Which ats is considered to be the most popular?

In this buyers guide, we'll cover:

An applicant tracking system (ATS) is a type of software tool that organizes, tracks, and sorts job applicants. Its features include hiring workflows, job postings, candidate profiles, and applicant scoring.

The software tool provides businesses with a number of benefits, including:

Every business needs an edge over competitors when it comes to finding, attracting, evaluating and hiring top talent. An applicant tracking system can give you that edge by helping you:

Buyers of applicant tracking software come from a wide variety of industries and sizes and are generally categorized by how many employees they have in their organization:

When you choose to purchase ATS software will depend entirely on your hiring needs, but Software Advice sees peak adoption at 1,001 to 5,000 employees:

Source: Software Needs Cycle for HR

Here are some other types of software tools related to ATS platforms that can improve your recruiting efforts or your workforce as a whole:

ATS software offeers a wide variety of features. Here are some of the most common ones to look out for:

Applicant tracking: Allows you to track where all of your applicants are in the hiring process (e.g., interview, background screening) for a given role. As applicants are evaluated and pushed through to the next stage in your workflow or dropped from the running, their recruitment status gets automatically updated in your database.

Overview of applicants in Recruiterbox (Source)

Candidate profiles: This feature allows you to maintain comprehensive profiles of all candidates, including resumes, contact information, social media profiles, assessment scores, manager feedback, interview notes, and more. You can search and filter for candidate profiles based on location, role, experience, keyword, etc.

Candidate profile in Lever (Source)

Job posting: This feature allows you to create online job listings for your vacancies and post them to your company's careers page, social media profiles and job boards. You can also schedule posts in advance, optimize postings to appear on Google and purchase job board ads from service providers that partner with ATS vendors.

Job board posting in Newton (Source)

Applicant scoring and ranking: This feature allows you and your team to score applicants based on a variety of customizable criteria related to skills, experience and personality. Once all scores are in, hiring managers can rank the candidates manually, or in some cases, the tool does it automatically.

Candidate scorecard summary in Greenhouse (Source)

Unsurprisingly, the most common features also tend to be the most requested by buyers. According to internal Software Advice data, job posting, resume management and parsing, applicant scoring and ranking and a searchable applicant database are the top requested ATS software features among small and midsize businesses (SMBs), i.e., businesses with $50 million or less in annual revenue.

Source: SMB Applicant Tracking System Buyer Report

When evaluating an ATS, it's important to prioritize certain features over others depending on your needs. With that in mind, here are the most crucial features for different business sizes (see the "Business sizes using ATS software" section of this guide for business size definitions):

For an accurate snapshot of what an applicant tracking platform costs, download our Applicant Tracking Systems Pricing Guide.

As we covered in the features guide, ATS platforms provide a number of key functions for your business, including:

It can be easy for conversations with ATS vendors to become one-sided. After all, they're trying to sell you on their system over the competition. It's important, though, to ask questions and understand everything before signing on the dotted line.

As explained in "5 Questions To Answer Before Buying an Applicant Tracking System," some important questions to ask vendors are:

How is your system priced?

As we mentioned in the pricing section, ATS vendors use a lot of different methods to price their products. Know this information well ahead of time so you can budget accordingly.

Does this system work with our recruiting strategy?

If you rely on employee referrals for quality job candidates but your ATS focuses on sourcing from social media, that's a mismatch. Make sure that you find a tool that conforms with your recruiting strategy—not the other way around.

Do I really need this feature?

It's common for buyers to purchase a popular ATS system that's way too big for their needs and pay a lot of money for functionality they don't use. Don't get distracted by bells and whistles.

Do you offer local, high-quality support?

No product is perfect. Ask questions about support options so when you encounter a problem, you can be certain that you'll be able to reach someone who can help you immediately.

Should I purchase standalone applicant tracking software or an integrated suite?

You can purchase applicant tracking software by itself (e.g., Jobvite) or as part of an integrated HR suite with other applications such as personnel tracking, payroll, and time and attendance management (e.g., BambooHR). According to internal Software Advice data, 56% of ATS software buyers choose the former while 43% choose the latter.

Source: SMB Applicant Tracking System Buyer Report

Which way you go will depend entirely on your needs. If your focus is on advanced recruiting functionality, choose a stand-alone product. If you have additional needs besides applicant tracking or value tight integration between your various HR processes, choose a suite.

Do ATS Software Vendors Update Their Products Often?

