Applicant Tracking System FAQ: Everything You Need to Know

An ATS (Applicant Tracking System) is recruiting software that manages the entire hiring process from end to end:

• Job posting: Publish to 50+ job boards (Indeed, LinkedIn) with one click
• Application management: Collect and organize resumes, cover letters, and screening questions
• Candidate pipeline: Move applicants through stages (Applied → Phone Screen → Interview → Offer)
• Collaboration: Share feedback, interview notes, and scorecards with hiring team
• Interview scheduling: Self-scheduling links and calendar integrations
• Communication: Automated emails and SMS for status updates
• Reporting: Time-to-hire, source tracking, pipeline metrics

An ATS replaces the chaos of email and spreadsheets with an organized, collaborative hiring process. Popular platforms: Greenhouse, Lever, Breezy HR, JazzHR, BambooHR Hiring.

If you're hiring more than 2-3 people per year, an ATS will save you time and improve your candidate experience.

You probably need an ATS if:

• You're managing applicants via email and losing track of candidates
• Multiple people are involved in hiring and need to share feedback
• You're posting to multiple job boards manually
• Candidates complain about slow responses or lack of updates
• You're hiring regularly (5+ times per year)

You can probably skip an ATS if:

• You hire 1-2 people per year max
• One person handles all hiring
• You get few applications (under 20 per role)

Budget-friendly starter ATS: Breezy HR ($150/month), JazzHR ($75+/month), BambooHR Hiring (included with HRIS)

Both are recruiting tools, but they serve different purposes:

ATS (Applicant Tracking System):

• Manages active job openings and applicants
• Tracks candidates through interview pipeline
• Focused on filling current roles quickly
• Examples: Greenhouse, Lever, Breezy HR

Recruiting CRM (Candidate Relationship Management):

• Builds and nurtures a talent pool for future roles
• Manages passive candidates and silver medalists
• Email campaigns, events, and long-term engagement
• Examples: Beamery, SmashFly, Gem

Many modern ATS platforms (Greenhouse, Lever) include CRM features like talent pools and email nurture campaigns. For SMBs, an ATS with basic CRM is usually enough—dedicated CRMs are overkill unless you're doing high-volume hiring.

Yes—many ATS platforms support internal job postings and employee referrals:

• Internal job boards: Post openings visible only to current employees
• Employee referrals: Track referral sources and referral bonuses
• Talent pools: Tag high-performers for future roles
• Simplified application: Employees can apply with one click (info pre-filled from HRIS)

This is most seamless when your ATS integrates with your HRIS (e.g., BambooHR Hiring + BambooHR HRIS, or Greenhouse + Rippling).

Yes—most ATS platforms syndicate jobs to 50+ job boards with one click, including:

• General job boards: Indeed, ZipRecruiter, Monster, Glassdoor
• Professional networks: LinkedIn (free and paid postings)
• Niche boards: Dice (tech), AngelList (startups), Idealist (nonprofits)
• Diversity boards: PowerToFly (women in tech), Jopwell (diverse candidates)
• Social media: Automatic sharing to company Twitter, Facebook pages

Free vs. paid postings: Most ATS include free organic postings to major boards. Premium sponsored postings (top of search results) cost extra—typically $200-500 per job per board.

Best for job distribution: Lever (100+ integrations), Greenhouse (robust free posting), Breezy HR (great for SMBs)

Yes—all modern ATS platforms include customizable career pages:

Features:

• Custom branding: Your logo, colors, fonts, images
• Job listings: Searchable/filterable by department, location, job type
• Company culture: About us, employee testimonials, videos, office photos
• SEO optimization: Custom URLs, meta tags for search ranking
• Mobile responsive: Looks great on phones and tablets
• Apply button: One-click application with resume upload or LinkedIn import

Hosting options:

• Subdomain: careers.yourcompany.com (points to ATS-hosted page)
• Embedded widget: Add to your existing website
• Custom domain: yourcompany.com/careers (requires DNS setup)

Best career pages: Greenhouse (highly customizable), Lever (great design templates), Breezy HR (easy setup)

Yes—most ATS platforms use resume parsing to extract and organize candidate info:

What resume parsing does:

• Extracts name, email, phone, location, work history, education
• Populates candidate profile automatically (no manual data entry)
• Makes resumes searchable by keywords, skills, companies
• Supports PDF, Word, plain text formats

Automatic screening:

• Knockout questions: Filter out candidates who don't meet basic requirements (e.g., "Do you have a driver's license?")
• Keyword matching: Surface candidates with specific skills or experience
• AI ranking: Some platforms (Lever, SmartRecruiters) use AI to score candidates against job description

Caveat: Resume parsing isn't perfect—always review profiles for accuracy. Over-filtering can eliminate great candidates, so use screening sparingly.

