What is the Best Recruiting Software?
Choosing the right recruiting software requires a deeper understanding of your company's specific needs, the size of your organization, and the industry you operate in. For example, the needs of a tech startup of 10 people will be very different than those of a hotel hiring 300 people every summer.
Apart from the specific features a software has, important factors to consider include ease of use, integration with current systems, scalability to support growth, and the software's ability to provide insightful analytics.
Depending on the features, the price can vary significantly. For example, some tools are more suited for startups and smaller companies while they will probably not be a good fit for large enterprises.
What Types of Recruiting Software Are There?
Recruiting software can generally be categorized into three main types:
Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS): ATS software focuses on managing the recruitment process from posting job openings to managing applications and tracking candidates through the hiring pipeline. They are invaluable for their ability to organize and automate many aspects of the recruitment process.
Recruitment CRM & employer branding: Candidate Relationship Management (CRM) software is used for candidate engagement and relationship building. It's designed to create talent pools, build relationships with and nurture potential candidates through personalized communication and marketing tools. These software are sometimes also integrated into so-called recruitment marketing software, featuring capabilities like building a branded careers page and other employer branding tools.
Talent Sourcing and outreach software: This software specializes in identifying, engaging, and attracting candidates, particularly passive ones who are not actively seeking new opportunities. It leverages advanced search tools, social media integration, and personalized communication strategies to reach out to potential candidates.
HRIS with a recruitment module: Human Resources Information System (HRIS) is a type of software that offers a comprehensive suite of tools that encompass both ATS and CRM functionalities, along with additional features such as onboarding and overall employee management. It's designed for businesses looking for an all-in-one solution. However, this type of software is often limited in terms of its functionality, as combining all tools into one often results in inferior features than those found in specialized tools. Another thing is that most of the specialized recruitment tools integrate easily with employee management tools so all-around solutions are not that beneficial.
It is important to note that most recruiting software platforms combine 2 or even 3 of these categories so you need to look at their specific features to be able to make the decision.
What Recruiting Software is Best for Me?
The choice of the best recruiting software often depends on several factors like the size of your company, your industry, and hiring needs:
Startups and small businesses might benefit from more straightforward, easy-to-use software that doesn’t require extensive training. What’s also important is that it is cost-effective and offers scalability as they grow. Another valuable point of recruiting software for small companies is employer branding tools like the ability to build a careers page.
Medium-sized businesses often use a variety of HR and productivity tools so they should look for recruitment software that can seamlessly integrate with their existing systems and can be customized to fit their specific processes and workflows. This allows for a more tailored approach to candidate management and evaluation. More sophisticated ATS features are also crucial for managing more complex recruitment processes efficiently.
Large enterprises may require robust, all-around software that can integrate seamlessly with existing HR systems and manage a large volume of applicants across various departments. What can also be useful are advanced analytics and reporting features to gain insights into recruitment metrics, optimize processes, and make data-driven decisions.
As far as industries go, companies from different industries will value different features of a tool more than others. If you are in manufacturing, you’d need recruiting software that offers strong ATS capabilities, along with job posting syndication to niche job boards and skill-based matching algorithms.
If you’re a big bank, you’d look for recruiting software with advanced security features, detailed reporting capabilities, and integration with background check services.
For companies in hospitality, recruiting software should prioritize candidate experience and engagement, so you’d need software that allows for video interviews and provides a mobile-friendly application process with CRM functionalities that enable continuous engagement with potential hires.
You get the point, now let’s move on to the 12 best recruitment software tools. Take into account the criteria we mentioned earlier to choose the right one for your needs.
12 Best Recruitment Software
Here’s our list of 12 top recruiting software tools:
1. TalentLyft
TalentLyft is a powerful and intuitive recruitment software, that integrates applicant tracking, powerful CRM&employer branding, talent sourcing and outreach tools into a single robust platform.
Streamlining the hiring process and enabling recruiters and hiring teams to work together, it is designed to transform the way businesses attract, engage, and hire top talent.
Due to its simple and intuitive UI, powerful sourcing features and adjustable pricing TalentLyft is ideal for SMBs that are looking to streamline their hiring and maximize its effectiveness with a tool that will grow with them.