The applicant tracking software market is highly competitive, and the labor market and what employers value in their workforce are constantly in flux. Because of this, ATS software vendors are constantly adding features to their flagship products to gain an edge and attract attention.

Stay on top of the latest functions to look out for with our article, "5 Recruiting Trends in 2017 (and the 9 ATS Features You Need to Capitalize on Them)."

What Are Some Drawbacks I Should Watch Out For?

Don't expect ATS platforms to be the cure-all for your hiring woes. While these systems can help you organize, streamline, and scale your recruiting operations, they can't fix bad hiring strategies or an inferior employer brand.

Also, keep in mind that a poorly chosen or implemented applicant tracking system can do significant damage to your online candidate experience, which can cause talented applicants to drop out of your hiring funnel. Take time to ensure this transition for job seekers into your system to apply for positions is seamless, regardless of device or web browser.

It can be tough to convince executives to invest in a new tool. When making your business case, focus on these three ROI drivers:

Here are some recent articles about ATS platforms you should check out:

Check out some recent articles comparing ATS software products:

This list has been updated about 20 times since then because this market is exceptionally dynamic, and there are, by our last count, about 300 vendors to choose from.

One thing that hasn’t changed is our editorial process. We remain committed to rigorous research methods and selection criteria that provide reliable and consistent recommendations for our readers.

For an in-depth look at the process, read this article titled (fittingly) How We Evaluate HR Tech Vendors. Long story short: Besides doing full-on product demos with each vendor, we use user research, expert feedback, and in-house knowledge to determine which products are the best.

We assessed each product's core functions by applying our methods to find the best ATS. This included candidate screening, job posting, resume parsing, interview scheduling, analytics/reporting capabilities, and cost (here’s an excellent resource for calculating ROI).

Narrowed further, assessed the three essential components of a top-notch ATS: UX/UI, candidate experience, and integration.

‍UX/UI: Your TA team and talent pool will spend a lot of time using this tool, so our criteria include a stringent test for a good user interface. For example, posting a job should take less than 30 seconds, syndicating this job to job boards should be a simple push of a button, and viewing applicants should be as intuitive as using Trello.‍

Candidate Experience: We evaluate for features that enhance the candidate experience, like personalized communication, easy interview scheduling, and self-service portals for application status updates. Your TA team is your public relations team, so it is critical to equip them with tech to ensure your reputation among all candidates, regardless of your hire or no-hire decision, shows up on Glassdoor in a positive light.‍

Applicant tracking system (ATS) software allows recruitment teams to organize and track candidates for more efficient hiring. ATS solutions also enable the HR department to organize applicants, simplifying the process of searching and filtering résumés. This results in decreased time-to-fill for open positions.

Aside from managing the hiring process by collecting and sorting résumés, modern ATS platforms also have a comprehensive suite of tools to streamline recruitment operations. ATS software handles everything from creating and publishing job posts to screening and sourcing candidates, tracking application statuses, and monitoring all communications with candidates.

Every feature of an applicant tracking system is built to enhance the recruitment process for both the hiring department and applicants. Most ATS solutions have built-in, automated communication channels to facilitate consistent communication between recruiters and candidates. ATS software creates a centralized location where recruitment teams can submit feedback and collaborate when selecting candidates. Furthermore, it can provide features for interview scheduling, automated alerts, and sending email reminders.

Unlike other HR software companies, which usually offer an ATS as an add-on or roll it into more advanced plans, Breezy HR is solely focused on the recruitment process. Plus, it has a forever-free version of its software, which makes it a great fit for small and midsize companies that already have their HR software stack figured out and are looking to add applicant tracking.

Breezy is committed to digitizing and automating the hiring process, from searching for candidates to scheduling interviews. Breezy allows users to set up custom pipelines for every step of the recruiting process and to view the pipeline visually, so they don’t lose track of where a candidate is.

Pros

Cons

Mobile app: In today’s competitive labor market, fast response times are essential to snapping up the best talent. Breezy’s mobile app allows recruiters to respond quickly, so the hiring process never stalls.

Job site posting: Not all candidates visit every job site, meaning hiring teams need to cast a wide net. Breezy allows teams to post to more than 50 job sites at once, significantly increasing the reach of a single job posting without any extra effort or time.

Custom questionnaires: Screening potential employees upfront can help talent acquisition teams find qualified candidates faster. Breezy gives users the option to create custom questionnaires for employee screenings, so they can ensure their most important recruiting criteria are satisfied.

