Many companies receive more resumes than HR managers could ever sort through with their own eyes. Finding employees with the right skill set, experience and personality makes a big difference in the efficiency, morale and productivity of your company. Applicant tracking systems are a key means of automating a candidate’s application process with your organization. Recruiting software can be customized in a way that filters out resumes that are lacking the skills that the job opening requires.
Identify Candidate Strengths
A cover letter can only tell you so much about a candidate. Recruiting software can be used to identify candidate strengths, such as being able to program in multiple languages. The software can also allow you to hire the person who already has the strengths you need rather than trying to develop those qualities in a person at a later time. As Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman, authors of “First Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently,” argue, “You’re unlikely to train missing talents into the person later…Don’t expect to develop weak areas of performance, habits and talents.”
Proactively Search for Qualified Candidates
Rather than waiting for the candidates with top skills to apply to your job openings, take matters into your own hands. Bianca Male at Business Insider explains, “You’ll not only be able to screen for the perfect resume, but you’ll also have a chance to learn a little more about that person pre-interview.” Having your own recruiting CRM allows you to import those resumes and have the software sort through them to find skills that match job openings at your organization.
Screen Applicants with Personality Trait Assessment Tools
Consider applicant tracking software that integrates with skill and personality assessment tools. Part of your job application process can include taking a skills test. You might consider only sending the test after the software has already identified certain skills in a candidate’s resume. Assessment tools can examine work ethic, personality type and emotional stability. A candidate might have a high level of skills, but those skills would be moot with a poor work ethic or unstable personality that interferes with workplace operations. When the software identifies a completed test as a fit for your organization, you could then invite the applicant for an in-person interview.
Respond Quickly to Highly Skilled Applicants
Applicant tracking systems make it easier for you to contact candidates who are great matches to your high-skill jobs. In today’s world of nearly instantaneous communications, a candidate can become frustrated if your company takes too long to respond to a job application. Dr. John Sullivan, a human resources expert in the Silicon Valley, clarifies that a slow hiring speed suggests slow business decision-making. A slow response could turn those high-skill job candidates away from your organization.