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TalentLyft’s key features
Powerful employer branding tools: TalentLyft enables you to build a fully branded and customized careers page that perfectly reflects your company's image and values. The best thing is you can do it in minutes, without any coding knowledge required.
Job advertising: Once you create your job, you can advertise it to over 2500 global job boards and social media platforms in a few clicks. There are also other channels like leveraging your employees’ referrals, advertising internally, or collaborating with external recruiters – all within a single platform.
Effective sourcing tools: With advanced boolean search you can set the criteria and find your ideal candidates on professional networks in seconds. Then import them right into your database with the Hire extension that integrates with the most popular online networks, including LinkedIn, Twitter, GitHub, and StackOverflow.
Excellent CRM: You can keep your candidates informed and engaged during the entire process through automated and personalized email campaigns. Build pools of qualified candidates and categorize them based on skills, experience, job preferences, or any other criteria relevant to your hiring needs to keep them around for any future opportunities.
Collaborative hiring: With team mentions, tasks, shared notes, real-time updates, and auto-scheduling interviews across time zones, TalentLyft makes it easy to collaborate effortlessly with your team and make hiring decisions together. Work together on evaluating candidates using scorecards and structured interviews.
TalentLyft also automates processes, streamlines workflows, and easily integrates with your existing HR tools to make hiring as easy as possible so whether you’re still small with growing needs or already hiring big-time, it might be the right choice for you.
Pricing
TalentLyft currently offers two plans:
Starter: starting at $40.83 per month for 2 active jobs, up to $457.50 for 50 active jobs
Pro: starting at $82.50 per month for 2 active jobs, up to $915.83 for 50 active jobs
TalentLyft also features an excellent discount offer for startups - 80% off in their first year, 50% off in the second year, and 25% off in the third year.
The best thing is, you don’t have to decide right away. Try it for two weeks for free and see for yourself!
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Start here Bottom line
TalentLyft combines an advanced applicant tracking system, powerful CRM&employer branding, talent sourcing and outreach tools in a single, easy-to-use and intuitive platform. It's user-friendly for beginners and packed with advanced features for pro recruiters. Flexible subscription plans cater to specific company needs.
2. Breezy
Breezy is a simple and easy-to-use ATS with a user-friendly interface, great for small to medium-sized companies looking to streamline their hiring processes and automate some of the administrative burden.
Key features
Automation: Breezy automates tedious tasks like pre-screening candidates, sending emails, scheduling interviews, and collecting feedback from your team.
Offer management: Breezy comes with custom offer templates, approval flows, and built-in eSignatures to streamline your offer process and get offers out to candidates as quickly as possible.
Security and Compliance: Breezy is ISO/IEC certified so your and your candidates’ data is always protected.
HRIS integrations: Breezy integrates with the most popular tools in recruiting and HR. You can easily move new hires into the HR system that works for you.
Background screening: With integrations from top providers, Breezy makes it fast and easy to run reliable background checks.
Pricing
Bootstrap: Free
Startup: $157/mo for an unlimited number of positions and users
Growth: $273/mo for an unlimited number of positions and users
Business: $439/mo for an unlimited number of positions and users
Bottom line
Breezy provides you with essential recruiting tools to automate administrative tasks and find candidates more easily. With that, offer management and integrations with other HR tools and software make it a good choice for companies with not-so-demanding hiring needs.
Its “Free Forever” plan is great for small businesses on a tight budget that are just looking to handle their occasional hiring needs, however, the more advanced features come at a much higher price tag that potentially makes it a less favorable option.
3. Workable
This Workable is a robust recruiting software that comes with an extensive list of features that help you source and attract qualified candidates, manage applicant evaluations, collaborate with members of the hiring team and onboard new hires. It can be a good fit for most companies, starting from smaller ones to large enterprises and its reviews show it is especially popular with tech companies.
Key features
AI-powered tools: Workable’s AI Recruiter helps you find best-fit candidates, run ads, resurface existing candidates and more, all based on your job descriptions.
Automation: Workable automates processes like getting approvals, creating reports, managing compliance, and more.
Onboarding: Along with its ATS features, Workable offers HRIS tools that help you automate the onboarding process and keep track of all employees’ information.
