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    Investing in Early Talent, Relearning, & More: Talk Talent to Me April ’23 Recap

    Catch up on the April 2023 episodes of Hired’s Talk Talent to Me podcast featuring recruiting and talent acquisition leadership who share strategies, techniques, and trends shaping the recruitment industry. 

    Putting people first with Kelly Minella, Head of Recruiting at Calendly

    Investing in early talent with Krishna Kumar, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Quintrix 

    Relearning and eliminating biases with Jenny Cotie Kangas, Director of Employer Branding and Awareness at PandoLogic

    Creating a thriving company culture with Maryjo Charbonnier, CHRO at Kyndryl 

    1. Kelly Minella, Head of Recruiting at Calendly

    Put people first. You’ll be more likely to make quality hires and maintain a cohesive work environment, according to Kelly. In this episode, she shares how she knew her CEO cared about prioritizing people and the importance of a talent team having a shared understanding. Plus, Kelly tells how the introduction of interview training has made Calendly better and why you should always be asking for and reviewing candidate feedback.

    “I applied [to Calendly], and my first conversation was with our CEO, Tope Awotona, and it was fabulous. I remember calling my mom afterward and being like, ‘Mom, that was special’. And the reason why, and why it has remained special, is how much priority he puts on people.”

    Listen to the full episode.

    2. Krishna Kumar, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Quintrix 

    Investing in early talent is becoming more popular. Krishna discusses why businesses need to think more about this talent in the long term and how companies can better support their new recruits. He also dives into his game-changing post-deployment framework and why many candidates are falling short of the mark. 

    “Career development, or lack thereof, is the number one reason for people to leave their jobs and explore other opportunities. So, you want to make sure that the candidates are constantly receiving the support, feedback, and career development to be successful.” 

    Listen to the full episode.

    3. Jenny Cotie Kangas, Director of Employer Branding and Awareness at PandoLogic

    Sometimes the best approach to a challenge is to start from scratch. When Jenny lost most of her memories as a result of a head injury, she underwent a process of extreme relearning. Though the experience came with hardships and frustrations, it was hugely beneficial to her professional life. In this inspiring episode, Jenny shares how learning to explain things in their simplest form, eliminating biases and blindspots, and employing reverse engineering strategies leads to true organizational change.

    “When you storytell something in a way that makes sense to a 10-year-old – all of a sudden everybody can understand it. Not just the top 10% or the most experienced in your organization, but everybody can. And when you’re trying to actually make change happen, your goal is to hit everybody, not just the top 10%.”

    Listen to the full episode.

    4. Maryjo Charbonnier, CHRO at Kyndryl 

    Maryjo isn’t afraid of a challenge. In fact, she has sought out difficult problems to be part of a solution. Her passion for change-making led her to be Chief HR Officer at the world’s largest startup with over 90,000 employees and $19 billion in revenue. As an expert on cultural processes, Maryjo explains what it takes to cultivate and maintain a thriving company culture. 

    “One of the most important things HR people do is listen to what isn’t said.” 

    Listen to the full episode. 

    Want more insights into recruiting tips and trends?

    Tune into Hired’s podcast, Talk Talent to Me, to learn about the strategies, techniques, and trends shaping the recruitment industry—straight from top experts themselves. More

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    8 Ways Talent Professionals Can Drive Business Impact Despite a Hiring Freeze

    Pausing hiring efforts may be necessary for a variety of reasons but talent professionals can still drive business impact. Whether due to missed projections, shifts in funding or shareholder priorities, or even a global pandemic, a hiring freeze sometimes means cuts to recruiting and TA teams.

    This doesn’t have to be the case. This hiring freeze may be a golden opportunity for TA and recruiting teams to pivot to other projects, assist other internal teams, or focus on new initiatives.

    Related: How to Improve Job Security During an Economic Downturn: Career Advice for Recruiters

    There are ways to use this time to start strategic projects that positively impact business with your insight and skill set, even when you are not hiring. Here are the top 8 things you can do to drive business impact and set yourself up for success after a hiring freeze is lifted.

    1. Keep your existing pipeline warm

    If a hiring freeze was unexpected, you might have candidates in your interviewing pipeline you need to notify. Sharing your hiring status (and the status of their application and candidacy) will require a balance of transparency and empathy. Let candidates in your pipeline know a hiring freeze is taking place. Offer a tentative timeline of when your team foresees hiring to pick up again. Assure them that you or your team will follow up with updates. Those are the best ways to retain your candidate pipeline while keeping the conversation and their interest warm.

    2. Engage internal employees

    During a hiring freeze, recruiters can work closely with the People Team to engage internal employees. Turnover is an aspect of people management that HR teams work to estimate, prevent, or lower. HR partners with talent acquisition teams to incorporate turnover into recruiting goals. Despite a hiring pause, turnover typically continues as expected or might even increase depending on the state of the business and company morale.

    By partnering with the larger People Ops Team, recruiting can support at-risk employees the team identifies and engage different populations to help retain and re-spark their passion for the company. In addition, working closely with company executives to be transparent about business strategy moving forward is especially crucial during this time as a means of supporting your team.

    3. Get involved with other business initiatives

    Lend your time and expertise to more teams and get creative with how to advocate for the company in new ways. Need some inspo?

