At best, the process of finding and hiring new employees can feel a bit like looking through the pages of your favorite “Where’s Waldo?” book. Once the applications start to pour in, you have to sift through all of the resumes and cover letters to find the type of candidate you’re looking for. If you’re hiring for more than one position, then you’ll have quite a few pages of that book to search through. This kind of recruiting process is desperately in need of an update — cloud recruitment software is that update.

In the past, only large enterprises had the resources to implement recruiting software. However, thanks to advancements in technology, cloud-based software makes it easy for businesses of any size to implement a recruiting solution. If you’ve decided it’s time to streamline your recruitment process by implementing a new software solution, then you’ll want to have a solid foundation of knowledge about just what that software is and what it’s capable of doing. We’ll break all of that down for you, and then we’ll discuss who our top picks are to help you jumpstart your search.

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What is Recruitment Software?

Much like finding all of your favorite “Where’s Waldo” characters on a page, selecting the right candidate for a job is a time-consuming process that requires a lot of patience. According to a recent study, it takes an average of 38 days to hire a new employee. During that month-long process, you’ll likely have to spend time sifting through applications, reviewing resumes, scheduling interviews, discussing how the interview went with other team members and then finalizing job offers. That’s a lot of work that takes more than a month to complete, all just to hire a new employee — and after all of that work, you’ll still have to train them.

Fortunately, there’s a better way to recruit new employees. Implementing a recruiting system will allow you to automate and streamline many of the tasks involved in the process — it’s like being handed a microscope to help you search for Waldo and his friends. Not only will a recruitment system make it easier to find qualified candidates, but it will also help you find better candidates.

Recruitment software falls under the umbrella of HR software. Many HR management systems will offer some recruitment features. However, if you’re looking for a solution that can tackle all of your recruiting needs, then you’ll want to go with a system that is a bit more focused in its capabilities. If that’s the case, then the solution you’re looking for is recruitment software.

Benefits

Most recruiting apps will have the same core features to assist you throughout the hiring process. However, some systems will have more advanced capabilities than others. When you begin the process of looking at software, it will be important to know what features are a top priority for you. This will require you to assess pain points within your current recruiting processes and then decide which features can help to alleviate some of those pains. With this information, you’ll be able to develop your own list of unique requirements, which you can use to guide your search.

If this sounds like a daunting task, you’re right. Though it may be difficult, we’re happy to help make the process easier. Just like recruiting software can help you find the best candidates, our free requirements template can help you find the best software vendors.

So, what kind of features should you look out for when you begin developing your requirements? We’ve gathered our own list based on the features we believe are the most important when it comes to recruiting software. Listed below is a breakdown of some of our key features and why we think they’re so important.

Recruitment Process Management

The recruitment process management feature will be one of the most important elements in any recruitment system. This feature is what will allow you to streamline the recruiting process at a high level. Of all the features you’ll need to consider, this feature will be the one you won’t want to compromise on when comparing software vendors.

This is a core feature of any recruiting system. The tools included within this feature assist with creating job descriptions, communicating with applicants and job offer presentation. Simply put, this is the basic feature that accomplishes the main goals of recruiting. The end goal of this function is to attract potential new employees to your organization. Some of the specific tools within this feature include job requisition, job description creation and email notifications.

This kind of assistance with these core steps of recruitment can help you streamline your hiring process by offering a helping hand every step of the way. From creating the job posting to extending a job offer, this feature will help with the most basic steps of recruitment. An extra helping hand with these basic tasks will save you time, making the process of recruiting new employees even easier.

Applicant Tracking System

The applicant tracking system feature is another important feature for a variety of reasons. This function will help you to ensure that you’re truly selecting the most qualified candidates for any open position. An ATS functionality will ensure that the system you choose not only makes the recruitment much easier, but also more efficient.

Part of the recruitment process is assessing applicants to determine if they have the skills you’re looking for. This means scanning resumes for keywords and phrases that indicate they have the capabilities you’re looking for. A system with a good ATS feature will be able to automate this task for you, as well as a few others.

Two specific tasks that this feature can assist with is scanning resumes to find the skills you’re looking for and sending alerts to candidates. This feature can also assist by pre-screening applicants, assisting with candidate evaluation and many systems include a talent pool management functionality.

Candidate & Employee Management

While the process of finding new employees will be the primary focus of any recruiting system, you’ll likely want a product that can do a little extra. A system with an effective candidate and employee management feature will help you even after you’ve sifted through resumes and narrowed down your top candidates.

This feature will be key in providing assistance to you during the end stages of your recruiting process. Once you’ve narrowed down the candidates and selected your new employee, you’ll still have to acclimate them to your organization’s culture. This will require fully onboarding your newest team member and getting them fully up to speed on all of the relevant pieces of training.

