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Applicant Tracking System Selection Guide
A prudent business person's guide to applicant tracking
systems
By Michele
Groutage
Part one of a two-part series.
As a veteran of the
recruiting industry, I regularly monitor
emerging HR/recruitment
technologies that help manage labor. About a year ago last
February, I listened with interest to the rumblings about
Web-based applicant tracking systems (ATSs). I had been a
Resumix user in the early '90s and thought, "WOW! This could
be pretty interesting."
I had questions, however. Was
it possible to take a software-based ATS product and Web
enable it, while ensuring data security? Better yet, if my
data now resides on the vendor's servers, does that data
become the vendor's or remain mine?
As the buzz grew
stronger, I started doing research, beyond what the vendors
were saying. My question was simple: How can I protect my data
from becoming the property of someone else?
During the next several weeks we will
explore more about ATS, providing you with the information you
need to make informative decisions. In my experience, there
are few guarantees in the area of an ASP/ATS; however, there
are precautions that any prudent businessperson should take
when investing in products and services provided by another
company. While most are common sense, many are overlooked.
Here are the first seven precautions, which can be applied to
ATS. You'll find seven more in part two of this series.
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First, investigate the vendor on your
own. You can conduct research on a public company on sites
like www.hoovers.com and find basic financial information
for private companies at Dun & Bradstreet at
www.dnb.com.
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Ask the company to describe its history,
product(s) and services offered. Ask also about all partner
companies and subsidiary relationship(s). You want to make
sure that the company's subsidiaries are not your
competitors.
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Ask how many clients the company has
that fit the profile of your needs. (Most ATSs are generic
workflows.)
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Ask about technology, features and
functionality. Can they do this and can they do that? You
are buying the technology, not slick graphics.
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Put the ball in the company's court.
Give the company a list of all the ATSs you are considering
and ask the people there to give you their perspectives. Ask
for what issues you should watch out and how they position
their company, products and services relative to each
vendor?
-
Ask if the company is expanding or
decreasing its workforce. Decreasing isn't a good sign and
could affect your ability to receive product support in the
future.
Probe about support, asking
where the company is located, how many offices it has and
how you will be supported.
Michele Groutage is the Director of
Marketing & Development for MedZilla, Inc., the first site
on the worldwide web established in 1994, to provide
searchable resume and job database services for professionals
and employers in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medicine,
science and healthcare."
Applicant tracking
links
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ATS Sourcing - The Electronic Recruiting News
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MSN ATS articles, Fri, 22 May 2009
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ATS Sourcing Data - 83% Inaccurate. Having spent ... Top 100 E-Recruiters; Presentations - Recruiting Then/Now ... RECENT ARTICLES: ATS Sourcing; HR.BLR.com; Europe; Gamer Fragged Student
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Is Your ATS an Asset or Liability? : ERE.net
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MSN ATS articles, Sat, 16 May 2009
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Browse Articles by Tag advertising assessments blogging branding ... If you don’t have at least two-thirds of your recruiters properly using the major features of your ATS, you’re ...
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Why Can’t My ATS Do What I Want It To Do? A Recruiter’s ...
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MSN ATS articles, Fri, 15 May 2009
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Browse Articles by Tag advertising assessments blogging branding ... one presenter at this most recent conference state that “recruiters only use 30% of the functionality of an ATS
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How Hi-Tech has Changed Recruiting, by Christine Hirsch
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MSN ATS articles, Thu, 14 May 2009
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Recruiters World Articles ... by helping companies find more candidates, online submissions and ATS's ...
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Recruiters Network Recruiting Articles
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MSN ATS articles, Wed, 13 May 2009
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Recruiters Network Recruiting Articles ... and fax -> desk, phone and internet -> desk, phone, internet, ATS ...
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SmartRecruiters » Partners
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MSN ATS articles, Mon, 11 May 2009
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An applicant tracking system is a recruiter’s desktop, so recruiters will never have to leave SmartRecruiters to ... Current articles and coverage of SmartRecruiters. »
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