    Hired’s Senior Internal Recruiter, Jules Grondin, pivoted to immerse herself in launching new initiatives. To support fellow recruiters and individuals in Talent Acquisition, Jules helped establish Hired’s Tech Recruitment Collective. Recognizing that Talent Acquisition is at the heart of building great teams, the collective connects these professionals with Hired’s extensive network of companies actively hiring TA talent.

    Another recent initiative is Hired’s Candidate Credit Program. To address a candidate supply and demand imbalance, Hired offered companies the opportunity to refer candidates in their ATS to Hired in exchange for credits to use on future Hired services and solutions.

    Brainstorm new ways to involve yourself in other aspects of the business. Reach out to other teams or colleagues to collaborate!

    4. Focus on employer branding

    A hiring freeze might create a negative perception of how the business is doing. To remain proactive, consider refreshing your employer brand strategy as a lever toward getting ahead of any negative misconceptions and attracting top talent when you open roles and resume interviewing. A company’s brand can be aspirational. Positioning your employer brand through thought leadership, company initiatives, and values helps build a relatable narrative that your company should be known for.

    Despite a hiring freeze, don’t hit the brakes on sharing your company’s forward momentum. For distributed teams, a great example would be to amplify ways your team creatively adapted to remote work, approached collaboration, and remained diligent about fostering company culture to maintain a healthy work-life balance.  

    Also, consider encouraging happy and engaged employees on your team to become promoters of the business. This supports a spirit of pride, ownership, and advocacy for the great work your company is doing! Aligning your employees with company and employer branding can turn your team into brand ambassadors to their network. This offers interested candidates a view of your company that goes beyond corporate branding and marketing but a more personal look into the employee experience from a peer.

    5. Optimize recruiting process

    Taking a step back from the ins and outs of your recruiting process will help you see areas to revise and make more efficient. Recruiting teams can take the time to evaluate many areas of their process from application to offer acceptance. This goes not just for efficiency but to assure the process promotes an excellent candidate experience. For instance, going through the application for an open role from a candidate’s perspective could flag hurdles in the process that candidates would experience. This includes complications with your ATS, resume upload issues, or LinkedIn profile integration errors.

    Beyond this, there are various areas of the recruiting process that teams can evaluate, including:

    Streamlining processes in your ATS to increase data cleanliness

    Evaluating your application to improve completion rates

    Updating the careers page and job descriptions to align with talent branding

    Evaluating the recruiting funnel for biases and exclusive language

    Diving into recruiting metrics, including outreach to lead conversion rates, rejection reasons, time to offer, time to hire, etc.

    Evaluating recruiting or sourcing tools

    Related: How to Secure Approval for New Tech Tools (Free Template)

    6. Invest in training hiring team members

    Having downtime from sourcing and interviewing offers the opportunity to evaluate your process and train your interviewers. For recruiting and talent acquisition team members, training or taking certification courses can advance the team’s recruiting strategy and overall professional development. In addition, training hiring managers (and other team members who participate in interviews) around efficiencies your team has made in your recruiting process aligns everyone to best represent the company when conducting interviews.

    7. Ensure your recruiting process is inclusive 

    Now more than ever, companies are being examined for their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion beyond public statements and surface-level efforts. The public and their workforce evaluate them based on their executive leadership team and how they conduct business day-to-day. As it relates to hiring, take the time to ensure your recruiting process is inclusive to all candidates who may apply and interview in the future. Consider everything from the verbiage in job descriptions to the logistics of how to best conduct an interview.

    This is also a great opportunity for teams to undergo unconscious bias training. This ensures recruiters and interviewers accurately represent company values during interviews and champion an inclusive hiring process.

    Related: Diversity features on Hired

    Unconscious biases may present themselves at any point, even with something as simple as seeing the full name of a candidate on their resume. For example, a person’s name can implicate their sex, ethnicity, and fluency and literacy in English. This can lead to a member of the interviewing team building stereotypes around the candidate without having met or spoken with them. Evaluate your recruitment and interview processes from beginning to end with potential biases in mind. It can help eliminate additional and unnecessary barriers to entry for qualified talent.

    8. Develop a recruiting plan

    As your team anticipates when a hiring freeze could lift, having a recruiting plan will ensure the team is ready to begin sourcing and interviewing again. Connect with your hiring managers to identify and prioritize roles that are an immediate need post-freeze. As the time gets closer, preliminary sourcing and pipelining quality candidates is a proactive way to get a preview into the active candidate market for these high-priority positions.

    In addition, you can begin to review organic applicants and put your feelers out to your existing pipeline to reignite that interest. Lastly, consider working closely with leadership. Establish a tentative timeline so the team can effectively plan their work and OKRs for the coming months. 

    Regardless of the hiring pace, skilled talent professionals drive impact throughout the organization

    Hiring freezes illicit thoughts of uncertainty for many people within a company and for those who are applying. Despite that, a freeze in hiring doesn’t mean that business strategy and talent teams are on a freeze too. Recruiting and talent acquisition teams offer value to the business beyond sourcing and interviewing. When times call for their main priorities to pause, it offers an opportunity to grow together and invest in team members. Talent professionals are incredible partners to drive impact while building a strong company. More

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    How Recruiters Can Attract Top Talent from Different Generations