Pricing Overview
Starter: $149 USD/month (for companies up to 50 employees)
Standard: $299 USD/month (1-20 employees) - the price increases depending on company size
Premier: $599 USD/month (1-20 employees) - the price increases depending on company size
Bottom line
Workable provides a wide range of features to help streamline your hiring process with its AI-powered and automation tools being the biggest advantages.
4. RecruitCRM
Recruit CRM is an end-to-end ATS + CRM system designed for recruitment executive search businesses. Features like a powerful AI resume parser (that can even parse resumes directly from your emails), a straightforward kanban view for both sales & recruitment, email triggers & boolean search make Recruit CRM one of the best options for recruitment agencies.
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Key features
Integrations: Integrated with over 5000+ apps, RecruitCRM allows for maximal flexibility and customization.
Detailed analytics: Detailed analytical reports with reminders on candidates, clients, jobs, teams, deals, time-to-hire and more.
AI capabilities: AI resume parser screens resumes efficiently and converts PDFs or Word docs to detailed candidate summaries.
Chrome sourcing extension: The browser extension enables you to source candidates directly from LinkedIn, Xing, Gmail, Outlook, and more.
Kanban view: You can visualize your candidate pipeline with ease by using the drag-and-drop Kanban boards.
Pricing
Pro plan (recommended for professionals starting out): 40€ per user/month
Business plan (recommended for companies looking to scale): 60€ per user/month
Enterprise plan (recommended for firms at scale with over 100 users): 79€ per user/month
Bottom line
RecruitCRM offers a powerful and customizable solution for recruitment agencies and firms seeking to automate tasks, improve collaboration, and win more clients. Its comprehensive features, AI-powered tools, and integrations cater to complex recruitment needs.
While its pricing might be higher than some simpler ATS options, it delivers significant value for agencies looking to scale their business and improve efficiency.
5. Greenhouse
Greenhouse offers a comprehensive suite of tools designed to optimize the entire hiring process, from sourcing to onboarding. Automating tasks, allowing streamlined collaboration among team members and providing great diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) tools for fairer hiring, Greenhouse is ideal for bigger fast-growing companies.
Key features
Structured Interviews: To improve the quality of hiring, Greenhouse emphasizes structured interviews, providing interview kits and scorecards. This approach helps in reducing bias and making more data-driven hiring decisions.
Onboarding: Beyond hiring, Greenhouse also provides an onboarding module to ensure new hires have a smooth transition into their new roles. This includes task management, document collection, and customized welcome experiences.
DEI tools: timely reminders for employees, take-home assignments and candidate empowerment features like pre-recording name pronunciations.
Analytical reports: tracking recruiter activity and conversion rates, custom detailed reports and all sourcing data in one place for easy data analysis.
Customization: Greenhouse allows you to customize almost everything for an optimal recruiting process.
Pricing
Greenhouse has three plans: Essential, Advanced and Expert. Exact pricing is not disclosed and requires talking to an account executive.
Bottom line
Greenhouse is a highly customizable and robust recruiting software that will support your growing needs with plenty of features for a well-rounded recruiting process.
6. BambooHR
BambooHR is an all-in-one HR platform that encompasses almost any tool that an HR team might need. It is a great solution for businesses that are looking for a comprehensive HR solution to manage all aspects of HR in one place.
Key features
ATS: BambooHR’s ATS capabilities let you share jobs across multiple platforms, ensure timely communication at every step of evaluation and enable collaborations through automatic alerts and in-system messaging.
Reports: Detailed reports and analytics to measure your time-to-hire, identify bottlenecks, and spot inconsistencies along the way.
Employee onboarding: Hiring managers can customize new hire packets informing employees what to expect on day one, introducing them to their new team, and assigning key onboarding tasks so they'll be ready to go when they come.
BambooHR® Hiring app: A mobile app is designed for anyone involved in the hiring process. You can use it to review candidates the instant they apply, coordinate with other hiring team members and communicate directly with applicants.
HR functions: BambooHR allows you to track hours worked, manage benefits enrollment, and run payroll and also offers tools to help you gather feedback and manage employee data.
