Applicant tracking systems (ATS) are used by talent acquisition teams — HR team members, recruiters, and hiring managers — to source candidates and move them through the recruitment process. Even if you’re familiar with these platforms, the ins and outs of how they work aren’t always crystal clear.
We’re breaking down how ATSs work, including for recruiters vs. candidates, what to look for in a top-notch system, and why they’re essential for hiring the best people for every role.
What Is an Applicant Tracking System (ATS)?
Applicant tracking systems (ATS) are software designed to make recruitment more efficient and more successful for your talent acquisition team. These systems reduce your team’s manual workload and help you make better hiring decisions.
Today’s advanced ATSs automate and streamline nearly every part of recruitment and hiring:
- Write job descriptions and candidate messages with AI content generation
- Post to job boards and update job postings
- Collect and analyze applications automatically
- Parse resumes to extract key information quickly
- Use AI to screen and rank candidates by skill and fit
- Coordinate interview scheduling and communication
- Track candidate progress for the whole team to see
- Build and nurture a robust talent pipeline
- AI-powered analysis of hiring data to enable informed decision-making
Applicant tracking systems with AI capabilities have raised the bar for recruiting. They offer deeper insights, reduce bias, and elevate both the recruiter and candidate experience.
How Does an Applicant Tracking System Work?
Understanding how an ATS operates can help you get the most out of your recruiting efforts. They streamline recruitment from start to finish, making it easier to identify, evaluate, and hire the right candidates. From gathering applications and parsing resumes to screening candidates, managing interviews, and building a talent pipeline, we’ll walk you through how these systems work.
Application Collection and Pre-Screening
An ATS starts by collecting applications from the various sources your job openings are posted — your company careers page, job boards, and even social media. It then scans and parses the resumes, pulling out important data like contact information, skills, education, and work experience. This automation speeds up the process and ensures you don’t miss any important candidate data.
The best ATS platforms include HR chatbots you can activate on your career site. The chatbot can assist applicants with finding a role that’s the right fit and completing their application. They can even pre-screen candidates and prompt them to schedule an interview if they qualify, enabling faster hiring and saving time for your talent acquisition team.
Candidate Sourcing and Ranking
AI-powered ATS platforms don't just parse applicants’ resumes — they can help you find more top candidates, too. ATSs with AI candidate sourcing proactively search for qualified candidates from external databases and from your past applicants. Advanced algorithms scan large talent pools to identify strong matches based on your desired qualifications and experience. That gives your recruiters the opportunity to reach out to passive candidates who may not have otherwise applied.
After parsing resumes, the ATS uses predefined criteria (and, with the best ATS options, AI algorithms) to surface top candidates. It scores and ranks applicants based on qualifications, keywords, and even predicted job fit. Screening tools help reduce bias and keep the focus on the most qualified individuals.
Interview Management and Workflow Automation
An ATS takes the hassle out of interview scheduling, ensuring a seamless experience for both recruiters and candidates. These platforms go beyond simple calendar coordination — they automate the entire process to save your team valuable time and reduce the risk of errors. Automated reminders, centralized scheduling, and instant notifications make sure everyone stays on track.
You can also prepare for and conduct interviews within the ATS using features like interview guides, scorecards, and robust integrations with meeting platforms such as Zoom and Google Meet. Interview guides and scorecards create a fair, transparent process by standardizing questions and evaluation criteria. If your organization uses an AI-enhanced ATS, it can even transcribe interviews, allowing your team to review exact responses later — no more distracted note-taking or struggling to recall details.
For instance, when a candidate selects a convenient interview slot through your career site, the ATS instantly updates calendars, sends confirmation emails to all parties, and adds the meeting link to everyone’s schedule. All feedback and discussion are stored in one central location, making it easy for hiring teams to access information and collaborate.
With advanced workflow automation, every step, from scheduling interviews to sending offer letters, is tracked and streamlined. This enables your team to focus on evaluating talent and making great hires, rather than juggling logistics or chasing down feedback.
Tracking, Collaborating, and Reporting Recruiting Data
A powerful ATS enables seamless communication and collaboration among team members — sharing notes, evaluations, and hiring decisions. It also provides comprehensive reporting on key metrics like time-to-hire and source of hire. Your ATS platform helps track and manage your entire talent pipeline, organizing candidate data and monitoring engagement so you can identify trends, improve processes, and build a strong pool of future hires.
