ATS's for Recruiting on a Budget - 2022
Many recruitment agencies when starting off face all too common questions of how to get a steady stream of quality candidates flowing in for their newly acquired clientele. While some agencies focus on creative ways of building their candidate database, others (most others) rely on having quality job postings distributed in the right places across the web. It all depends on the needs of the client at the end of the day and every client is different. This of course means that every Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is also different.
An ATS is a cloud-based (for the most part anyways) software solution that allows the recruiter to manage some of if not all aspects of 360 recruitment. It covers use cases such as creating and distributing job posts for specific clients, managing communications and media, generating automated emails, and (most importantly in my opinion) providing a good candidate pipeline.
Given below are a few ATS solutions that are good for helping a small business get its recruiting off the ground followed by a proposed solution that could help would be recruiters get started on their journey whether it’s within a hiring agency or a start-up company with plans to rapidly scale.
LinkedIn Recruiter
To start off, I’ll list what I believe to be the simplest solution (though not, in my opinion, the best!). LinkedIn Recruiter is an extension of LinkedIn’s Talent Hub that offers features such as a powerful candidate search engine, a customisable pipeline and a very easy way to manage current job postings.
Most noteworthy of LinkedIn Recruiter is of course it’s excellent candidate search feature. LinkedIn has one of the best global databases for candidates and they allow you to effectively leverage that fact with an extensive set of search filters that enables Recruiters to find an incredibly niche candidate. Is that candidate not open to work? No problem, there is an aptly named “find more like this” feature that throws up an automatically generated list of other suitable candidates. This feature works particularly well when browsing for hard to come by ISO qualifications or specific experience in a programming language etc.
When it comes to the cons of Recruiter, there are a few things to discuss. Firstly, managing a candidate database and accessing it to find previously contacted candidates or to distribute bulk mail is not ideal on Recruiter. One has to use the InMail feature which limits your reach a little as despite LinkedIn being a huge database, not all candidates are on LinkedIn which gives ATS’s with bulk mail features an edge. Secondly, while the candidate searching experience is fantastic, it relies on potential candidates keeping their profiles up to a high standard and populated with as much relevant information as possible. This is more difficult for more junior workers with not much experience to show off yet. Lastly, the pricing. LinkedIn Recruiter puts a premium on access to its vast database of candidates and can range from anything between 600 to 800 euros per recruiter seat per month.
Pros
Excellent Resourcing with Candidate Search Feature
Access to huge Database of Candidates
Job Posting, Resourcing all in the one place
Cons
Constrained to using InMail as primary point of contact for candidates
Recruiter search and other premium features are very expensive
Not all types of candidate are on LinkedIn or maintain their profiles to high standard
Manatal
Manatal has a number of very attractive features that make it a must-have for small agencies and SMEs with big Talent Acquisition problems. It has a lot of quality-of-life features available at a very low cost. It plugs in very nicely with whatever jobs site is your primary advertising board but also can distribute a job post automatically to free and premium sources alike. It is also very good for maintaining a database of previous candidates and integrates seamlessly with Mailchimp, meaning it's easier to stay in touch with your talent pool.
UX wise, Manatal is very easy to use and intuitive. Everything from the fields used to describe candidates to what free job boards a posting is distributed to is customisable. Manatal is also excellent at creating candidate profiles based only off of a CV and has a fantastic suitability measure of each candidate when placed in a job’s pipeline. This is a percentage measure of how much a profile is a match for a given role. The neatest thing about it is that if you agree that a profile is a match and move it through the pipeline, the AI learns from this and slowly but surely gets better at detecting suitable profiles.
As for the drawbacks, there are a couple worth talking about here. To start with, Manatal is a very new product which means that parts of the software can be buggy at times and can be a little slow. Personally, I can see through this due to the price and malleability of the solution. Another drawback would be that it is not good at dealing with a large flow of candidates. For example, if you are posting a popular role for a large software company and receive upwards of 100 candidates, the job pipeline is not terrific nor speedy when processing this quantity. Manatal shines when dealing with around 30-40 candidates for a job at most. And with pricing starting at roughly 13 EUR per Recruiter seat per month (15 USD) and the experience being constantly improved, this is a stand-out choice for small companies.
Pros
Excellent for keeping track of a large database of candidates
Free and premium job distribution
Easily integrated with other job boards (LinkedIn, Indeed)
Cheap as chips!
Cons
Software can be quite buggy
Integrated mail (not bulk mail) could use some work
Does not deal with large volumes of applicants as well
Justrecruit.io
This option is another great cheap alternative but sets itself apart from Manatal in a number of unique ways. One of the best features is integrated SMS communication. Using texts to communicate with candidates is a good way to stand out from boring old email or spam-like LinkedIn Mail. It also features a built-in bulk mailing system meaning there is no need to use a third-party service for that. Tracking and analytics within Justrecruit are also very useful and clear, giving you a good idea of what's working and what's not.
One thing that is unfortunately missing with Justrecruit, is the ability to distribute the job across multiple jobs boards like Manatal and it is difficult to connect it with existing job boards that your firm is using. However, like manatal, the product is cheap and it’s powerful (but only if you have an existing database to bulk email or message).
Pros
Very reasonably priced
Offers built-in bulk mail and SMS services
Delivers good analytics
Cons
Does not inegrate well with other job boards, expects you to have a site that can use its API
No free or premium job distribution features
What we would recommend
While each of these solutions has its advantages and drawbacks, in our experience having a mixed bag of solutions allows you to be ready for any recruiting challenge. For example, as a core ATS, Manatal can be used as the central resource for job posting and candidate management. When jobs are first created, they are published through this platform to all connected free and premium job boards. Then, LinkedIn could be used alongside this whereby job postings through the professional networking platform can be linked to Manatal so that applicants appear in the pipeline when applied for on LinkedIn (All of this can be done without paying for a Recruiter seat by the way!). Plus, as an added benefit, LinkedIn is the best place on the internet to grow awareness of your professional brand. So adding and posting about job openings is just another way to stay relevant. Then, a third-party bulk mailing provider such as Mailchimp can be integrated allowing you advertise your openings and other media to your database of candidates allowing you to keep in touch with them and generate new leads from past applicants.
A sample architecture of a small, budget focused Recruiting system, with Manatal at the core.
As an agency or SME becomes more focused in its brand image and the type of people that it looks for in a hiring drive, certain products and services may end up having more focus while others get trimmed out. For example if it is seen that a higher standard and more relevant type of candidate is coming from a certain job posting or means of communication, a solution could then be targeted that maximises this potential. The point of the proposed solution above is to help get a database established, create channels of communication with both clients & candidates and to, most importantly, get value for your money!