Pricing
BambooHR has two plans: Core and Pro with a bunch of add-ons for additional HR functions
The exact pricing is not disclosed and you need to submit your data to get it.
Bottom line
BambooHR is an all-around HR solution that isn’t solely focused on recruiting but rather the entire HR function serving as an all-in-one platform that can be good for both smaller and growing medium-sized businesses.
7. CEIPAL
Ceipal combines ATS, Workforce Management and VMS tools into a comprehensive platform that might be ideal for businesses looking to hire hard-to-fill roles and recruiting agencies.
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Key features
AI-powered tools: Sourcing passive candidates from public domains, importing them into your dashboards and ranking them for your jobs.
Platform integrations: Ceipal is integrated with 30+ job boards and social platforms where you can post your jobs directly.
Communications Center: Send mass emails to candidates, track metrics and team-wide communications.
Pricing overview
Ceipal ATS: $24/user/month with 5-user minimum*
Ceipal Advanced Automation Bundle: $48/user/month with 5-user minimum*
Ceipal Workforce Management: $4/user/month with 25-user minimum*
Bottom line
Ceipal stands out as a leading solution for staffing professionals and recruitment agencies aiming to leverage the latest in AI and automation for talent acquisition. With its comprehensive suite of features, including an AI-driven ATS and CRM, Ceipal is a good solution for businesses looking for robust and comprehensive AI recruiting software for their hiring needs.
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8. ZohoRecruit
Zoho Recruit is an all-in-one talent acquisition solution that combines ATS and CRM functionalities. Its emphasis on scalability, customization and comprehensive hiring tools makes it a good fit for both corporate HR teams and staffing agencies to streamline their hiring processes.
Key features
Powerful sourcing: Zoho makes it easy to find top talent with multi-channel sourcing, social media integration, and resume parsing.
Automated workflows: Manual tasks are reduced with resume screening, interview scheduling, and email automation.
Collaborative hiring: Keep hiring managers and teams involved with candidate sharing, feedback tools, and internal notes.
Customizable dashboards: Customizable dashboards with plenty of details enable you to track key recruitment metrics and gain valuable insights.
Mobile app: Zoho Recruit also has a mobile app for iOS and Android to handle your hiring on the go.
Pricing
Forever Free: 0€
Standard: 25€ /user/month billed annually
Professional: €50 /user/month billed annually
Enterprise: €75 /user/month billed annually
Bottom line
ZohoRecruit is a relatively robust and affordable recruitment solution making it a strong contender for any list of the best recruitment software. Especially attractive is its cost-effectiveness compared to competitors, which is ideal for companies with tighter budgets.
9. Smartrecruiters
Smartrecruiters is also an all-in-one hiring platform that combines ATS, CRM and Onboarding functionalities with plenty of features, ideal for enterprises that hire internationally.
Key features
Collaborative hiring: Recruit as a team with shared candidate pools, feedback tools, and real-time collaboration features.
Intelligent matchmaking: Leverage AI-powered candidate matching and skills scoring for faster, more precise hiring.
Customizable workflows: Tailor your hiring process with flexible workflows, automated steps, and custom fields.
Candidate engagement: Attract and nurture talent with engaging career sites, mobile applications, and personalized communication.
Open API & marketplace: Integrate seamlessly with over 350 pre-built connectors and a vast marketplace of HR tools.
Pricing
SmartRecruiters offers customizable pricing plans based on company size, features, and user count. While exact pricing isn't publicly available, it generally falls within the mid-range of enterprise recruitment software solutions.
Bottom line
SmartRecruiters offers a scalable, feature-rich platform ideal for companies seeking to collaborate, automate, and optimize their hiring. Its focus on candidate engagement, AI-powered tools, and open ecosystem makes it a strong contender for any list of the best recruitment software. However, its pricing might be less appealing for budget-conscious businesses.
10. Personio
Personio shines as an all-in-one HR solution that simplifies recruitment and empowers employees throughout their journey. Great for small and medium-sized businesses, Personio offers a user-friendly and cost-effective approach to talent acquisition.
Key Features
Easy job posting: Publish jobs seamlessly across multiple platforms.
Applicant tracking: Manage applications efficiently with customizable pipelines, resume parsing, and automated workflows.