    In today’s ever-changing job market, recruiters need to focus on innovation and adaptability when it comes to their recruitment strategies. They must keep up with the shifting demands of different generations of candidates and create an attractive work environment that appeals to them. This was the finding of Monster’s recent research.
    Generational similarities and differences in attitudes to work
    The report reveals that the traditional 9-5 working day is dead, and the demands and expectations of each generation have transformed in the past few years. However, despite this, there are similarities between the generations in terms of work satisfaction, with workers of all ages agreeing that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a new normal in the workplace including a desire for greater freedom and flexibility.
    Companies are responding by offering more flexibility and focusing on benefits, including aligning with company values and offering meaningful roles. For example, 42% of Generation Z employees say they are allowed to  operate flexibly or remotely.  In addition, while the factors that motivate work choices differ among generations, there was a consensus among all generations that working for organisations that align with their values, and in roles that have meaning, scored highly.
    However, there are crucial differences between the generations that recruiters must take into account. Baby Boomers are almost twice as concerned with compensation and benefits as Generation Z, who focus more on a company’s values, including diversity and inclusion.  Furthermore, Gen Z is the first generation to come of age in a fully digital world.  This generation has access to more information about companies and their values than ever before. This could have significant implications for companies looking to secure top talent in the coming years. Employers may need to re-evaluate their values and messaging to reflect this shift in priorities when it comes to choosing an employer in order to appeal to the growing Gen Z workforce
    Millennials also rate good compensation and benefits highly – 41% compared to Generation Z on 26%. Generation Z candidates, on the other hand, focus more on company values. 59% of Generation Z recruiters anticipate that candidates will increasingly expect to learn about a company’s diversity and inclusion efforts and social impact.
    Workplaces are, like wider society, becoming more diverse.  Recruiters must embrace new ways of working, adopt new technologies, and understand what is important to each generation. They need to alter the assessment criteria and adapt their recruitment techniques to the modern candidate by embracing generational diversity, evolving needs, and the desire for flexible working.
    Using technology to recruit – a generational perspective
    The report also highlights the importance of technology in recruiting, with younger generations embracing digital recruiting more than any other. However, recruiters must recognize that not every candidate will be comfortable with virtual interviews and should use a range of recruitment methods that best suit each generation. For instance, recruiters targeting Generation Z should provide real examples to back up their statements, while organizations targeting Millennials should use social media and text messaging to describe packages, perks, and benefits.
    While all generations still ranked an ‘in-person’ interview as a more important factor than a virtual interview the gap between them was much narrower for younger recruiters. Our research found that Generation Z recruiters are almost twice as positive about digital recruiting as any other generation. Online search tools and applicant tracking software are more effective than social media at identifying candidates than social media. They’re also twice as likely to use text messages and WhatsApp to communicate with candidates. Technology can break down barriers, but for Boomers and also for some Millennials, it can construct them. Not every candidate will be as comfortable in a video interview.
    61% of Generation Z recruiters claim that virtual recruiting is better than hiring in person, while 26% of Millennial recruiters, 13% of Generation X recruiters and only 6% of Baby Boomers said the same.  All generations ranked in-person interviews better than virtual, with 67% of Generation Z, 56% of Millennials, 66% of Generation X and 74% of Baby Boomers claiming this.
    Top tips for recruiters: best recruitment methods for different generations
    To successfully attract candidates from diverse generations, recruiters should adapt their recruitment techniques accordingly.

    Recruiters targeting Generation Z candidates should provide real examples to back up their statements, as this generation tends to be sceptical about promises. Authenticity is key. Recruiters should also highlight a company’s corporate values.
    For Millennials, organisations should use social media, text messaging, and WhatsApp to stay in touch and describe packages, perks, and benefits.
    When recruiting Boomers, recruiters should highlight the stability and security of roles, while Generation X recruiters should emphasise benefits, perks, and salary, and use word-of-mouth, networking, and tried-and-trusted methods to engage with candidates.

    To attract top talent from diverse generations, recruiters must adapt their recruitment techniques accordingly. They must understand what is important to each generation, alter their assessment criteria, and embrace generational diversity and evolving needs, including the desire for flexible working. Successful recruitment for any generation means balancing effective existing strategies with new approaches to attract interest from all groups for every role. Companies that can do this will have a better chance of securing the top talent they need in order to thrive in the future.
    By Rod McMillan, Marketing Manager, Monster UK.
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    How to Use Coding Challenge Events to Build Tech Talent Pipeline

    About this eBook

    Today’s recruiting and hiring teams face multiple challenges, from low brand recognition to the capacity to efficiently assess an influx of candidates. Use this eBook to discover how events, such as coding challenges, can help you build your pipeline, expand into new markets, progress on DEI goals, and free up your teams to focus on their biggest priorities.

    What You’ll Learn

    Common challenges for employers that events help solve

    How to promote and manage events

    Examples of virtual candidate events and coding challenges to reach goals More

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    Diversity & Inclusion Recruitment, Retaining Talent, & More: Talk Talent to Me March ’23 Recap

    Catch up on the March 2023 episodes of Hired’s Talk Talent to Me podcast featuring recruiting and talent acquisition leadership who share strategies, techniques, and trends shaping the recruitment industry. 

    Diversity and inclusion recruitment with Jacob Rivas, Sr Global Technical Talent Sourcer, Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) at WW/WeightWatchers

    Recruiting and retaining with Nancy Connery, Co-Founder of OpenComp

    1. Jacob Rivas, Sr Global Technical Talent Sourcer, Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) at WW/WeightWatchers

    Jacob shares his recruitment knowledge, including how he communicates with candidates and best practices for approaching subject lines. He also explains how he got into D&I and how things have changed for him since leaving Vox. Jacob wraps up the conversation by sharing the most impactful career advice he has ever received!