Yes—modern ATS platforms let you define custom hiring pipelines for each role:

Example pipeline:

• New Application
• Phone Screen
• Technical Assessment
• Hiring Manager Interview
• Team Interview
• Reference Checks
• Offer
• Hired

Workflow automation:

• Auto-emails: Send confirmation email when candidate applies, or rejection when moved to "Not a Fit"
• Task assignments: Notify recruiter when candidate reaches "Phone Screen" stage
• Approval flows: Require hiring manager approval before sending offer letter
• Stage-specific questions: Collect different info at each stage

Best for customization: Greenhouse (unlimited custom workflows), Lever (visual pipeline builder), BambooHR Hiring (simple templates)

Most ATS platforms integrate with calendar tools (Google Calendar, Outlook) to streamline scheduling:

Manual scheduling:

• Send interview invite from ATS with calendar event attached
• Add multiple interviewers to event
• Include video conference links (Zoom, Google Meet)
• Track confirmed/declined interviews

Self-scheduling (best for efficiency):

• ATS checks your team's calendar availability
• Generates link with open time slots
• Candidate picks time that works for them
• Calendar event automatically created for all parties

Platforms with great scheduling:

• Greenhouse: Built-in self-scheduling
• Lever: Integrates with Calendly
• Breezy HR: Simple self-scheduling included

Tip: Self-scheduling cuts scheduling time by 80% and improves candidate experience.

Yes—collaboration is a core ATS feature:

What teams can do:

• Interview scorecards: Rate candidates on standardized criteria (technical skills, culture fit, communication)
• Private notes: Internal comments visible only to hiring team
• @mentions: Tag teammates for feedback or follow-up
• Candidate comparison: View all scorecards side-by-side to compare finalists
• Approval workflows: Route candidates to hiring manager or exec for sign-off
• Activity feed: See who viewed, messaged, or interviewed each candidate

This eliminates: Long email chains, lost feedback, and "what did we think about this person again?" moments.

Best for collaboration: Greenhouse (robust scorecards), Lever (clean interface), BambooHR (simple feedback forms)

Modern ATS platforms drastically improve how candidates experience your hiring process:

Before ATS (the bad old days):

• Applications sent into email black hole
• No confirmation of receipt
• Weeks of silence, then generic rejection
• Candidates email asking "did you get my application?"

With ATS:

• Instant confirmation: Auto-reply email when candidate applies
• Status updates: "We're reviewing your application" → "We'd like to interview you"
• Mobile-friendly: Apply from phone without formatting issues
• Quick apply: Import from LinkedIn or autofill with resume data
• Self-scheduling: Pick interview time without back-and-forth emails
• Timely rejections: Automated (but kind) rejection emails instead of ghosting

Result: Lower applicant drop-off, better employer brand, more referrals from candidates who didn't get hired.

Yes—all modern ATS platforms offer mobile-responsive application forms.

Mobile-friendly features:

• Simple forms that work on small screens
• Resume upload from phone camera or cloud storage
• LinkedIn Easy Apply integration
• Save progress and finish later
• One-click apply for jobs on your careers page

Why it matters: Over 60% of job searches happen on mobile devices. If your application form doesn't work on mobile, you're losing half your candidates.

Test it: Before launching any job, apply via your phone. If it's painful, candidates will abandon.

Keep applications short—every extra field increases abandonment rates.

Minimum required fields:

• Full name
• Email
• Phone (optional but recommended)
• Resume (PDF or Word)

Optional but useful:

• LinkedIn profile URL
• Portfolio/website (for creative roles)
• Cover letter (make it optional!)
• 1-2 screening questions (e.g., "Are you authorized to work in the US?")

Don't ask for:

• Manual entry of resume info (name, address, work history)—parsing should handle this
• Essay questions before first interview
• References (save for finalists)
• Illegal questions (age, marital status, etc.)

Best practice: Application should take under 5 minutes. Greenhouse and Breezy HR make this easy with streamlined forms.

Yes, always—ghosting candidates damages your employer brand.

When to send rejections:

• After resume review: "Thanks for applying, but we're moving forward with other candidates"
• After phone screen: "We enjoyed speaking with you, but..."
• After interviews: Personalized email explaining decision (be kind!)

Use automation for volume rejections: If you get 200+ applicants, it's okay to send automated rejection emails to unqualified candidates. For anyone you interviewed, send a personal note.

Template structure:

• Thank them for their time
• Say you've decided to move forward with other candidates
• Encourage them to apply for future roles
• Keep it short and kind

Why it matters: Rejected candidates tell friends about their experience. A kind rejection keeps your reputation intact.

