What is an Applicant Tracking System and Do I Need One?

An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is one of the most effective tools employers can use to streamline recruitment, reduce administrative work, and focus on engaging the most qualified candidates. For many companies, an ATS plays a central role in streamlining the recruitment process. But what exactly is an ATS, and how do you know if your organization needs one?

What Is an Applicant Tracking System?

An Applicant Tracking System is a software tool designed to help employers manage every stage of the recruitment process. From job posting and candidate sourcing to resume management and interview scheduling, an ATS organizes and automates the workflow so you can focus on making the right hiring decisions rather than getting buried in administrative tasks. Not only does it benefit the company leveraging the software, but the candidates applying to roles in their system as well.

For large and busy organizations, ATS platforms are integral for managing large volumes of applications, ensuring no qualified candidate slips through the cracks.

What Are Applicant Tracking Systems Used For?

An ATS serves as the hub for all hiring activities, including:

• Posting jobs across multiple platforms simultaneously.

• Sorting and ranking applications based on specific criteria.

• Tracking candidate progress through each stage of the hiring funnel.

• Facilitating communication between hiring teams.

• Maintaining compliance with recordkeeping requirements.

Ultimately, an ATS helps reduce time-to-fill and improves the overall candidate experience—two areas that directly impact your company’s ability to attract top talent.

How Does an ATS Work to Find Candidates?

When you post a job through an ATS, it’s distributed to multiple job boards, your company career page, and social media channels that you approve ahead of time. The system then scans incoming resumes and matches them against the job description using keyword recognition, skills mapping, and sometimes AI-driven algorithms.

The goal is to present recruiters and hiring managers with the most relevant candidates first, allowing them to prioritize outreach and move quickly on top prospects. This also allows candidates that aren’t as qualified for positions feedback and closure quicker than if a recruiter was reviewing each resume by hand.

What Is a Resume Score and How Can You Increase It?

Many ATS platforms assign a resume score to each application. This score is based on how closely a candidate’s resume matches the job description in terms of skills, experience, and relevant keywords. An ATS only wants to present candidates with a high enough score to the recruiter that have the potential to move forward in the interview process.

Employers benefit from resume scoring because it enables quick identification of the strongest applicants. For candidates, the best way to increase a resume score is to tailor their resume for each role—mirroring language from the job description, including industry-specific terms, and ensuring their experience is clearly aligned with the position’s requirements.

Tips for Candidates to Pass an Applicant Tracking System

While an ATS is designed to assist employers, it also impacts how candidates should prepare their applications. Here are a few best practices:

• Use a clean, simple resume format to avoid parsing errors.

• Incorporate keywords directly from the job description.

• Avoid graphics, tables, and overly complex layouts.

• Include both acronyms and full phrases for technical skills.

Check out this resource: How to Write a Resume That Gets Past Applicant Tracking Systems

By understanding how an ATS processes resumes, candidates can optimize their applications—helping employers quickly find the best match.

The Future of ATS Technology: AI-Driven Recruiting

The next generation of ATS platforms is increasingly powered by artificial intelligence. AI can help identify passive candidates, analyze patterns from past hires, predict which applicants are most likely to succeed, and even automate interview scheduling. While AI won’t be taking away the role of a recruiter or a hiring manager, the concept is to take away the more tedious and admin focused tasks so recruiters can stay focused on the role at hand and find quality talent faster.

For employers, this means more accurate candidate shortlists and reduced bias in hiring decisions—provided the AI tools are configured thoughtfully.

How to Know When Your Company Needs an ATS

Signs your organization may benefit from an ATS include:

• You’re managing more than a handful of open roles at once, without enough time in the day to work through them.

• Your hiring process involves multiple decision-makers and steps to feel comfortable extending an offer.

• You’re losing qualified candidates due to slow response times, and lack of feedback.

• Tracking applicants through spreadsheets or email is becoming unmanageable, unorganized and stressful.

If your recruiting process feels disorganized, inconsistent, or slow, investing in an ATS—or partnering with a staffing agency that already uses one—can significantly improve outcomes.

ATS vs. CRM: Understanding the Difference

While an ATS focuses on managing active applicants, a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is designed for nurturing long-term relationships—often with potential clients you would like for your business to work with (B2B), or candidates who aren’t actively applying.

Think of the ATS as your immediate hiring tool and the CRM as your talent pipeline manager. Many staffing agencies use both systems to keep track of active candidates and maintain relationships with passive talent for future roles.

Partner with Professional Alternatives for Smarter Hiring

An ATS can be a game-changer for employers, but it’s only one piece of the puzzle. The right staffing partner can help you maximize its capabilities while adding a human touch to every step of the process.

If you’re looking to fill a position or restructure your team, connect with one of our experienced recruiters at Professional Alternatives today. Our experienced recruiters take the time to understand your unique hiring needs and find high quality talent for you the first time. We’ll help you identify, attract, and secure top talent—while ensuring your hiring process is as efficient and effective as possible.