    “Diversity is really the new area to go and if you’re intentional, you can make a big impact.”

    Listen to the full episode.

    2. Nancy Connery, Co-Founder of OpenComp 

    Fun fact: Nancy was the very first VP of HR at Salesforce. She spearheaded strategic investments in human capital and fueled the company’s remarkable growth by building its industry-leading HR infrastructure. Her latest venture is co-founding the compensational intelligence company, OpenComp. Nancy also co-hosts the OpenComp podcast, High Growth Matters. In this episode, Nancy sheds light on her days at Salesforce and her critical role in recruiting (and retaining) the best talent as the company grew. She explains her decision to leave a comfortable position as VP to pursue her own path in the industry. You’ll also gain insight into her belief that talent retention and upskilling are as important as hiring.

    “You need to think about employees [in the same manner as customers] as you grow the company, not only recruiting them but also, how do you develop them? How do you retain them? Can they grow with the life cycles and stages of the company?”

    Listen to the full episode.

    Want more insights into recruiting tips and trends?

    Tune into Hired’s podcast, Talk Talent to Me, to learn about the strategies, techniques, and trends shaping the recruitment industry—straight from top experts themselves. More

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    Re-engineering Your 2023 Tech Hiring Strategy (Watch VIDEO on Demand)

    If you are in the market to hire qualified software engineers, you need to modify your 2023 hiring strategy. But how exactly do your recruitment and hiring strategies need to evolve? Watch this on-demand webinar to hear experts discuss key findings and data from Hired’s 2023 State of Software Engineers report. They share advice for re-engineering your strategy and getting top tech positions filled quickly with skilled, high-value talent. 

    Moderated by Founder of Marketing by Maya, Maya Avitan, hear from:

    CTO, Hired, Dave Walters

    VP of Engineering, Greenhouse, Andy Lister

    CEO & Co-Founder, SheTO, Nidhi Gupta

    Read an excerpt of the conversation and access the full webinar video on demand. 

    Maya Avitan, Founder, Marketing by Maya

    Though Hired’s culture is remote-first, there are still major companies placing a heavy focus on bringing talent back into physical locations. However, based on the findings of the report there is a higher demand for remote work options from talent in all major cities including New York, the Bay Area, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC. 

    There is a disconnect between organizations that are searching for location-specific top tech talent that is seeking remote-first roles.

    What do you think about this disconnect and how are companies managing this demand from a hiring perspective?

    Dave Walters, CTO, Hired

    We are seeing a growing percentage of employers pushing for return to office, although the demand for remote engineering talent still remains very high. Remote roles command higher salaries than local roles especially in smaller markets. Enterprise companies are shifting fast in their demand for in-office employees, although a majority of the total positions do remain open to remote. 

    Meanwhile, we’ve continued to see the proportion of jobseekers only seeking remote roles versus in-person or hybrid grow. This shouldn’t be surprising as this demand for remote work started well before the pandemic and the pandemic only further fueled that in recent years. As a tech leader, I know the challenge we’ve all been facing in finding top talent with the right skill sets in past years. That challenge isn’t going to go away anytime soon. 

    Ultimately, despite the high-profile layoffs we’ve heard about in the news, unemployment for tech talent remains low. You have to cast a wider net in your search to be as competitive as possible and an opportune way to do that is by remaining flexible for remote talent around the country. 

    The bottom line is that remote work and flexibility continue to be some of the highest priorities for jobseekers. Promoting remote policies or benefits that allow for flexibility are going to be key strategies for attracting qualified, top tech talent.

    Watch the full collaborative panel discussion to discover: 

    More on how companies are managing the demand for remote-first work 

    Why talent leaders should take candidates from non-traditional educational backgrounds seriously

    The most in-demand software engineering skills are and how they’ve impacted the job market More

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    Why a Sustainable Talent Acquisition Strategy is Critical for Employers Now

    In recent years, the labor market has been increasingly candidate driven and focused on skill-based hiring. But with rising inflation, HR and talent leaders are under pressure to reduce hiring costs while maintaining efficiency. 

    There’s no doubt it’s a complicated space to be in – candidates are demanding higher wages, re-hire costs are significant, and upskilling investments are inevitable. So, how can you survive the transition without losing touch with your candidates? By adopting a sustainable approach to talent acquisition. 

    While organizations are moving toward more sustainable talent strategies during the economic slowdown, they can often confuse talent acquisition with recruitment. This lack of knowledge can hamper your process and disrupt progress. 

    Related: Hired Releases 2023 State of Software Engineers Report

    Recruitment vs. Talent Acquisition 

    Talent acquisition (TA) is an ongoing process to identify suitable candidates aligned with the company’s values, mission, and business goals. It is an ever-evolving process with a focus on current market trends, workforce makeup, and recruitment predictions. 

    Developing and maintaining a talent acquisition strategy allows you to stay ahead of the competition, empower your bottom line, and acquire top talent. 

    While talent acquisition and recruitment are often used interchangeably, they are two distinct processes. Although both deal with talent, recruiting is the process of sourcing, assessing, and hiring candidates in the short term. Recruitment often happens when there are open positions in the organization. 

    So, it includes the process of attracting quality job applicants, analyzing their qualities and skills, and hiring them for vacant roles. The recruitment process is time-bound, pre-defined, and standard compared to talent acquisition. 

