Must-have tools needed to optimize the recruitment process

Shannon Thompson
4 min readMay 28, 2021
Do you have the necessary tools to optimize your recruitment process?

As capable as you or your hiring team can be, it’s always beneficial to integrate various tools to optimize your recruitment processes.

Whether it’s for sourcing candidates or improving your overall operations, there are plenty of tools available in the market. Not only do they help you become more productive, but they also increase the quality of your work.

I, for one, love using tools in my daily endeavors. Something as simple as Grammarly is always a must for me, so how much more at work, right? As a tech geek, I’ve compiled must-have tools that can help foster a better hiring process. Better start taking notes!

  1. Applicant Tracking System (ATS)

As a recruiter, I’m positive that you’ve already heard of what an ATS is. This is on top of my list for many reasons. First and foremost, it helps you source top talents better and faster. This is your bread and butter, so ensuring that you get the best fit for positions will be good for your organization.

To add to that, it is a great way of communicating and collaborating with relevant team members. With your trusted recruitment ATS, you’ll be able to screen candidates together (with the hiring manager, for instance). They will be able to view progress, leave notes, and more. This guarantees that everyone is on the same page at all times.

I wrote a list of the top applicant tracking systems in the market. Check it out, too!

2. AI-powered tools
With artificial intelligence (AI) on the rise, it would be advantageous to take a look at these options, as well. One example could be the AI candidate recommendation engine of Manatal.

This recruitment software’s AI-powered tool automatically gives recruiters suggestions on suitable candidates for your job postings. The criteria are based on candidate scoring through job matches. It takes into account the experience level, skill sets, educational background, and more.

This will greatly reduce the time you spent on shortlisting resumes!

3. Testing and Assessment
Candidate assessments are great when it comes to getting to know applicants better on a professional level. There are different types of tests available: technical, personality, situational, etc.

Depending on what you’re looking for, make it a strategy to implement certain tests appropriate to the hiring procedure. The result that you get should be able to inform you whether or not the applicant is qualified for the role.

Looking for a copywriter? Give a writing prompt! Looking for an administrative assistant? Ensure that their personality matches the company culture!

LinkedIn shared a list of assessment tools you can utilize. Here are some:

  • Applied
  • Codility
  • eSkill
  • HackerRank
  • HireSelect
  • Interview Mocha
  • Koru
  • … and more!

4. Video Interviewing
Especially amidst the pandemic, video interviews will become a big part of your work process. More and more people are doing work from home and even recruiters are doing remote hiring.

Save time and safely conduct interviews by doing online interviews. The use of tools like Zoom will be great as it is used by professionals frequently.

It might not be the same as interviewing someone in person, but it will suffice in getting to know them better. You can follow this up by using assessment tools (as mentioned above).

5. Employee Referral
Word-of-mouth can spread like wildfire. If your company has a healthy working environment and if you provide incentives, employee referral can be a powerful way to get the best talent in the market.

Amazingly, there are tools for this where your staff can easily refer connections to join your team. At the same time, it will also be easier for you to track such recommendations on the platform itself. Erin is a great example that is a low-cost solution yet provides high impact!

If you must know, 82% of referrals tend to bring high ROI for the company. If these proven statistics don’t convince you, I don’t know what will!

6. Diversity Tool
Company diversity is not to be overlooked. More than a stand for equality, it is also a way for the business to grow financially.

If you have a diverse company and there is a cultural fit in place, people tend to be more creative and productive. Thus, giving you higher revenues like never before!

Some tools can aid in your diversity movement. The Gender Decoder should be under your radar. It helps you construct your words carefully so that everything is gender-neutral. This is usually used for job ads, but you can use Gender Decoder in structuring your website, social media accounts, and more, too.

7. Recruitment CRM
Not to be confused with candidate relationship management, a recruitment customer relationship management (CRM) tool is great for managing and organizing prospective leads and improving relationships with existing clients. Its goal is to give higher sales to the company.

As recruiters, it’s not always about the candidates. You should also consider the customer front to be successful overall. A great recruitment CRM permits you to conveniently track client progress in a single-viewing platform, and conduct necessary steps to move them forward the pipeline.

Note that some recruitment ATS have CRM functionality (i.e. Manatal). This will help you streamline everything using one software and, of course, save resources that can be better allocated elsewhere.

Did I miss anything? What must-have tools do you use to optimize your recruitment process? Let me know and leave a comment down below!

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Shannon Thompson

Internet nerd & Tech enthusiast. Passionate about HR and telling its stories. Always on the lookout for innovative concepts and cool ideas to write about.