Collaborative hiring: Involve hiring managers and teams with feedback tools, shared candidate profiles, and internal notes.
Candidate engagement: Attract top talent with engaging career pages, mobile applications, and personalized communication.
Skills assessments: Evaluate candidate skills objectively with built-in tests and assessments.
Reporting & analytics: Gain valuable insights into your hiring process with insightful dashboards and reports.
Pricing
Personio has two plans: Core and Core Pro. The exact pricing depends on your needs and requires you to book a demo.
Bottom Line
Personio provides a user-friendly and affordable recruitment solution ideal for growing businesses. Its streamlined workflows, collaborative features, and focus on candidate experience make it a strong contender for any list of the best recruitment software, especially for those seeking value for money and a comprehensive HR solution.
11. Icims
iCIMS tackles the needs of high-volume hiring organizations with its AI-powered talent acquisition software. Ideal for large enterprises and fast-growing businesses, iCIMS streamlines the entire hiring process, from attracting candidates to onboarding new hires.
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Key Features
Talent cloud suite: Access a comprehensive suite of tools covering recruitment marketing, applicant tracking, video interviews, onboarding, and talent analytics.
AI-driven hiring: Leverage predictive analytics, skills assessments, and automated resume screening for smarter talent selection.
Global candidate reach: Build a diverse talent pool with multi-language capabilities, social media recruiting, and targeted job boards.
Collaborative hiring: Empower hiring teams with shared candidate profiles, real-time feedback, and internal communication tools.
Compliance & security: Ensures data privacy and adherence to complex regulations with advanced security features.
Scalability & integrations: Seamlessly scales to accommodate growth and integrates with various HR and business systems.
Pricing
iCIMS offers customizable pricing plans based on features, user count, and industry needs. Exact pricing isn't public, but it falls within the enterprise-level software category.
Bottom Line
iCIMS provides a robust and scalable talent acquisition solution for large-scale hiring. Its comprehensive features, AI-powered insights, and global reach cater to demanding recruitment needs. However, the pricing might be a barrier for smaller businesses or those with simpler hiring requirements.
12. Bullhorn
Bullhorn is a cloud-based Applicant Tracking System (ATS) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution primarily designed for staffing and recruiting agencies of all sizes. It offers a powerful set of tools to streamline the entire recruitment lifecycle, from candidate sourcing to placement. Bullhorn's main value lies in its ability to enhance recruiter productivity and improve candidate and client relationships through automation and real-time insights.
Key Features
Robust applicant tracking system (ATS): Simplifies candidate tracking and management, enhancing the efficiency of the recruitment process.
Customer relationship management (CRM): Offers comprehensive tools for managing client relationships and improving client engagement.
Automation and workflow management: Automates repetitive tasks and streamlines workflows, allowing recruiters to focus on higher-value activities.
Real-time reporting and analytics: Provides detailed analytics and customizable reporting for strategic decision-making and performance tracking.
Candidate sourcing: Integrates with job boards and social media to expand candidate sourcing efforts.
Mobile accessibility: Ensures recruiters can work effectively from anywhere with its mobile-friendly interface.
Pricing
Bullhorn's pricing is tailored to meet the diverse needs of its users, typically based on the number of users and the specific features required. As such, pricing details are best obtained directly from Bullhorn through a personalized quote, ensuring that potential users receive a plan that matches their specific business requirements.
Bottom Line
Bullhorn is a great solution for staffing and recruiting agencies looking to leverage advanced ATS and CRM capabilities to boost productivity and enhance candidate and client relationships. Its emphasis on automation, along with powerful analytics and mobile accessibility, positions Bullhorn as a top choice for agencies aiming to drive growth and improve operational efficiency.
Summary
The right recruiting software can transform your hiring process, making it more efficient, effective, and aligned with your company's strategic goals. By understanding the different types of software available and assessing your specific needs based on company size and industry, you can select a tool that not only streamlines your recruitment process but also enhances your overall candidate experience.
This article provides a range of options to suit various business needs, ensuring that every company can find a solution that helps them attract and retain top talent.
If you need some more help choosing the right talent acquisition software, download our 2024 Guide to Buying a Recruiting Tool for free!
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