As an applicant tracking software vendor we work hard to try and convey the real benefits that users of our solutions can enjoy. Lower cost of hiring, improve new hire quality and reduce time to fill are some things we talk about. All true, we do this by using technology to better manage the process.
I stumbled across a post this weekend by someone who recently struggled through the process of trying to fill a couple of vacancies at their company.
The writer titled the post “Job Search Technology Not User Friendly For Employers”. You can read the post (and I suggest you do it’s a great post) by clicking on the link.
Basically the writer tells of how she’s inundated with resumes, the lack of professionalism in the way a good number of them are written, and the general lack of applicants that meet the qualifications outlined in the job description. I think she does a great job expressing the overall tediousness and work involved with having to go through each and every resume, only to discover the vast majority shouldn’t have applied in the first place.
She goes on to express what she feels is an unfair advantage that job seekers have with job board technology and that employers are stuck with all the hard work in the hiring process.
I of course responded, not true, it wasn’t technology that was the problem, but more a lack of technology on the employer’s part that was contributing to her difficulties.
As the tools that job seekers have grow and become more available, job seekers will use them, as they should. Now, I agree with the writer that some use them better than others, but that’s for a different post.
As the tools available to job seekers have grown, so too have the tools that employers have available to manage the other end of the process. Applicant tracking software and talent acquisition systems give employers easy ways to manage the influx of resumes they receive. With screening questions and definable requirements that require an applicant’s response, our writer could have made short work of the resumes she received. Based upon criteria she defined, an ATS system could have placed the most qualified applicants at the top of her list and even politely notified the unqualified ones that they didn’t meet the positions minimum requirements, easy right?
So, technology, while creating her problem, also provides her a solution.