Pitfalls of Using Applicant Tracking Software

In this day and age, both large companies and small business owners are turning to the power of applicant tracking software to suit their recruitment needs. However, applicant tracking software has unique disadvantages that can separate employers from the most worthy candidates.

Places Too Many Limits on Applicants

Most applicant tracking software uses minimal filters to weed out employees who do not hold basic qualifications, but be wary of placing severely restrictive functions in the software. Real people are unique, but a good, compatible worker may not always comply with the typical model that some companies program the system to look for in prime job candidates. If a company is not receiving a significant number of job applicants because the system is blocking many out, the company may be forced to wait longer for a highly qualified applicant. In addition, if an applicant applies for multiple positions within a company, then the additional applications with the same resume are seen as duplicates and discarded by the system.

Can Fail or Be Fooled

Companies can lose out on top-quality employees if an error-prone applicant tracking system fails and starts disqualifying solid candidates. Applicant tracking software requires updates and thorough programming to ensure it is working efficiently, and human resources departments that neglect to do this properly leave room for the system to make substantial selection errors. Applicant tracking software is designed to read and reorganize all of the information from a person's resume, but this information can easily be miscategorized by the system. Another disadvantage of applicant tracking software is that it can be fooled. Some job candidates pack their resume with certain keywords to optimize it for applicant tracking systems, and as a result, they seem more suitable over other candidates for the job. As time goes on, tech-savvy candidates may find more ways to beat applicant tracking systems to gain an advantage over other applicants.

Employers May Not Find the Best Candidates

In spite of its potential, applicant tracking software is not the ultimate option for finding and recruiting top-quality employees in the job market. With all of the algorithms and filters that applicant tracking software uses, it is chiefly designed to disqualify candidates. With applicant tracking software, candidates must submit their information electronically, but a hiring managers cannot fully assess a candidate without reading his or her whole resume .

It is important to remember that applicant tracking software is not a strong recruitment option. To find the best job candidates to suit an organization, hiring managers should not rely on it alone. Although applicant tracking software can seem beneficial for reducing the amount of work that human resources workers have to do throughout the hiring process, it can also eliminate tons of applicants with enough experience, education and potential to fill a position.

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