An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is more than just a recruitment tool—it can be a game changer or a deal breaker in your hiring process.
When the right ATS is in place, it helps you attract top talent, move candidates through the pipeline efficiently, and build a strong, equitable hiring process. But the wrong ATS can create friction at every step, driving away qualified candidates, bogging down your team, and damaging your employer brand.
With over 900 ATS options available (Capterra, 2024), how do you choose the right one for your company’s unique needs? Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you make an informed decision.
Why Your ATS Choice Matters
The ATS is the backbone of most modern hiring processes. Whether candidates know it or not, their first interaction with your company often happens through this system. And that interaction matters.
The Impact on Candidate Experience:
- 95% of Fortune 500 companies use an ATS (Jobscan, 2024), but the wrong system can turn candidates away before they even apply.
- 60% of job seekers abandon job applications because they are too lengthy or complicated (SHRM, 2023). This means a clunky ATS could quietly cause you to lose more than half your potential applicants.
- According to CareerBuilder’s Candidate Experience Study, bad ATS experiences can cause candidates to view your brand less favorably and avoid applying in the future.
The Impact on Your Team:
- An inefficient ATS can create bottlenecks that slow time-to-hire and overburden recruiters with manual tasks.
- Poor usability can reduce recruiter adoption, leading to inconsistent processes and lost candidate data.
Example:
Consider a company using an outdated ATS that requires job seekers to manually re-enter resume data into dozens of fields. This not only frustrates applicants but also inflates drop-off rates. In contrast, a modern ATS with one-click applications and mobile-friendly design can significantly improve conversion rates and candidate satisfaction.
Step 1: Start with Your Hiring Priorities
Before browsing ATS demos or vendor websites, take a step back and assess your hiring goals, challenges, and processes.
Key Questions to Answer:
- Hiring Volume: Are you processing thousands of applications per month or filling a few highly specialized roles each quarter? High-volume hiring often requires robust automation and communication tools, while low-volume hiring may prioritize deep candidate relationship management.
- Geography: Do you need a system that supports remote, hybrid, or international hiring? Can it handle time zones, languages, and region-specific compliance?
- Candidate Profiles: Are you hiring hourly, professional, executive, or technical talent? Some ATS platforms are optimized for specific workforce segments.
- Key Metrics: What does success look like? Faster time-to-hire, better candidate quality, improved DEI outcomes?
Example:
A national retail chain might prioritize text-based communication, mobile applications, and fast screening tools to keep up with hourly hiring demand. Meanwhile, a tech startup hiring software engineers may need an ATS with deep LinkedIn integrations, sourcing analytics, and collaborative interview scorecards.
The clearer you are on what you need, the easier it will be to find the right fit.
Step 2: Evaluate User-Friendliness (For Both Recruiters and Candidates)
An ATS should make life easier—not harder—for your team and your candidates.
Recruiter Experience:
- Can recruiters and hiring managers quickly access candidate information without extensive training?
- Does the system allow for real-time collaboration and feedback sharing?
- Is the reporting dashboard easy to understand and customize?
Candidate Experience:
- Is the application process mobile-friendly? Glassdoor’s 2023 report shows that 58% of job seekers use their phones to search and apply for jobs.
- Can candidates quickly upload resumes or use one-click apply options?
- Is the interface accessible to all candidates, including those with disabilities?
Example:
Greenhouse is often praised for its intuitive design and easy navigation. While Bamboo HR is revered for its user-friendlyness, onboarding tools, reporting, and excellent mobile app
Why This Matters:
If your ATS is difficult to use, recruiters may default to using spreadsheets, emails, or manual tracking, leading to disorganization and lost candidates. Candidates, on the other hand, will simply abandon frustrating applications—often without telling you why.
Step 3: Assess Integration Capabilities
The best ATS will connect seamlessly with your existing tools. A disconnected system creates extra work and can slow hiring down significantly.
Key Systems to Integrate:
- Job Boards: Ensure the ATS integrates with LinkedIn, Indeed, niche boards (such as Talentally), and your company’s website.
- HRIS/Payroll: Smooth handoffs from recruitment to onboarding improve the candidate’s transition to employee status.
- Background Checks: Integrated systems can automatically trigger checks and track progress.
- Interview Tools: Video platforms, assessment tools, and scheduling software should sync directly.
- DEI and Analytics Tools: Connect with platforms that help you track diversity data, applicant demographics, and hiring funnel metrics.
Example:
Lever is widely recognized for its robust integration ecosystem, including connections with Zoom, Slack, background screening tools, and Google Calendar. This level of integration helps companies automate workflows and minimize data entry errors.
Why This Matters:
When your ATS doesn’t integrate well, you’ll face redundant data entry, delayed decision-making, and frustrated hiring teams. Worse, valuable candidate insights can get lost across disconnected platforms.
Step 4: Prioritize DEI and Bias Reduction Features
Modern hiring strategies are focused on building equitable pipelines and minimizing bias. Your ATS can either help or hinder that effort.
Features to Look For:
- Blind Resume Review: Hide personally identifiable information like names, schools, and addresses to promote unbiased screening.
- Gender-Neutral Language Checkers: Flag biased language in job descriptions.
- Diversity Reporting Dashboards: Track hiring funnel diversity metrics in real time.
- Accessibility Compliance: Ensure your ATS meets WCAG 2.1 standards for candidates with disabilities.
- Inclusive Application Design: Avoid features that exclude neurodivergent candidates, such as unnecessary timed assessments.
Example:
SmartRecruiters and Greenhouse both offer blind resume review and diversity reporting tools that help companies track how diverse candidates move through the funnel and where drop-offs may occur.
Why This Matters:
With increasing pay transparency and anti-bias legislation in the U.S. and Europe, companies are under growing scrutiny. An ATS with built-in DEI support helps protect your brand, promote fairness, and attract diverse talent.
Step 5: Consider Customer Support, Scalability, and Total Cost
An ATS isn’t a one-time purchase—it’s a long-term partnership.
Customer Support:
- What is the average response time for support tickets?
- Do they offer onboarding and ongoing training?
- Is live support available, or is it self-service only?
Scalability:
- Can the system grow with your company as you expand into new locations or countries?
- Are there volume caps or additional fees for more users, jobs, or candidates?
Total Cost of Ownership:
- Be sure to ask about hidden costs: customizations, integrations, reporting modules, or limits on job postings.
Example:
JazzHR is known for excellent, hands-on customer service for small and mid-sized businesses. Larger enterprises often gravitate toward scalable platforms like Workday or iCIMS, which can support global hiring but come with higher costs and more complex setups.
Why This Matters:
Even the best features won’t help if your team can’t get timely support, or if the system becomes too expensive or cumbersome as you grow.
Final Thoughts
Selecting the right ATS isn’t about chasing the flashiest features—it’s about finding a system that fits your people, your process, and your priorities.
The right system should:
- Make hiring easier and faster
- Support diversity and inclusion efforts
- Deliver a positive candidate experience
- Integrate smoothly with your existing tools
- Scale with your business
The wrong system can quietly undermine your recruitment efforts, frustrate your team, and cost you great candidates.
Take your time. Ask the hard questions. Run demos with your recruiters and hiring managers, not just your IT team. And remember: your ATS is not just software—it’s a key part of your talent strategy.
