Applicant Tracking Systems
The rise of the Applicant Tracking System (or ATS) has been astronomical in recent years. Technology advancement has absolutely made our lives easier. More automation, fewer manual tasks, increasing business efficiencies and giving us more time for more ‘value add’ tasks.
Before I go into the advantages and disadvantages of using an ATS, let’s start with, what is an ATS?!
What is an Applicant Tracking System (ATS)?
In short, it is a very clever computer software program that reads your resume and filters out inappropriate applications through identifying keywords and trends.
How does an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) work?
Firstly, a requisition is entered into the ATS, including all the information and keywords described above. The ATS then creates a profile for the ideal candidate.
When an applicant submits their application online, the ATS sorts, ranks, and analyses them based on how well they match the profile the ATS has created.
So, taking it back a step, what is a requisition?
A requisition is an internal form that captures all the necessary information for the role being recruited i.e., job title, salary band, where it sits in the organization, who it reports to, type of employment, location, start date, working rights requirements, hiring justification, the job description, and an electronic approval process.
This requisition sits in an organisation’s recruitment management software. An RMS is a software used by internal HR/recruitment teams, which helps them manage the entire recruitment process – from creating a job vacancy to advertising, screening, interviewing, and right through to the offer management and reference check process.
What are the benefits of using an Applicant Tracking System (ATS)?
1. Saves time
Lots and lots of time – streamlines the process considerably and ensures precious time is not taken up sifting through countless highly inappropriate candidates.
For example, let’s say Organisation X puts a job advertisement online for a customer service advisor. Within the first 3 days, they receive 300 applications. Once upon a time, the hiring manager would have to manually open every application, no doubt taking up hours and hours of their time, which they could spend engaging in more pressing business issues.
The ATS takes out a lot of this leg work – it immediately rejects those applicants not based in Australia, those who do not have appropriate work rights, and those with no ‘customer service experience. So, from the 300 initial applicants, you are left with 50 applicants who have relevant experience and who can work for the organization, if all ducks align.
2. Cost per hire
ATS improves the cost per hire – in some instances, it removes the need to engage a recruitment agency – hence taking out that substantial cost.
3. Get the best candidate
ATS improves the quality of hire – this is partly due to the speed of the process being a lot quicker. Strong candidates do not stay in the market long – and if it takes you 3 weeks to get through all the resumes, chances are the best candidates will not be available any longer
4. Strengthens employer brand
Candidate experience and engagement are so important – putting a candidate through a well thought out and streamlined process, will undoubtedly leave a positive taste in their mouth, even if they are unsuccessful in obtaining the role
This all sounds great, right? Well yes, in theory, it does – however only if it is used correctly.
For example, in the customer service advisor example I described above – what if the hiring manager searched through the resumes only using the term ‘customer service advisor? this would mean that all those with ‘customer service officer,’ ‘customer service liaison,’ and ‘customer service coordinator’ would be discounted. The hiring manager can absolutely include multiple terms in their search, however, if it is not used correctly, they could be missing fantastic candidates with the exact experience they are after.
What are the downfalls of using an applicant tracking system?
As a writer of many a resume, I am often asked by candidates if my resumes are ‘ATS compliant.’ The short answer is yes and no. I think there is most definitely a time and a place for ATS resumes. For large organisations whereby they receive hundreds, if not thousands of applicants for an open vacancy, then it makes perfect sense for all the reasons aforementioned.
However, putting a senior manager’s resume through an ATS is problematic for several reasons. The more senior the role, the typically, you will not get as many applications for an advertised role. So, I would actively suggest it is not a great idea to use an ATS for the following reasons.
1. Varying job titles
Job titles vary considerably for different industries and countries. Internal job titles can be quite different from the external market and a candidate should not be penalized for using a less common job title that the ATS would dismiss as irrelevant.
2. Missing the top talent
Recruiting for a specific senior role does not mean that applicants not suited for the particular role, will not be suited to other vacancies in the organization.
It is most definitely not uncommon as an example, out of 20 senior applicants, for 3 to be relevant to the job at hand, and 2 or 3 to be suited to other vacancies in the organsation, or for talent pipelining purposes. An ATS would not even pick up these fantastic candidates, and in a skill-short market, organisations cannot afford to miss top talent.
3. Missing keywords
Candidate experience is so important – especially at the senior end – if a candidate goes to the time and effort to put in their application, only to have an automated rejection sent to them purely because their resume did not include certain keywords, is pretty poor.
I do realise I am bouncing around a lot with this blog – as there really are two very compelling sides to the topic, which I am trying to represent fairly and equally.
Whether we like them or not, ATSs are here to stay and are part of many organisations hiring processes. So, if you are in an industry and role whereby the need to have an ATS-compliant resume arises, how do you do it?
Optimising your resume is not unlike SEO (search engine optimisation). It all comes down to the use of keywords and phrases that the search engines (or ATS in this case) will be looking for.
What to know how to write the perfect ATS resume? Check out our latest blog 8 Easy Ways to Make your Resume ATS, Applicant Tracking System Compliant.
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Written by Emma Moore. Based in Bayside in Melbourne, Emma has spent 15 years in Corporate Talent Acquisition roles in global organizations across Consulting, Professional Services and Telecommunications. Emma has tertiary qualifications in Psychology, Business (Human Resource Management) and Careers Development and Education. Emma has read and provided feedback on thousands of resumes, interviewed hundreds of candidates and made those all important hiring decisions with her stakeholders. Emma is in a unique position to enable you to represent yourself in the best possible way. She knows exactly what prospective employers like to see and hear throughout the application and interview process as a result of being ‘on the other side of the fence’ for so many years.
Want to work with Emma? Contact her today to set up a Resume, LinkedIn or Interview Coaching session.