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Bullhorn addresses many of the complex recruiting challenges large organizations and staffing firms face. The software suite’s ATS offers nearly every important functionality, including features like candidate sourcing, career portals, unlimited data storage, application programming interface (API) access, and pipeline management.

These advanced features come with a high price tag, even at the base level, which will likely deter smaller companies. But for enterprise companies looking for an ATS with robust analytics, automations, and integrations, Bullhorn should be a top consideration.

Pros

Cons

Middle- and back-office solutions: As part of Bullhorn’s mission to provide applicant tracking software for large and enterprise-level companies, it offers middle- and back-office solutions that are helpful for recruitment agencies, staffing firms, large HR departments, and other big hiring teams.

Vendor management system automation: Large companies who rely on an outside staffing firm or hire many outside contractors will appreciate Bullhorn’s vendor management system (VMS) automation, which speeds up the data entry and recruiting process.

Integration with Bullhorn CRM: In addition to its ATS, Bullhorn also offers a customer relationship management platform that integrates with the ATS. This is helpful for agencies that need a way to manage clients as well as applicants.

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Freshworks’ applicant tracking system was designed with small businesses in mind. As such, the ATS is included as part of its Freshteam HR software package, and the company also offers other software solutions for sales, marketing, chat, and more.

Freshteam has a forever free version of its system for small businesses with up to 50 employees, making it a great option for smaller businesses that aren’t sure if they need an ATS but want to explore the option. Freshteam will also scale with growing businesses so they don’t have to switch to a different ATS tool later on.

Pros

Cons

Email and calendar sync: Freshteam integrates with Gmail and Google Calendar, so users can sync email communications and interviews with candidates.

Bulk actions: Users can perform some actions in bulk, like updating candidate profiles by advancing them to the next hiring stage, archiving them to the talent pool, or rejecting them. This helps reduce process redundancies and save time.

Job description templates: Freshteam offers templates with preexisting job descriptions for common positions. Users can customize the information and post the listings directly to popular job boards.

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JazzHR offers an easy-to-use applicant tracking software, which boasts an intuitive interface and modern features like candidate texting and auto-rejection screening questions. However, businesses should be prepared to spend a sizable budget on JazzHR if they need more than a basic ATS.

Due to the unusual pricing structure, JazzHR is the best fit for midsize, fast-growing businesses that are willing to invest in the necessary tools to optimize their recruiting processes. Human resource teams should also note that JazzHR is primarily an ATS, so it won’t satisfy HR needs for the rest of the employee life cycle.

Pros

Cons

Custom branding options: Having custom-branded recruitment materials can increase a company’s appeal to job seekers. JazzHR makes it easy with white-label capabilities that allow businesses to replace the JazzHR branding with their own and improve the candidate experience.

Candidate profiles: The main dashboard includes all necessary information for each candidate, including contact information, internal ratings, comments, interview notes, email communications, and more.

Automated document management: Once a hiring team is ready to extend an offer to a candidate, the onboarding process can move faster with JazzHR’s automated document management features. Offer letters, compliance forms, and other documents can be generated with a few clicks, and all necessary paperwork can be managed from a single central location.

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BambooHR is known for being an industry leader when it comes to HR software, and that includes its applicant tracking solution. BambooHR is specifically designed for small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), making it a worthy option for growing companies that want a recruitment tool in addition to other HR software functions.

The software is user-friendly from both an employee’s and employer’s perspective. However, this simplicity may be a drawback for businesses with more complex needs. Some users noted BambooHR couldn’t provide every single ATS functionality they needed once their business grew to a certain size.

For SMBs that need a functional applicant tracking system plus core HR features, however, BambooHR is a fantastic option.

Pros

Cons

Automatic alerts: Recruiters can avoid missing out on potential applications with automatic alerts that notify users when a candidate is ready to advance. BambooHR also provides automatic alerts for other modules beyond just the applicant tracking system as well.

Communication tools: Messaging features within the app mean HR teams don’t have to use a separate email or chat function to collaborate. This keeps everything centralized within BambooHR and makes it easy to find conversation histories.

Self-onboarding: This feature makes it simple for new employees to fill out HR forms prior to their first day. It also means all documentation can be kept within the BambooHR app instead of having to switch over to a different one for onboarding.

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Workable is consistently named one of the top choices for the best applicant tracking systems — and for good reason: It offers a great balance of features for a price that works for most small and midsize businesses. Businesses that need more than entry-level applicant tracking software but aren’t yet ready for an enterprise-level system should consider Workable.

