How startups can use ATS for efficient candidate rediscovery
Spencer Bratman
Growth @ Dover
November 12, 2024
•
4 min
Startup recruitment is hyper-competitive, and you need every advantage possible to get top talent on your team. So, missing out on existing talent isn’t something you can afford to do. Candidate rediscovery in your ATS can lead you to some of your best employees. They have already expressed interest in your company, and rediscovering them allows you to save time, speed up hiring and develop a rediscovery process for future hires. Whether they were silver medalists from a previous hiring round or candidates who withdrew due to hiring, it’s well worth reaching out to these candidates and talking to them again.
Candidate rediscovery is the process of identifying and re-engaging individuals in your ATS who were previously considered for a role but were not hired. These candidates have already been qualified to some extent, are already familiar with your company and may now be better aligned to match your current openings.
An effective candidate rediscovery strategy is threefold – locate these candidates, evaluate their updated qualifications and re-engage them with new opportunities. But before diving further into strategy, let’s talk about some of the main benefits of reaching out to these past candidates using your ATS.
ATS platforms like Dover are more than just storage for resumes. You can use your ATS as a dynamic tool to rediscover and re-engage past candidates.
Here’s why it’s beneficial to use your ATS in this way:
Streamlined talent sourcing: Instead of sourcing externally and playing the job boards, your ATS has immediate access to a pool of pre-screen talent. You can find candidates that moved through your hiring pipeline but just weren’t quite what you were looking for at the time. This reduces the time and effort spent searching for new candidates.
Cost savings: Rediscovery lowers recruitment spend by reducing dependency on job boards, recruiters and advertising.
Candidate familiarity: Past candidates are already familiar with your company's values and culture. If they applied once and went through the interview stages, they already understand important aspects of your brand and are more likely to be aligned with the role.
Improved candidate experience: Reconnecting with past candidates shows your company values their time and long-term relationships. This helps build your brand and reputation and could lead to more high-quality applicants down the line.
If you want to streamline rediscovery, give Dover a try today.
How to Set Up Your ATS for Effective Talent Rediscovery
Ready to use the full rediscovery capabilities of your ATS? The key is to implement a well-thought-out strategy and get your ATS properly set up. This allows you to locate, organize and engage past candidates quickly. With that in mind, here are five ways to set up your ATS for rediscovery.
1. Utilize Advanced Search and Filters
Most ATS platforms have some kind of search functionality, though they may vary in capability. Regardless, the search feature should allow you to quickly sift through profiles and find candidates with the skills and experience you need.
Here are some ways you can use search and filters:
Keyword search: Search resumes and applications using specific keywords or job titles.
Skill match: Filter candidates by certifications, tools or other skills needed for the role.
Date filters: Filter recently engaged candidates who may still be looking for jobs. If they were recently engaged, they may be quicker to respond.
With advanced search and filters, you don’t have to spend countless hours looking at each profile and resume that came through your ATS.
2. Segment and Tag Candidates for Future Opportunities
Segmentation and tagging make it easy to organize candidates into groups for targeted rediscovery campaigns. When you’re hiring, and you find a candidate who isn’t quite the right match but still has great skills and qualifications, you can set them into a rediscovery group for later engagement.
Some best practices for tagging you can follow include:
Role tags: Label candidates based on the type of position they applied for.
Skill tags: Highlight key skills and expertise.
Stage tags: Group candidates by how far they made it into the hiring pipeline. You can prioritize your rediscovery search based on candidates who made it to later stages first.
Creating a segment of potential rediscovery candidates and then tagging them organizes your rediscovery efforts and goes hand-in-hand with search to make it much easier to find these top-quality candidates in the future.
3. Leverage AI-Powered ATS Features for Candidate Re-engagement
Artificial intelligence is making it simpler than ever to rediscover and re-engage top talent. AI-powered ATS platforms like Dover can analyze candidate profiles and help you find the best resumes from the bunch right away.
Some AI capabilities you should explore include:
Resume parsing: AI extracts the best resumes based on your hiring parameters, so you spend less time in manual review.
Engagement: AI can help you send outreach emails to past candidates and schedule interviews with them, helping you re-engage and introduce them to the new opportunity.
Leveraging AI helps you rediscover candidates quickly and nurture relationships to keep them engaged when they re-enter the hiring pipeline.
4. Integrate ATS with Other Recruitment Tools
Integrating your ATS with other recruitment tools creates a seamless hiring ecosystem. This makes it easier to rediscover candidates and keep your hiring tools all in one place.
You can integrate your ATS with tools like:
Communication platforms: Connect communication platforms like Slack to make debriefing with hiring stakeholders easier.
Job Boards: Sync job boards like YC Work at a Startup to keep all of your applications in one place.
Other recruitment tools: Connect your other recruiting platforms with Dover to fully integrate your hiring tech stack.
By combining your ATS with other tools, you get a more holistic picture of your talent pipeline and reduce redundancies in rediscovery.
5. Monitor and Update Candidate Data Regularly
Outdated candidate profiles can make rediscovery difficult. Regularly monitoring and updating profiles ensures you’re up-to-date with candidate qualifications and that you can continue to use your ATS as a rediscovery resource.
You can keep candidate data fresh by:
Doing period reviews: Schedule regular audits to update candidate profiles
Encouraging updates from candidates: Let candidates stay in your hiring pipeline and update their own profiles through a self-service portal.
Merge duplicates: Make sure duplicate profiles are merged to prevent redundancies in your database.
An accurate database reduces time spent verifying candidate information and keeps rediscovery efficient.
Hire Fast with Dover’s Free ATS & On-demand Recruiting Partners
If you want to rediscover top talent quickly, Dover has you covered. Our free ATS has robust features for organizing, rediscovering and re-engaging candidates.
Also, if you need help with rediscovery and hiring these candidates, you can always rely on the Dover Recruiting Partners marketplace. Our Recruiting Partners marketplace connects you with experienced startup recruiters who can take on any hiring task you have for them.