    On the other hand, talent acquisition is a more insightful process based on long-term business and talent goals. The purpose of a TA strategy is to seek candidates who are the right fit and have the potential to contribute meaningfully to the future of the organization. TA experts and specialists are more concerned with laying the appropriate groundwork to hire the best talent long-term.

    What is a “sustainable TA strategy”?

    Talent sustainability is defined as an organization’s ability to continuously attract, develop, and retain candidates with the skills and qualities required for current or future roles. In a swiftly changing labor market, organizational needs and goals also change respectively. A one-time recruitment plan would be inept at meeting the evolving demands of the company.

    A sustainable talent acquisition strategy also encourages you to maintain a balance between acquiring external and promoting internal talent. Lack of career advancement opportunities is one of the main reasons people quit their jobs. 

    Although hiring new talent is important, doing so at the cost of current employees is detrimental to organizational growth. Moreover, if you are delegating all resources and money towards recruitment, there’s none left to invest in your existing employees.

    Hence, a sustainable strategy is a win for all – companies can divide time and resources between current employees and new hiring with proper planning and implementation. 

    Getting started

    While recruiting is essential for gaining employees, it can become a time-intensive and expensive endeavor without a proper TA strategy. Amidst a dynamic labor market, many organizations are exploring talent acquisition avenues to prepare for hiring surges and talent management. 

    If you are one of those companies looking to foray into the TA field, ask yourself the following questions before jumping to strategy:

    What are your long-term vision and goals for your organization?

    What type of talent do you need to achieve the company’s vision and goals? 

    How can you integrate your organizational values into the talent acquisition process? 

    How do you create a program framework to support your talent acquisition strategy? 

    How will you assess the progress of your talent acquisition strategy? 

    Your answers will help you define and align your business goals to the talent strategy. 

    Why you need it

    Finding the right talent in the tech industry is a struggle for organizations worldwide. This year, a long-standing skills gap and a lack of professionals in the market have put things in perspective. 

    In simple terms, a talent acquisition strategy saves time and money, boosts productivity, and prepares you for the market’s dips and surges. Time-specific recruitment periods force you to hire and onboard candidates quickly. It’s an expensive affair, and can also cause disruptions in workflow and productivity.

    As some organizations prepare for the possibility of a recession, many are also reducing their hiring budgets and rolling back their hiring plans. However, not having a comprehensive long-term strategy will make organizations vulnerable when they do need to start hiring again. 

    Moving away from the mindset of recruiting being a one-and-done deal, and creating a more sustainable hiring framework is crucial.

    Sustainability is key

    Hiring new candidates is often time-consuming and costly, especially if done repeatedly. This is where sustainable talent acquisition comes in. 

    A solid talent acquisition strategy allows you to future-proof your organization by investing in nurturing, hiring, upskilling, and retaining highly qualified tech talent. 

    Amidst some new (and old) challenges, one thing remains constant – data-driven and long-term talent acquisition and management frameworks are here to stay. More

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    The 5 Best Recruiting Software Tools in 2023

    Looking for the best recruiting software on the market? You’re in the right place!
    Hiring a new employee can be costly and time-consuming. According to Indeed, you can expect to pay up to 30% of the hired employee’s first-year salary to a recruiter – and it can take up to 52 days to fill a position. 
    But what if you could save money and time with some powerful software tools? Recruiting software like JazzHR, Recruitee, etc., can help you streamline your hiring process, attract more qualified candidates, enhance your employer brand, and optimize your talent acquisition strategy. 
    But how do you choose the best one for your needs? We have compiled a list of the 5 best recruiting software tools in 2023 based on their features, functionality, customer reviews, and major pros and cons. 
    Here are the 5 best recruiting software tools in 2023:
    1.JazzHR
    Originally founded in 2009, JazzHR is now a full-fledged ATS and recruiting software that helps small and medium-sized businesses streamline their hiring process. It offers unlimited users and jobs, a customizable workflow engine, and integrations with popular job boards and platforms. 
    A customizable workflow engine is its biggest USP. This means you can create different stages for each job, add tasks and reminders, automate emails and notifications, and track the progress of each candidate. You can also use scorecards and assessments to evaluate candidates objectively.

    JazzHR Candidate Screening Dashboard
    Some of the key workflows that JazzHR supports are:

    Job creation: Users can create jobs using templates or custom fields, add job descriptions and requirements, set compensation ranges and benefits, assign hiring managers and team members, etc
    Job posting: Users can post their jobs to 18 free job boards, share them on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc., and embed them on their career site or website. 
    Candidate sourcing: Users can source candidates from various channels, such as referrals, resume databases (such as ZipRecruiter), talent pools (such as Indeed Resume), etc.
    Candidate screening: Users can screen candidates using filters such as location, education level, and experience level. use knockout questions to eliminate unqualified candidates automatically, use scorecards and assessments to rank candidates based on skills and fit, etc.

    Custom Knockout Questions 
    All in all, ​​JazzHR is a simple hiring solution for small and medium-sized businesses that need to collaborate with multiple hiring managers or teams. However, it may not suit large enterprises or highly regulated businesses that require more advanced features, compliance, or support.
    Pros:

    The pricing plans are affordable, making JazzHR accessible to small and mid-sized companies.
    Since all their pricing plans allow unlimited candidates and users, you won’t have to shell out extra money to scale the recruitment process. 
    It offers social media recruiting, career site branding, reporting, and applicant tracking as some of its main features. 