Some of the specific tools within this feature include information verification, background checks and onboarding. These tools will help you with the completion of the hiring process as well as with integrating your employees into your organization. While these tasks may seem small, they can be time-consuming. A system with this functionality can help you to complete these vital tasks quickly and with little effort, making the hiring process pain-free.

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What is Cloud-Based Software?

Cloud-based software is exactly what it sounds like. But what does it mean to have a system that’s based in the cloud? In practice, it means that the system is housed externally from your organization’s servers. The system is hosted by the vendor and can be accessed by users through the internet.

In the past, only large enterprises had the resources to implement a recruiting solution. However, with the advent of cloud-based systems, recruiting solutions are now far more accessible, making it easy for even the smallest businesses to implement. So, what makes these types of systems so special and what are some factors to consider before implementing one?

Benefits

One of the primary reasons you might choose to use a cloud-based system is accessibility. Because these systems are accessed through the internet, you can access all of the features from anywhere — making it easy to work remotely and respond quickly to things that need your attention.

This will be an important benefit when it comes to responding to applicants, who may give up on the position they’ve applied for if you take too long to reply. According to Indeed, almost half of all job applicants wait more than a week to hear back from an employer in response to their application. During this time, applicants are often still applying for other jobs. Implementing a cloud-based system will give your organization a competitive advantage. With the ability to access your recruiting system from anywhere, you’ll be able to respond to applicants quickly. Responding before other organizations make it more likely that an applicant will accept your job offer — so you can be sure to hire the most qualified candidates.

Not only will you be able to respond to applications quickly, but you’ll also save time. With cloud recruiting software you’ll be able to access candidate data conveniently all in one platform, which you can access from anywhere. This will make the candidate evaluation process far more collaborative. When hiring a new employee, you want to make sure that they’re qualified for the position, but you’ll also want to be sure that they’ll make a good addition to your team. In order to assess this, you’ll want to have input from the rest of your team. With a cloud-based product, it’s easy to include the entire team in the process by keeping them up to date on the latest candidates.

Downfalls

Sadly, there is no perfect recruitment system in the market and cloud-based solutions won’t be the best option for every organization. A major concern for many businesses is the security of a cloud-based system. Utilizing a system that is housed externally from your own servers means that you no longer have control over the security systems in place to protect your data. Fortunately, many vendors prioritize data security and offer a variety of security features to ensure that your data is protected.

Another challenge to be aware of is the dependency on internet connectivity. Because these products are housed externally, your organization will always need an internet connection in order to access the system. If there were to be an issue with your organization’s network connectivity, then you will be unable to access the system. However, being aware of this as a potential issue can help you plan for how to handle this kind of issue, preventing any unforeseen hiccups.

Compare Vendors

Much like the search for the perfect candidate, selecting the proper software requires a keen eye. Many systems will offer similar features; however, they may have slight variances in their functionality. This is why you’ll want to be well-prepared when the time comes to compare recruitment software vendors.

When you begin your hunt for software, you’ll want a thorough list of requirements to help guide your search. This will help you to narrow down software vendors and compare them. However, even with this list of requirements, comparing recruiting systems can be a lot of work. There are lots of features to compare and knowing where to start can be a challenge. If you aren’t feeling up to it, you might consider using our comparison report, which uses our expert analyst data to show you the strengths and weaknesses of each system you’re considering.

The final step of selecting software will require you to assess the vendors that came out on top during your comparison. Many vendors offer demos or even free trials of their product so that you can get a feel for how the system can work for your business. This final step will also require you to compare prices amongst vendors to ensure that the product you select is within your budget — our pricing guide can help with that too.

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The Best Cloud Recruitment Software

Now that we’ve discussed everything you need to know about cloud recruiting software, let’s look at some of the best systems on the market right now. We’ve compiled this list of our top recruiting systems based on data from our team of expert analysts.

Zoho Recruit

Zoho Recruit is an excellent option for small and medium-sized businesses. This system offers tools that can help with every step of the recruiting process. From posting job openings to managing interviews, Zoho Recruit can truly help you streamline tasks every step of the way.

One of Zoho Recruit’s noteworthy features is its career portal. This feature allows you to customize the portal to reflect your brand. You will be able to publish all of your job openings here and candidates will be able to apply directly through your unique platform. Zoho Recruit also offers other customization options outside of the career portal feature. There are various customization options available throughout the hiring process. For example, the system provides email templates and automated workflows that allow you to customize your responses and send them automatically to candidates.

A final benefit of this system is the price point. Zoho Recruit offers a free plan that includes basic features, making it one of the most cost-effective options on our list. While this free plan only provides basic applicant tracking features, Zoho Recruit also extends two other pricing packages that offer a variety of features, both for a reasonable subscription price.