Yes—most ATS platforms integrate with HRIS systems so hired candidates flow seamlessly into onboarding:

How it works:

• Candidate accepts offer in ATS
• Basic info (name, email, start date, job title) syncs to HRIS
• HRIS triggers onboarding workflow (I-9, W-4, benefits enrollment)
• No duplicate data entry

Popular integrations:

• BambooHR: Integrates with Greenhouse, Lever, JazzHR
• Rippling: Integrates with Greenhouse, Lever
• Gusto: Integrates with Breezy HR, JazzHR
• Namely: Integrates with Greenhouse, Lever

Native ATS + HRIS combos (easiest):

• BambooHR Hiring + BambooHR HRIS
• Namely Recruiting + Namely HRIS
• Workday Recruiting + Workday HCM

Yes—most ATS platforms integrate with background check services:

Common integrations:

• Checkr: Most popular for tech startups (integrates with Greenhouse, Lever, Breezy HR)
• Sterling: Enterprise-grade (integrates with most major ATS)
• GoodHire: Budget-friendly (integrates with BambooHR, JazzHR)
• Accurate Background: Industry-specific checks

How it works:

• Select candidate in ATS and click "Order Background Check"
• Candidate receives email with authorization form
• Background check provider runs checks (criminal, employment verification, education)
• Results appear in ATS (usually 2-5 business days)

Cost: $20-100 per candidate depending on depth of check.

ATS pricing varies widely based on company size, features, and pricing model:

Starter ATS (SMBs, 1-50 employees):

• Breezy HR: $150-400/month flat rate (unlimited jobs, users)
• JazzHR: $75-400/month (based on jobs per year)
• Workable: $99-359/month (based on active jobs)

Mid-market ATS (50-500 employees):

• Greenhouse: $500-1,500+/month (custom pricing based on employee count)
• Lever: $500-1,200+/month (similar to Greenhouse)
• SmartRecruiters: Custom pricing (typically $800+/month)
• BambooHR Hiring: Included with HRIS ($8-12/employee/month)

Enterprise ATS (500+ employees):

• Workday Recruiting: $10,000-50,000+/year
• iCIMS: Custom pricing (typically $15,000+/year)
• Taleo: Custom pricing

Pricing models:

• Flat rate: Fixed monthly/annual fee (simpler, predictable)
• Per job: Pay per active job posting
• Per user: Pay per recruiter/hiring manager seat
• Per employee: Scales with company size

Yes—but with significant limitations:

Free ATS platforms:

• Freshteam: Free for up to 50 employees (basic features only)
• Zoho Recruit: Free plan for 1 user, 1 job (very limited)
• Manatal: 14-day free trial, then $15+/user/month

What you give up on free plans:

• Limited job postings (1-3 active jobs)
• No custom career page
• Basic reporting only
• Limited integrations
• Email support only (no phone/chat)

Better budget option: Pay for a starter ATS like Breezy HR ($150/month) or JazzHR ($75/month)—you'll get real features and support.

Modern ATS platforms provide recruiting analytics to optimize your hiring process:

Standard reports:

• Time-to-hire: Days from job posting to offer acceptance
• Time-to-fill: Days from job opening to candidate starts
• Source tracking: Which job boards/referrals produce best candidates
• Pipeline metrics: Conversion rates between stages (applied → phone screen → offer)
• Cost-per-hire: Total recruiting costs ÷ number of hires
• Offer acceptance rate: % of offers accepted vs. declined
• Recruiter activity: Jobs per recruiter, interviews scheduled, time to respond

Diversity & compliance reports:

• EEO-1 data (gender, ethnicity)
• Applicant flow logs (OFCCP compliance)
• Diversity of candidate pool vs. hires

Best for reporting: Greenhouse (custom dashboards), Lever (visual reports), SmartRecruiters (AI-powered insights)

Yes, but plan carefully—data migration requires export/import work:

What to export from old ATS:

• Candidate database: All applicants, resumes, and contact info (CSV export)
• Job postings: Active and archived job descriptions
• Interview notes & scorecards: PDF or text export
• Offer letters: Historical records
• Reports: Time-to-hire metrics, source data

Migration timeline:

• 2-3 weeks: Export data, set up new system, import active candidates
• Most new ATS vendors offer migration assistance
• Plan switch during low-hiring period (avoid Q1 or busy seasons)

What you'll likely lose: Historical pipeline stages, old interview schedules (not worth migrating). Archive these as PDFs.

Pro tip: Keep old ATS as read-only for 6 months to reference old data while you transition.