    Cons:

    Some emails go to spam or get lost in transit.
    There is no way to highlight your posts on certain boards or customize the application questions’ wording.
    The software is feature-rich but buggy and slow at times.

    Pricing:
    JazzHR has three pricing editions: Hero, Plus, and Pro. Hero costs $49 per month and allows up to 3 open jobs. Plus costs $229 per month and allows up to 15 open jobs. Pro costs $359 per month and allows up to 50 open jobs.
    2. Recruitee

    Recruitee is another cloud-based collaborative hiring software that allows unlimited users and data for all plans, so you can involve your whole team in hiring without paying extra. 
    It also has a talent-sourcing Chrome extension that lets you import candidates from LinkedIn, GitHub, Dribbble, etc., directly into Recruitee. In addition, it has a social media connection feature that lets you post your jobs on multiple platforms, increasing your reach and visibility.

    Social media connection feature
    Some of the key workflows of Recruitee are:

    Customized pipelines: You can create customized pipelines for different roles or stages of hiring. You can drag and drop candidates along the pipeline, track their progress, schedule interviews, send feedback forms, etc.

    Drag and drop interface 

    Hiring team: You can invite your colleagues, managers, or external recruiters to join your hiring team. It also provides the ability to assign roles and permissions, share notes and tasks, and mention each other in comments.
    CareersHub: You can build a branded careers site using Recruitee’s templates or your own design. It will help you showcase your brand, culture & values, display your open jobs, and collect applications via forms or LinkedIn Easy Apply.

    While it’s a holistic recruitment platform, it may not be good for companies that need more advanced features, such as AI-powered matching or automated screening. Recruitee is more suitable for HR teams looking to scale their hiring activities. It’s especially suitable for companies that want to collaborate with their team members and external partners on hiring.
    Recently, Recruitee also launched a ReferralsHub feature that lets you create and manage employee referral programs within the platform.
    Pros:

    It offers a high degree of autonomy and independence for recruiters. This means that you can create your own pipelines, templates, and workflows without relying on external agencies or consultants. 
    It helps internal teams hire better together by assigning roles and tasks, allowing you to collaborate with your colleagues and stakeholders on hiring decisions. You can also assign specific people to review applications, conduct interviews, or give feedback.
    Recruitee provides marketplace access, where you can integrate with other tools such as video interviewing, assessments, background checks, etc., enhancing your hiring experience.

    Cons:

    The pricing is based on active jobs, which can be limiting for companies that have a lot of open positions but a low hiring volume.
    Recruitee can be relatively expensive compared to other recruitment tools in the market. 
    While Recruitee offers a range of templates and customization options, some users have found it to be limiting in terms of customizing fields and designing forms to fit their specific needs. 

    Pricing:
    Recruitee has three pricing plans: Launch ($224/month paid annually for 10 job slots), Scale ($399/month paid annually for 10 job slots), and Lead (custom pricing). All plans include basic recruitment features and a free trial for 18 days.
    3. Teamtailor 

    Teamtailor is a recruitment and employer branding platform that helps companies attract and hire talent. Initially founded in 2013 by three entrepreneurs who wanted to make recruitment more fun and human, Teamtailor has grown to serve over 7,000 organizations and 115,000 users worldwide. 
    What makes Teamtailor special is how it combines an applicant tracking system (ATS) with a career site builder and a social media integration tool. 

    Employee dashboard 
    Companies can create a customized and engaging online presence that showcases their culture, values, and opportunities. At the same time, they can grow their talent pool by reaching out to passive candidates on social media platforms, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.
    Here are some of its key features: 

    Custom Workflows: You can create different workflows for different roles or departments, and assign them to your job ads. Each workflow consists of stages that represent the progress of a candidate through the hiring process. 
    Automated Triggers: You can also add triggers to automate certain actions when a candidate reaches a certain stage. For example, you can send an email confirmation, request feedback from your team members, schedule an interview, or send data to another platform like intelliHR. Triggers help you save time and streamline your communication with candidates and colleagues.
    Requisition flows: Requisitions are requests for approval to create or publish a job ad. You can set up requisition flows to define who needs to approve a requisition before it goes live. You can have different requisition flows for different roles or departments, and assign them to your job ads. Requisitions help you ensure quality and compliance in your hiring process.

    Pros:

    Teamtailor is intuitive and easy to use, even for users without extensive technical knowledge. The software features a clean, modern interface and offers simple navigation, making it easy to access and manage your recruitment process.
    Teamtailor offers extensive integrations with other platforms you use for recruitment, such as LinkedIn, Indeed, Slack, Google Calendar, etc. Integrations help you expand your reach and functionality without leaving Teamtailor.
    You can set up custom workflows for your hiring process, enabling you to define interview questions, and set up scoring systems to evaluate candidates. This flexibility allows you to tailor the software to your specific hiring needs.

    Cons:

    Teamtailor’s pricing structure is based on the number of employees, which can add up quickly as your organization grows.
    It does not support multiple languages for the career site, making it unsuitable for many international companies.
    The reporting and analytics feature is not very robust or flexible. Some users wish they could export or customize their data more easily. They also find it hard to track some of their recruitment metrics or SLAs.

