8 Best Automated Recruitment Software: An Honest Review

Published by:
Rebecca Noori
May 5, 2023
9
min read

The Ultimate ATS Comparison Guide

The recruiting process involves many moving parts. From posting job ads, communicating with candidates, and screening the best applicants, designing a smooth and efficient system is challenging. 

Recruitment automation software is the answer. It allows you to run your recruitment cycles on autopilot, progress candidates through your hiring funnel and keep them informed at the touch of a button. With the right combo of features, you'll save time, energy, and money while overhauling your quality of hire.

25% of companies have already committed to using automation in their hiring processes, according to SHRM. Of these, 69% report it has significantly reduced the average time they spend on repetitive tasks related to finding and vetting quality candidates. 

In this review, we'll look at 8 of the best examples of automated recruitment software in the market and examine the features and capabilities that each brings to the table. 

What are the most important automation recruitment features to look for? 

Vet your preferred software by checking if it includes the below list of key features:

Sourcing 

Look for automated recruitment software that seeks out candidates from a broad variety of sources, including job boards and social recruiting. This feature enables your team to search for active and passive candidates, significantly increasing the quality of potential hires. 

Job posting 

A sophisticated tool removes the legwork from posting on job boards, social networks, and databases. You should be able to post vacancies quickly and easily, with custom templates allowing you to edit and create job descriptions in just a few clicks. 

Candidate management 

The best recruitment software stores candidate profiles for quick and easy access. This includes resumes, contact details, interview notes, test scores, and any other information you created during the entire recruitment process. Integrated communication tools ensure you contact potential hires quickly and efficiently, for example, by inviting them to an interview stage. This automated functionality shortens the hiring process and improves the overall candidate experience. 

Predictive assessments 

Automated recruitment software allows you to roll out predictive testing to identify the most suitable candidates for your roles. Tests might include cognitive, numerical skills, and psychometric assessments. From here, it’s a cinch to compare scores and advance the most capable to the next stage. 

Reporting 

Reporting capabilities enable you to break down the recruitment process by stage, job role, region, or any other criteria, without painstakingly combing through the data. Automated insights allow you to identify areas of the hiring process to improve. For example, a tool with DEI reporting enabled will spot if you’re not extending job offers to candidates from underrepresented backgrounds. 

Diversity 

Automated recruiting tools will help you reach your diversity goals faster by reducing bias, and attracting a broader talent pool with a range of backgrounds and experience. In an SHRM survey, 30% of respondents agreed that automated recruitment had reduced potential bias from their hiring. 

8 top recruitment automation tools  

We've dug into the main features for each recruitment automation tool to find the right pick for your hiring cycle.

1. Jobvite 

Jobvite offers the Evolve Talent Acquisition Suite, which companies use to find, hire and onboard the best talent. The software features a range of AI-based tools and is best suited to larger companies hiring frequently and at scale. 

Jobvite

Core features

  • AI and machine learning-based capabilities
  • Automatic screening and candidate matching 
  • Intelligent candidate messaging 
  • Interview scheduling

Is Jobvite the right choice? 

Jobvite's suite covers the entire recruitment lifecycle, from employer branding and recruitment marketing to pre-screening, onboarding, and internal mobility. An all-in-one solution like this is convenient, although you'll need to integrate with a third-party assessment tool like Criteria for aptitude, personality, and skills-based testing. 

Unfortunately, users experience problems with the analytics and reporting features of Jobvite. One G2 review highlights, “Analytics is horrible. Reporting is not user-friendly; you can report off *some* of the data tables but not all of them.” 

2. Zoho Recruit 

Zoho Recruit’s platform offers a range of AI-powered tools to help in-house recruiters and staffing agencies automate their recruiting processes. The recruiting software promises to reduce bias, hire based on potential, and increase your overall quality of hire. But does it work? 

Core features 

  • Powerful resume parser 
  • AI-powered candidate screening workflow 
  • Smart searching
  • In-built chatbot 

Is Zoho Recruit the right choice? 

Zoho Recruit's software talks a good game. It will appeal to recruitment teams who want a streamlined way to attract more diverse candidates to join their company ranks. And it includes several smart-search and resume-parsing features that will undoubtedly speed up your processes. 

But this recruitment platform falls short in terms of diversity-specific features, such as anonymisation or chunking, that would change the hiring focus towards cherry-picking candidates with relevant skills for your role. However, it does offer pre-screening and behavioural assessments that may be a good indicator of cultural fit. (Side note: at Applied, we always focus on mission/values alignment over culture fit.) 

3. SmartRecruiters 

SmartRecruiters offers a range of flexible and customizable features designed to engage candidates and funnel the most suitable into your current job openings. 

Core features 

  • Automatic resume screening 
  • AI-based candidate matching using existing candidate database 
  • SmartAssistant 
  • Scorecard-driven interviews 

Is SmartRecruiters the right choice? 

SmartRecruiters leans heavily on AI, with the support of its SmartAssistant, to screen candidate resumes at speed. It applies automatic scores to resumes and generates digestible reviews with intelligence-assisted match scores. The platform will save time, reduce bottlenecks and improve the candidate journey. But time isn’t the only metric your recruiters want to track. And with only limited candidate assessment and analytics tools available, better recruitment solutions exist for reducing bias and hiring top talent from a wealth of backgrounds. 