Workable’s features include branded career pages, multiple language options, in-platform texting, automated workflows, and more. It sometimes lacks minor functionalities, such as automatically saving candidate notes to an interview profile, but overall, Workable is a best-in-class recruiting solution.

Pros

Cons

Chrome extension: Hiring teams that recruit candidates via social media will appreciate Workable’s Google Chrome extension. This feature allows users to import candidates from Twitter and LinkedIn into the applicant tracking software.

Internal job board: In many cases, promoting from within is the best way to fill a job opening. Workable makes this easier with an internal job board that is specifically designed to help hiring managers promote from within the company.

Emphasis on DEI: Workable has built diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) into its recruitment tools. From finding a diverse talent pool to evaluating potential candidates fairly, Workable makes it easier to fulfill DEI hiring key performance indicators (KPIs).

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An applicant tracking system can significantly improve recruitment processes, but it can be tough to find the right one for your company. The best solution depends on the size of your company as well as your hiring needs, both now and in the future.

BambooHR is an excellent option for growing companies looking for a full HR software stack in addition to an ATS. Similarly, Freshteam by Freshworks is an excellent first ATS platform for small businesses due to its forever plan, which accommodates companies with up to 50 employees.

Breezy HR is worth considering if you’ve already got most of your HR tools figured out and are looking for an ATS to supplement your existing systems. Workable is an excellent choice for businesses of all sizes that are looking for a reasonably priced ATS that offers the necessary core HR features.

JazzHR is beneficial for midsize, fast-growing businesses looking for an easy user interface that will help them hire quality candidates fast. If you’re a large business or staffing firm looking for a stand-alone ATS that can meet your complex needs, Bullhorn will likely fit the bill.

ATS platforms can be beneficial to organizations in numerous ways.

Saving time and increasing efficiency are some of the best advantages of using ATS solutions compared to traditional application and recruitment procedures. With ATS software, recruiters can automate different tasks in hiring processes, including posting job ads, sending emails and reminders, interview scheduling, and onboarding new hires.

The software can help address mission-critical challenges, such as attracting and sourcing top candidates. Many ATS solutions are now enriched with AI and machine learning capabilities to develop a profile of an ideal candidate, assess and identify skills, and predict success factors. As a result, employers can better understand candidate behavior and target specific applicants across various platforms and channels.

ATS software ensures better candidate engagement by promoting greater visibility across the candidate journey. It helps organizations prevent negative experiences — like lack of visibility and inconsistent communication — that can cause candidate frustration and disinterest. An ATS allows reliable communication and faster response times via automation.

Screening candidates standardizes applicant scoring and can help guarantee that hiring managers will only see qualified applicants. Moreover, ATS software maintains a database of people who may be prospects for future job openings.

Hiring professionals can clearly and quickly communicate with other team members and candidates through ATS. Hiring teams can collaborate and share résumés securely within the platform, enabling an organized approach to decision-making. ATS solutions also come with analytic tools to gauge the success of recruiting and hiring strategies. Recruiters can use real-time data to predict staffing needs and build recruiting pipelines. Analytics equips organizations with critical metrics around costs, quality, and time spent on recruiting activities.

The recruitment process can be challenging for hiring teams and job seekers alike. Manual applicant screening delays hiring procedures, increasing cost-to-hire and prolonging time-to-hire. Additionally, manual online job postings can prompt tons of applications from under-qualified job seekers.

ATS software automates and streamlines the hiring process from source to hire. It amplifies the capabilities of recruiters, hiring managers, and HR teams with a range of features to boost efficiency while attracting and retaining top talent.

First and foremost, ATS can screen job applications, scan résumés for the right qualifications, and select the qualified candidates to consider for an interview. This can lighten the load for hiring teams and cut down a significant amount of time.

On top of that, ATS platforms can assist recruiters in tracking interview processes, evaluating, making offers to, hiring, and ultimately onboarding new talent. The software promotes a smooth hiring process, enhancing the candidate experience and encouraging more skilled talent to join the organization.

ATS solutions allow organizations to recruit the best people, which is essential to any company’s success.

• BambooHR. BambooHR provides solutions ideal for small and midsize businesses.
• Bullhorn. Bullhorn is primarily a cloud-based recruitment software tool that is best suited for staffing and recruitment processes.
• Greenhouse.
• IBM Kenexa BrassRing.
• iCIMS.
• Jobvite.
• Oracle Taleo.
• SmartRecruiters.