    Pricing:
    Teamtailor has a subscription-based pricing model that adapts to the size of your company. The starting price is $2400 per year, but you can request a custom quote from their website. They also offer a free trial for 14 days. 
    4. PinPoint

    Pinpoint is a talent acquisition software and modern applicant tracking software that helps companies attract, hire, and onboard top talent. The built-in recruitment marketing automation platform helps run programmatic recruitment campaigns that get smarter over time, using data from Pinpoint’s ATS.
    They also have a diversity dashboard that gives access to anonymized data and actionable insights, allowing you to measure and improve diversity across the hiring process.

    PinPoint dashboard
    Other key workflows that Pinpoint supports are:

    Creating and publishing job ads on multiple channels
    Building career sites that showcase the company culture and values
    Managing candidates through stages and pipelines
    Collaborating with hiring managers and team members
    Scheduling interviews and sending reminders
    Sending offer letters and contracts electronically
    Onboarding new hires with checklists and tasks

    They have also added new features such as video interviewing, automated screening, and candidate feedback surveys.
    Pros:

    Pinpoint has a developer-friendly API that allows users to integrate with other systems and customize their workflows.
    They offer unlimited support from their team of recruitment experts who can help with optimizing recruitment advertising, improving job descriptions, setting up integrations, and more.
    It has a powerful and flexible career site builder that allows users to create attractive and branded career pages without coding or design skills. 

    Cons:

    It is a relatively expensive solution that may not suit smaller or budget-conscious businesses. Users have to pay per month or per year based on their number of employees. 

    Pricing:
    Pinpoint has two different plans: Growth and Enterprise. 
    The Growth plan costs $600 per month when billed annually and offers unlimited active jobs, team members, corporate branding, a single-page careers website, and standard integrations. 
    The Enterprise plan costs $1200 per month when billed annually and offers everything in the Growth plan plus custom integrations, a dedicated account manager, advanced analytics, and more.
    5. Greenhouse
    Greenhouse is a hiring software that helps companies hire and onboard the right talent. It provides an ATS that allows users to customize their recruiting process, track candidates, collaborate with hiring teams, and measure their hiring performance. 
    The platform is especially known for its structured hiring approach that helps users define clear roles, create consistent interview plans, and collect structured feedback. It also boasts a large ecosystem of integrations with over 450 partners that enable users to build their own hiring tech stack.
    It doesn’t skimp on reporting either – with the ability to track key metrics such as time-to-hire, source-of-hire, candidate quality, and diversity.
    Some of its other key features include: 

    Greenhouse Inclusion: It helps reduce bias in the hiring process and promotes diversity and inclusion.
    Job creation: Users can create job posts using templates or custom fields, assign hiring teams, set up scorecards and interview kits, and publish jobs to various sources.
    Candidate management: Users can track candidates throughout the hiring process using stages and statuses, send email communications, schedule interviews, collect feedback forms, and make offers. 

    Despite all these offerings, Greenhouse may not be the best option for companies that have a limited budget or prefer simpler software. It’s a bit on the pricier side and requires a steeper learning curve. 
    Pros:

    It has a dedicated customer support team that provides training, best practices, and troubleshooting.
    Greenhouse integrates with over 300 third-party applications, including HRIS systems, assessment tools, background checks, and more.
    Greenhouse has a high customer satisfaction rating and a responsive support team.

    Cons:

    They aren’t upfront about their pricing, making it difficult to compare with other solutions. 
    It’s a bit complex to use for some users and requires training and support to get the most out of its features. Some users also report that the system can be slow or buggy at times.

    Pricing:
    Pricing plans aren’t available on their website. You can request a quote from Greenhouse by filling out a form on their website.
    Benefits of Using Recruiting Software
    Streamline the hiring process.
    Recruiting software automates the otherwise tedious tasks in the hiring process, including posting job ads, screening resumes, and scheduling interviews. This helps you (the recruiter) save time and focus on more human-centric tasks, such as building relationships with candidates.
    Take JazzHR’s hiring software, for instance. It streamlines the entire hiring process by automating job postings and offering custom career pages and a candidate database.

    Candidate Database
    Improve candidate experience.
    Just like recruiters, candidates also prefer a streamlined, user-friendly application process. Recruiting software can help provide that. By making it easy for candidates to apply and stay informed about their application status, recruiters can improve their candidate experience and enhance their employer brand.
    Reduce bias in hiring.
    Workplaces are sometimes rife with a biased hiring process. Luckily, recruiting software can help you reduce biases in hiring by standardizing the screening process and using data-driven methods to evaluate candidates. This ensures that all candidates get evaluated fairly and based on their qualifications rather than subjective factors like their name or appearance.
    For instance, TeamTailor’s anonymized screening feature masks candidates’ personal details during the initial screening process.
    Make data-driven hiring decisions:
    Recruiting platforms, more often than not, focus on gathering and analyzing data to facilitate the hiring process, allowing recruiters to make fair decisions and improve their recruitment strategies.
    Scale your hiring process:
    As your business grows, your hiring needs will likely become more complex and time-consuming. In that case, a recruiting tool can be your friend. These tools can help you scale your hiring process by automating tasks and providing tools to manage high volumes of applicants.
    For example, Greenhouse has a special feature, “structured hiring workflows,” that helps recruiters manage high volumes of applicants while maintaining consistency and quality.
    Key Features That Your Recruiting System Should Have