4. SeekOut 

SeekOut focuses on sourcing hard-to-find talent, using the recruitment platform's advanced search facility. Apply filters to source the most qualified candidates to join your team, and check for qualifications, medical licenses, security clearance, technical expertise and more. 

SeekOut

Core features 

  • AI talent search 
  • Talent analytics
  • Third-party integrations 
  • Reporting & statistics 

Is SeekOut the right choice? 

SeekOut’s main draw is its search facility, which uses AI to source and filter potential candidates. It also offers a range of integrations, so you can connect it with your existing recruitment systems to automate your workflows. Unfortunately, some G2 reviews mention that UX is a problem, with one person describing their experience, “The tool is really clunky. You have to click too many buttons to make things happen with too many opportunities for error.”

You may also find its screening capabilities limited, with no emphasis on customised assessments to select the most skilled people to join your company. 

5. Gem 

Gem pairs robust analytics and planning tools with your existing applicant tracking system to optimise talent acquisition processes. The platform allows recruiting teams to gain a bird's eye view of candidate interactions throughout the process. This includes emails, LinkedIn messages, past interviews, and more. By analysing and automating communication with candidates, recruiters can improve their response rates and ensure a better CX (candidate experience.)

Gem

Core features 

  • Data-driven insights 
  • Automated talent sourcing 
  • Customisable workflows 

Is Gem the right choice? 

Gem is a modern platform that relies on data-based insights to improve the strength and depth of your candidate pipeline with minimal effort. Using analytics you’ll automatically track the race, gender, and ethnicity of your applicants. Although this is an important diversity feature, it's not as proactive as using anonymisation, skills-based testing, or committing to inclusive job descriptions to attract talented candidates. 

6. Manatal 

Manatal is a cloud-based hiring tool with a range of features, from candidate search and selection tools to automated recruitment workflows. Each of these is designed to create a smooth and seamless candidate experience. 

Core features 

  • Job board integrations 
  • Candidate tracking & recruiting automation 
  • Video interviews & assessments
  • Candidate onboarding and placement management 
  • Mobile recruitment 

Is Manatal the right choice? 

G2 reviews highlight that Manatal has a good design but lacks the horsepower expected from automated recruitment software. One user describes, “The system is slow. Using their Chrome extension on Linkedin to source candidates took an age. The system lacks core functionality like scheduling meetings with candidates.”

However, Manatal does have a strong skills focus, enabling recruiters to pinpoint potential candidates with specific skill sets using advanced filtering functionality. A stronger focus on skills testing and anonymous screening would improve this tool. 

7. Fetcher 

Fetcher is a candidate sourcing tool built using machine learning and human insights aimed at helping recruiters hit their diversity recruitment targets. The algorithm works in the background sourcing best-fit candidates and automating candidate emails to save your recruiters heaps of time. 

Fetcher

Core features 

  • Automated candidate engagement 
  • Candidate sourcing and outreach analytics 
  • Machine learning algorithms 

Is Fetcher the right choice? 

Fetcher empowers recruiters by providing a comprehensive overview of their candidate outreach performance while at the same time using algorithms to source best-fit applicants. However, the platform lacks predictive skills-based testing, which is essential for improving your quality of hire.

8. Applied 

Applied is an application tracking software with numerous automated features designed to overcome bias in recruitment. The platform automatically reads and scores your job descriptions to check for gendered language and reading burdens that might dissuade qualified applicants. Then it auto-posts your ad to diverse job boards to ensure a wide range of candidate sources. It also randomises candidate scores and skills test answers to ensure a fair shortlisting process without you lifting a finger. Prospective candidates always receive automatic in-depth feedback on their assessments, explaining how they compare to their cohort and whether they're advancing to the next stage of the recruiting process. 

Applied

Core features 

  • Bias-removing software 
  • Anonymous and randomised candidate applications 
  • Inclusive job descriptions 
  • DEI focused reporting 
  • Predictive hiring tests 
  • One-click job board integrations 
  • Automated candidate communication 

Is Applied the right choice? 

Applied is the most comprehensive tool in the market for automating and personalising your recruitment process. It removes any bias and goes beyond that to empower recruiters with predictive skills-based tests and a more efficient and successful hiring experience. Reporting is a key area where Applied excels. At the touch of a button, you’ll gain in-depth diversity metrics and candidate data CSV downloads to create reports for your stakeholders and continuously improve your hiring cycles. 

Streamline your hiring process with Applied 

Applied has the power to transform your recruiting process and produce exceptional results without any extra effort on your part. Automate your hiring workflows to receive: 

  • Up to 4x increase in ethnically diverse candidates 
  • 3x as many suitable candidates 
  • 93% retention rate after one year 
  • 9 out of 10 candidate experience score (based on half a million job seekers) 

Applied is the only ATS you need to streamline your recruitment process and make intelligent data-driven hiring decisions. Save time and resources using our skills-based candidate assessment tools to rapidly narrow down the talent pool and improve quality of hire. Book a demo today.