{"id":1095,"date":"2013-09-10T18:24:42","date_gmt":"2013-09-10T18:24:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bullhorn.com\/?p=1095"},"modified":"2019-03-01T21:26:22","modified_gmt":"2019-03-01T21:26:22","slug":"applicant-tracking-system-mistakes-parts-four-and-five","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bullhorn.com\/eu\/blog\/applicant-tracking-system-mistakes-parts-four-and-five\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 5 Applicant Tracking System Mistakes: Parts 4 & 5"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bad mistakes happen to great recruiters. We are nearing the end of our latest blog series on the top five slip-ups recruiters are making in the\u00a0applicant tracking system<\/a>\u00a0(ATS), but by no means are we finished learning from other people\u2019s mistakes. If you missed parts\u00a0one<\/a>,\u00a0two<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0three<\/a>, check them out on the\u00a0Bullhorn blog!<\/p>\n

Diving into parts four and five, Senior Engineer, Jason Jakes, covers two more mistakes we see recruiters making quite often while using the ATS, starting with \u201cBad Search Behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n

4. Bad Search Behavior:<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have already touched upon the need to search your internal database in this blog series; however, this is a microcosm that needs further clarification. \u00a0There are two main mistakes that are made by recruiters when it comes to searching: data quality and not understanding the full capabilities of the search functionality within the\u00a0applicant tracking system<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Data quality is more of an aggregate issue, but it\u2019s important that each recruiter maintains accurate profiles for each candidate. \u00a0This reminds me of the parable about the \u201cVillage Wine\u201d where everyone in the village is asked to put one bottle of wine into a large cask for a big celebration. \u00a0On celebration day, when they opened the cask only water flowed forth. \u00a0Everyone thought if they put in a bottle of water rather than wine it would go unnoticed. The takeaway here is that everyone needs to participate in the accurate profiling of candidates, including you. \u00a0The minimal effort of doing so will pay you and all other members of your organization huge benefits down the road.<\/p>\n

Filling your database with people that have been pulled directly from the job boards whom no one has ever interacted with eventually burdens your database with stale candidates that have a low likelihood of becoming placements.<\/p>\n

Whether your ATS is intuitive or not, chances are the search functionality is highly complex \u2015 if not from the user interface side, then on the back-end logic that is producing the results of the search. \u00a0Relative to this scenario, if I don\u2019t understand the logic on how candidates are ranked when they come back, I may be structuring my query of the database incorrectly to get the results I want. \u00a0Good applicant tracking systems will be able to convey exactly how the scores are generated. \u00a0Now, I\u2019m not someone who goes out of their way to ask for directions or read instructions, but if someone shares a little knowledge that allows me to search more efficiently I always feel silly if I wasn’t doing it that way all along.<\/p>\n

How to Avoid:<\/strong><\/p>\n

All applicant tracking systems will be different, so I won\u2019t go into depth, but make sure you understand these basics:<\/p>\n