    Resume Parsing: Most often, recruiters spend 6-7 seconds reviewing a resume. This isn’t a lot of time, which places doubts on the efficacy of the entire process. Resume parsing – with its ability to extract relevant data from a candidate’s resume and automatically populate fields in the ATS – solves this problem by and large. 
    Job Posting and Distribution: A report by Content Stadium shows that for those recruitment teams who use social media as a communication channel, the top three platforms are LinkedIn (79%), Facebook (71%), and Instagram (45%). That’s a lot of back and forth. But recruiting tools with automated job posting and distribution make it easier to post job openings to multiple job boards and social media sites.
    Analytics and Reporting: Analytics and reporting help recruiters measure the effectiveness of their hiring process and make data-driven decisions. Make sure your software offers the ability to track and analyze recruiting metrics such as time-to-hire, cost-per-hire, and source of hire.
    Candidate Relationship Management (CRM): The recruiting CRM features allow recruiters to track and manage candidate interactions and communications throughout the hiring process.
    AI and Automation: Automation-based features allow recruiters to use artificial intelligence and automation to improve recruiting efficiency and accuracy. For example, AI screens resumes and identifies qualified candidates, while automation assists in scheduling interviews and sending follow-up emails. 

    Questions to Ask Vendors on Recruiting Software Demos
    When evaluating recruiting software vendors and attending demos, here are some questions to ask to ensure that you’re getting the information you need:

    Ask whether the software can parse resumes automatically. Don’t forget to ask about all the formats it can extract data from. For example, can it handle PDFs?
    Next, check whether the software automated the process of posting to multiple job boards and social media sites simultaneously. Also, can it track the source of candidates?
    The ability to create detailed analytics and reporting is another essential feature to consider. Make sure your recruiting platform can track metrics like time-to-hire, cost-per-hire, and source of hire. Also, can it provide insights into the effectiveness of the hiring process?
    What integrations does the software offer? The software should be able to integrate with your existing HR systems, such as ATS or HRIS. Otherwise, you might have a hard time streamlining the process. 
    Ask whether the software has features to handle candidate relationships. Can it track candidate interactions and communications? Can it send automated follow-up emails and reminders to potential candidates?
    Don’t forget about customer support! Ask whether they offer phone, email, or chat support. Is there a dedicated customer success manager?
    Many SaaS-based platforms have customized pricing plans. So, if the pricing is not available on their sites, ask about their pricing model. It’s also important to verify if the pricing is based on the number of employees, the number of job postings, or another factor. Also, are there any hidden fees or additional costs?
    What security measures does the software have in place? How is candidate data protected? Is your software GDPR or CCPA-compliant?

    In addition, ask them to share case studies or references from companies that have used your software. This will give you an idea about the effectiveness of the software and an inclination on the type of results you can expect.
    Recruiting Software FAQs
    What is recruiting software, and how does it work?
    Recruiting software, often synonymously used with applicant tracking software (ATS), is a type of software used by HR professionals and recruiters to manage the hiring process. These platforms often assist with resume parsing, job applications and distribution, candidate relationship management, and the like.
    How much does a typical recruiting software cost?
    Their cost can vary based on the number of users, the number of job postings, and the level of functionality. Some vendors offer pricing plans based on a monthly subscription fee, while others may charge per-user or per-posting fees.
    How does recruiting software handle candidate communication?
    Recruiting platforms usually offer candidate communication features like automated email reminders, scheduling tools, and messaging platforms. This can help keep candidates engaged and informed throughout the entire recruiting process.
    What security measures are in place to protect candidate data?
    Acclaimed recruiting software vendors usually protect candidate data with data encryption and multi-factor authentication. It’s also important to ensure that the software is GDPR or CCPA-compliant based on your company’s operating locations.
    How do I evaluate recruiting software vendors?
    When evaluating recruiting software vendors, it’s important to consider factors, such as the software’s functionality, integrations, customer support, pricing, and security measures. Demos and free trials can be helpful in assessing the software’s capabilities. Additionally, it can be useful to read customer reviews and case studies to gain insight into other users’ experiences.
    Pitfalls to Avoid When Buying Recruiting Software
    Here are some common pitfalls to avoid when buying recruiting software:

    Overlooking integration capabilities: Let’s say, as a company, you invest in recruiting software that does not integrate with your existing HR management system. This can lead to data duplication and inaccuracies, as well as inefficiencies in managing the hiring process.
    Ignoring user experience: It goes without saying that poor user experience can put off both recruiters and candidates. A difficult-to-navigate recruiting tool or one that takes too long to load might even discourage candidates from applying – resulting in a loss of potential top talent. 
    Focusing too much on price: While you obviously have to consider your budget, it’s equally important to balance cost with functionality and value. Opting for a cheaper software solution may result in a lack of features or insufficient customer support.
    Neglecting security and data privacy: Failing to prioritize candidate data security and privacy can lead to breaches and data loss, which can be costly and damaging to your company’s reputation.
    Not considering future needs: If you don’t invest in a recruiting tool with scalability options, you may need to switch to a new software solution in the future. This can be both time-consuming and costly.

    Choose Your Perfect Recruiting Solution!
    In conclusion, each of the top 5 recruiting software tools for 2023 offers unique features and benefits to help organizations streamline their hiring process.
    JazzHR is an affordable and user-friendly option, while Recruitee is ideal for organizations seeking a range of features. Teamtailor is a modern and customizable platform, while PinPoint offers a comprehensive recruiting solution. Greenhouse may be more expensive, but it offers a range of features and may be a good fit for medium-sized and large businesses.
    Ultimately, the best recruiting software tool for your organization will depend on your specific needs, so it’s important to evaluate each option carefully.
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