4 Useful Tools Every Recruiter Needs

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 The world of recruiting has never been more digital and social than it is today, with 94 percent of recruiters turning to social media  for their recruitment efforts, according to a Jobvite survey. Even locating talent can make any recruiter’s head spin and be a logistical nightmare to sort and screen when online job postings can receive 200 applications within seconds  of being posted. Can you imagine how that would look on an assembly line? Recruiters have seen the way they work change because of social media and online job postings, for example. Recruiters are required to adjust and change with the times if they are to remain relevant and efficient. Every recruiter has his or her own toolbox and while go-to strategies require different applications, here are the four must-haves for any recruiter.

Applicant Tracking System

There’s just no way around this! If you want to build a recruiting pipeline of talent, then you need to understand what an applicant tracking system is and what it can do for your staffing efforts. Seventy-four percent of employers are missing out on the benefits of using an ATS. Think of an ATS as a Swiss Army knife. It’s going to help you manage multiple aspects of your recruiting efforts. However, many companies still are NOT using an applicant tracking system, relying instead on Excel spreadsheets or an email inbox full of resumes. Going the no-ATS route is sure to net a lousy candidate experience and stress out you and your team. No man (or woman!) is an island and if your recruiting team ever wants to scale, you need an ATS. Many are free and provide such goodies as branded job portals, easy parsing, a custom career site and tracking for everyone that works in hiring.

Video Interviewing Platform

It used to be that interviews had to be scheduled for a specific time and place and heaven help the soul who missed it. Today, with work happening all over the globe, there is no reason for people to have to schlep across state lines (or across town) to be in an interview. Column Five and PGi have found that 66 percent of candidates are in favor of video interviews. That’s a polite way of saying candidates want a hiring process that’s convenient and not time-consuming. Why not give it to them? Give your recruiting team a chance to attract and place more candidates through this tool. Not only does video interviewing give you a reputation as a tech-forward company, it can shave up to 20 minutes when compared to a phone screen. Ka-ching!

Psychometric Assessment Software

This is a helpful tool that helps with discovering who candidates are. Recruiters don’t find success through placing candidates, but when candidates have proven to employers that they are the right fit for the organization’s culture and long-term goals through these assessments. Psychometric testing  takes a deep dive into whether or not a candidate is suitable for an organization. While assessing their cognitive abilities and personality at the same time, psychometric assessment tools help recruiters match candidates and employers more efficiently to reduce turnover and amplify retention. With the costs of turnover and poor fit so high, recruiters cannot afford to ignore retention when 40 percent of U.S. employees leave their jobs voluntarily within the first six months of starting out. Select a tool that will allow you to screen for fit within your team  and among both contingent and permanent employees.

Background Screening Tool

Organizations use staffing agencies for many reasons. One reason is to save time and expenses it may take to perform a background check. Also, if you expect to provide employers with a consistent and solid pipeline of talent, then you must build trust and customer loyalty this way. It’s important to be able to check the authenticity of a candidate’s resume. Around 45 percent of all resumes contain at least one significant fabrication. Locate a background-screening tool that helps with this process.

What These 4 Useful Tools Can Do for You

The focal point of these four must-have tools is to map out the resources that recruiters will need in order to be successful. Modern-day candidate placement requires understanding both what employers and candidates expect and want out of the entire experience. According to BambooHR, 76 percent of new hires want on-the-job training  within the first week. Honing in on what candidates want and how to place them comes from maximizing the potential these four must-have recruiting tools have to offer. Each recruiting tool can reduce headaches that are brought on from inefficiency and poor management of a recruiter’s daily workflow. Why not take advantage of the recruiting tools that technology has to offer?

photo credit: UGArdener via photopin cc 

By Fernando Ramirez