Miira Leinonen
CMO
Passionate about creating compelling stories and enhancing the world of recruitment. Helping companies to improve their Employer Brand with modern recruitment methods and superior Candidate Experience.
HR Tech
How to Succeed in Choosing a Recruitment System – Avoid Costly Pitfalls
Choosing the right recruitment system (ATS) is one of the most important and, at the same time, most challenging decisions in recruitment. The stakes are high: a successful choice can revolutionize recruitment efficiency and improve the candidate experience. A failed investment, on the other hand, creates hidden costs, frustrates users, and can, at worst, drive away the best applicants.
The market has hundreds of options, each promising to improve your recruitment. How can you ensure you make a well-considered, data-driven decision that will also support your business growth in the future?
To solve this challenge, we have compiled a comprehensive, practical guide: The ATS Buying Guide – Hear From Five Global HR Influencers. This guide is not just a feature list; it breaks down the entire purchasing process into seven clear steps – from defining your needs to making the final selection.
- DEFINE BUSINESS NEEDS
Clarify what problems the system should solve and how it should support recruitment. - BUDGETING AND STAKEHOLDER BUY-IN
Set a budget and ensure the support of key decision-makers. - IDENTIFY MUST-HAVES AND NICE-TO-HAVE FEATURES
Separate “must-have” features from “nice-to-have” ones. - CREATE A LONG AND SHORT LIST
Research the market offerings and narrow down potential vendors to a shorter list. - ARRANGE DEMOS AND TRIAL PERIODS
Schedule presentations and, where possible, request a test trial. - REQUEST OFFERS
Request proposals from the vendors on your short list. - FINAL SELECTION
Compare the offers, features, and partnership, and make your decision.
It All Starts with Your Needs, Not with Technology
“Before you ask what a system can do, define what you need it to do. Technology should follow strategy, not define it.“
Before you even begin comparing different systems, it is critical to understand what your organization truly needs. The first step in our guide directs you to ask the right questions: What are your biggest recruitment bottlenecks right now? How will your five-year business plan affect your future talent needs?
One of the most important exercises is to distinguish between must-have features and nice-to-have features. This list will be your compass throughout the entire process.
- Must-have features are those without which your team cannot operate effectively. These include, for example, a job ad editor, automatic publishing to career pages, mobile-friendly application forms, and integrations with essential calendars like Outlook or Gmail.
- Nice-to-have features add value but are not immediately essential. These might include video interview tools, highly advanced automations, a career page builder, or the ability to purchase recruitment campaigns directly within the system. However, remember to keep your specific recruitment process in mind – not everything is equally important for different organizations. Future needs should also be considered.
This distinction helps you stay grounded during demos, so you aren’t dazzled by fancy functions that don’t solve your real problems.
Don’t Just Watch – Participate Actively in Demos
“Stay active during the demo. Don’t just watch – interact. Ask them to walk through your scenarios, not just their script.“
Don’t settle for watching a vendor’s prepared presentation. Good preparation ensures the demo focuses on what is important to you.
Ask yourself questions like:
- How does the system handle the pre-screening of a large number of applicants?
- Can workflows be customized without heavy IT support?
- How intuitive is it for hiring managers?
More questions in the guide: download it here for free.
To get the most out of a demo, ask the vendor to walk through your actual use cases. When the vendor has to deviate from their prepared presentation and apply the system to your processes, you will truly see how flexible the tool is and whether it actually solves your problems.
Experts Share Their Experience – Learn from Others
To elevate the guide even further, we interviewed five internationally respected HR and recruitment experts who share their decades of experience.
Johnny Campbell 🇬🇧, CEO of SocialTalent, emphasizes the importance of fit. Too often, companies try to bend their culture to fit the technology, when it should be the other way around.
“Technology won’t fix broken recruitment, but the right recruitment system can amplify what’s already working—and surface what’s not.“
Recruitment trainer Jacco Valkenburg 🇳🇱 stresses the importance of implementation:
“A good recruitment system should help you hire faster and smarter. But success depends less on the tool, and more on how you roll it out.“
HR influencer and author Saana Rossi 🇫🇮, in turn, summarizes the key features that make a system truly effective in daily work.
“The key features of a recruitment system are ease of use, smooth candidate management, communication features, and the utilization of analytics and reporting.“
Download the Full Guide and Succeed in Your Choice
This blog post only scratches the surface of the guide’s content. If you want a thorough, step-by-step plan and all the tools for a successful selection, download the full 42-page guide for free.
Make your next recruitment system investment a success.
