Welcome to Recruiter Q&A, where we pose employment-related questions to the experts and share their answers! Have a question you’d like to ask? Leave it in the comments, and you might just see it in the next installment of Recruiter Q&A!
Today’s Question: The applicant tracking system is the workhorse of recruiters everywhere – but is everyone taking full advantage of this valuable tech? What are some creative, innovative ways recruiters can use this tech tool to improve their processes? Do you have any hidden tips and tricks for getting the most out of your ATS? Share them with us!
1. Sell Yourself Better by Check Your Own Statistics
Before you even attempt a sale, you can use your ATS to learn not only your company’s statistics, but also your own. People are looking to hire you as a recruiter, not a recruitment company – after all, this is the business of people, not businesses. Your brand and reputation matters just as much as your firm’s brand and reputation. Use the applicant tracking system to find out how many hires you’ve facilitated and, when possible, how long the hires stayed at each company. This data will be helpful in proving your value to a prospective client.
You’re already collecting relevant information, such as names, email addresses, locations, and career paths. With a few mouse clicks, you can segment this data to build drip marketing campaigns that share news about your company, job seeker tips, and other useful content. Consider integrating SMS into your outreach strategy for immediate impact.
You can also integrate your ATS database with your social media accounts to share updates automatically and grow your following. In today’s employment marketplace, it isn’t enough to post jobs on job boards. Candidates are using a variety of channels to find opportunities and learn about employers. Think like a publisher about the pros and cons of each platform to create unique content for that channel.
3. Go Mobile and Meet Hiring Managers Where They Are
Another powerful tool for recruiters is the mobile functionality of their ATSs. In today’s global economy, hiring managers can be hard to engage because they are constantly traveling, in client visits, or at trade shows during the critical times in the recruiting process. It is imperative your ATS have deep mobile functionality that allows hiring managers to review candidates and take action whenever and wherever they are.
4. Use Creative Tagging to Build a Faster Slate for Your Next Req
Imagine if every kickoff meeting you conducted with a hiring manager started with a review of candidates already on your radar. Whether you proactively source the majority of your potential hires or have a steady stream of applicants, you never fully consider every person for every role due to timing, precise fit for the job, and so forth.
By taking a thoughtful approach to tagging, you’ll start to build pools of potential folks for the next req – right inside your ATS and all searchable if your system is decent. We see clients creating tags like “silver medalists” and “next Android developer” to easily find people who didn’t quite make the cut the last time around. Going in to find the next Android developers who applied but were dispositioned because the position was filled takes only a couple of clicks.
In summary, it’s time to consider your ATS not as a digital filing cabinet, but as a living, breathing pipeline of talent that you can mine for more efficient hiring.
