place around the candidate.

The following steps are typical of a recruitment process:

1. The job requisition is created and, if necessary, approved within the system.

2. The job is posted in one or more locations, including internally for employees, on the organization's website and on external job boards.

3. Candidates apply for the position on the organization's website or directly on the job board if such functionality is available. They may have to answer questions related to the position, such as their work experience and education. Some systems can be set up to reject candidates automatically based on answers to certain questions.

4. The ATS may parse resumes and rank new applications as they are submitted.

5. The recruiter reviews applicants in the system and selects the candidates to pursue further. Candidates who are not selected may receive an automated rejection email.

6. Interviews may take place with the recruiter, hiring manager and others as required. Notes can be entered in the ATS following each interview for future reference.

7. When the preferred candidate is identified, the recruiter will typically use the ATS to send the offer to the candidate.

8. If the candidate accepts the offer, they are "hired" into the HR system. Next, the onboarding functions of the ATS or HR system are made available to the newly hired employee where they can read and digitally sign policies .

9. Importance of ATS in recruitment and hiring

   Using an ATS is important in many ways, even for small companies. First, candidates have come to expect companies to user-friendly application process, which most applicant tracking systems provide. Second, for the employees involved in the recruitment process, such as recruiters, hiring managers and approvers, an ATS automates and streamlines the hiring process. Finally, an ATS provides a repository of data for future reference, for example, when a past candidate applies for a new job, or can be used as a tool to search for potential candidates in applications for previous job postings.

   Benefits of applicant tracking systems

   An ATS is designed to organize and speed up the hiring process by providing the following capabilities and benefits:

   • It lets you reuse job descriptions for multiple positions, which can save time and reduce the effort required to post a job.

   • It can post and manage job ads on the organization's internal and external career sites and across multiple job sites, such as Indeed and Monster, and on social media sites such as LinkedIn and Twitter.

   • It maintains a database of new applicants and people who may be prospects for future openings.

   • Key ATS features

     Taking full advantage of ats can help reduce manual processes, engage potential candidates and ultimately fill open requisitions faster and with better candidates. But many ATSes have other features and benefits that might not be as obvious.

     For example, an ATS can be used to encourage people to apply. Some systems use to interact with candidates and help them complete their applications. They may also attempt to keep candidates engaged, update job seekers on their status and alert them if additional information is needed.

     Choosing an ATS vendor

     The ATS market is competitive and crowded, and there are at least 100 ATS vendors. IDC estimated that worldwide revenue from talent acquisition technologies and services -- including ATS and recruiting software -- would grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.2% from 2019 to 2023.

     The advantage of the large number of vendors is that you can choose the one that best fits your organization in terms of functionality, cost and other criteria that are important to you, such as cloud-based vs. on-premises deployment.

     How applicants can 'beat' applicant tracking systems

     Applicant tracking software systems are designed primarily to help the recruiting team streamline its processes. Because of this, a candidate's resume may never be seen by a human, and if it is, it may only be for a few seconds.

     In the past, applicants could employ tricks such as using colored paper to make their resumes stand out. Today there are new tricks to try to beat the system and increase the likelihood of a successful application.

   • Apply online even if a friend has offered to submit your resume on your behalf. Most recruiters want all the resumes to be in the system so they're easier to track. Also, if you don't submit the resume yourself, the recruiter may enter it on your behalf and skip over information you'd like included.

   • Some organizations have positions that they are always recruiting for, such as roles that tend to have high turnover. These positions, referred to as evergreen, may always appear on the organizations' websites, even when candidates have been hired.

   • Finally, remember your username and password so you can log in to update your resume or profile or apply for another position.

     The future of applicant tracking systems

     Applicant tracking systems have come a long way in the past 10 years. Once used primarily to simplify the most routine tasks, today they can host video interviews, parse candidate resumes and more.

     The future of applicant tracking systems will most likely bring a refinement of the functions they already provide. Examples include a continued focus on usability, out-of-the-box integrations with additional HR systems and improvements to the AI capabilities. It is also expected that vendors will keep looking for opportunities to simplify the end-to-end process for recruiters. With some job postings attracting hundreds of applicants, anything that can be done to make the recruiter's job of reviewing applications, communicating with candidates and working with hiring managers simpler should pay big dividends.