How Does Applicant Tracking Software Work for Recruiters vs. Candidates?
Applicant tracking software is designed to streamline and improve the hiring process from both sides of the table. For recruiters, it brings efficiency and organization to daily tasks, simplifying everything from candidate sourcing to interview management. For candidates, it creates a smoother, more transparent experience with timely updates and clear communication at every stage.
Let’s take a closer look at how an ATS uniquely serves recruiters and candidates.
ATS for Recruiters
For recruiters, an ATS serves as a centralized platform to manage every phase of recruitment. Recruiters can quickly filter and find the top candidates, automate repetitive tasks, communicate with talent, and generate customized reports. Features like built-in messaging, calendar integration, and AI-powered sourcing make it easier to focus on building relationships rather than getting bogged down by admin work.
ATS for Candidates
Modern applicant tracking systems aim to create a positive and transparent candidate experience — one of the biggest factors in whether or not they’ll accept an offer. The best platforms offer streamlined application forms, timely updates on status, easy scheduling, and accessible communication channels. Clear instructions, notifications, and even the option to self-schedule interviews make applying to jobs less stressful and more approachable.
Key Features of Applicant Tracking Systems
When you’re searching for the best ATS for your business, make sure the platform offers key solutions that help you solve common challenges and level up your hiring strategy. Here are a few key features to look for:
- AI-Driven Sourcing and Matching: Instantly find top candidates without hours of searching or manual sorting. Smart technology quickly surfaces the best-fit applicants and even helps you discover great people who might not have applied yet. The system puts the most qualified candidates at the top of your list so you can focus on interviewing, not paperwork.
- Predictive Hiring Insights: Get clear recommendations on who’s likely to succeed and how quickly you can fill each role, helping you make confident, informed choices every step of the way.
- AI-Powered HR Chatbots: Make it easy for candidates to ask questions, get timely updates, and schedule interviews — keeping everyone in the loop and reducing your email clutter.
- Smart Interview Tools: Forget the hassle of scheduling and manual note-taking. Smart tools suggest and confirm interview times, capture key points during conversations, provide interview guides and scorecards for fair, structured evaluations, and send automatic reminders. Interviews run more smoothly and your team can focus on choosing the best fit.
- Customizable Workflow Automation: Let the system handle repetitive steps, like sending reminders or requesting documents. This frees you up to connect with candidates and collaborate with your team.
- Advanced Reporting and Dashboards: Get a clear look at your recruiting pipeline, track progress on diversity and inclusion, and quickly see what’s working well and what needs attention.
- Talent Pool Relationship Management: Stay connected with promising candidates over time. The system suggests when to reach out, helps you keep relationships warm, and makes personalization easy.
These features come together to simplify the hiring process, keep candidates happy, and help your team stay one step ahead.
5 Advantages of Using an Applicant Tracking System
Here are just a few of the benefits you can expect when you start leveraging the right ATS in your recruiting process:
- Saves Time: Automates repetitive tasks, freeing your team to focus on meaningful interactions with candidates.
- Smarter Hiring Decisions: Uses AI to deliver data-driven insights, helping you identify the best-fit candidates quickly.
- Enhances Candidate Experience: Streamlines communications and keeps candidates informed at every stage.
- Faster Time-to-Fill: Efficient scheduling and workflow tools move candidates through the process more quickly.
- Ensures Compliance: Keeps a detailed record of every step to help maintain compliance with hiring regulations.
Streamline Your Recruiting Process With the Best ATS
With the demand for top talent at an all-time high, choosing the best ATS for your organization can define your recruitment success. You need an AI-powered ATS that uses cutting-edge technology, advanced automation, and user-friendly workflows to empower your team to achieve better hiring results.
To help you make an informed decision, we’ve created a comprehensive ATS Buyer’s Guide. Inside, you’ll find expert tips, key features to consider (including AI and analytics), and practical advice on evaluating solutions and preparing for demos.
Ready to take the next step? Download the ClearCompany ATS Buyer’s Guide and give your team the tools to hire top talent faster and smarter.
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