There are tons of recruitment tools out there that can make recruiting so much easier. Recruiters face lots of challenges already—89% report difficulties finding candidates with the right soft skills, and many are struggling to tighten up hiring processes; 70% of job seekers report that they won’t bother submitting an application if it takes longer than 15 minutes to complete. 👎

If these challenges mirror yours, then you’re in luck. We’ve created this guide to show you about the types of recruitment tools out there—plus recommendations for each type.

What makes a recruitment tool great?

All but the most bare-bones recruitment tools will come with a plethora of features to fulfill different tasks. As you read below, remember one thing: The entire point is to make the job easier for you and your team.

Uses and implements artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the best ways to cut back on the day-to-day work involved in recruitment. The right AI tools will offer automation options, helping you identify candidates that fit the criteria you define—or marking people with certain skills that you’ve flagged for further review.

Some AI tools can even set up the parameters for you, eliminating the time-consuming process of manually ticking off required job experience, skill sets, etc.

One thing to keep in mind with AI is that while helpful, it can also filter out qualified candidates with nontraditional educational backgrounds or other unique characteristics that could make them valuable candidates. When using AI tools, you can partner with your provider to audit your settings as needed, or on a regular basis if you prefer. That way, you always know you’re getting the optimal response from your assessment tools.

Saves your hiring team time by streamlining processes

Recruitment tools should work wonders to streamline your processes in a big way. Depending on how your team’s particular workflow works, that could mean different things.

To choose the right tool for your particular needs, assess your current workflow to see what can be automated, list goals that the tool should ideally achieve, and then find tools designed to achieve those goals.

Keeps data and recruitment information secure

No matter what app or platform you choose, security is an absolute must. Recruitment agencies and HR departments are common targets because they naturally gather large amounts of data on potential candidates and new hires, like names, addresses, birthdates, social security numbers, and so on. 

So, the best recruitment tools put your team’s mind at ease by investing in the latest security safeguards. Look for tools that provide industry certifications and reports, customizable user permissions, industry-leading cloud protections, and more. 

For example, we at Emi worked with our cybersecurity and compliance partner to obtain our SOC 2 Type II report. It independently validates that the data you entrust in our platform is secure, safe, and available only to authorized users. Learn more about our security protections. 

Connects companies with the right candidates

Here’s a fun fact: Over 98% of Fortune 500 companies rely on recruitment software. Recruiting software is definitely the way to go—and the ultimate goal of that recruitment software should be to help you connect your company with the right candidates.

Just as with streamlining your work, there are all kinds of ways to approach this goal. This is another case where it’s best to assess your specific needs. Identify the processes or metrics that have proven to find the best matches, and choose recruitment tools that can help in these areas.

11 great recruitment tools

Ready to choose a recruitment platform or HR software that can work wonders for your work? There are dozens, if not hundreds, of options out there—and we can help you choose the best fit.

1) Frontline recruitment tools

Frontline recruiting tools are a specialized type of platform designed to find the best talent for frontline work. This includes restaurant workers, retail workers, and others who work in the essential service industries that make our way of life possible. These tools should make the job application process easier for job seekers and give you everything needed to post attractive job descriptions—and then place those job ads where job seekers will see them.

Emi is a high-volume recruitment automation platform that streamlines the hiring process and improves the candidate experience. Our platform lets you reach candidates wherever they are, and you can handle the application process through SMS—or you can use integrations to use messenger apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. All of this comes with AI-powered screening, automated tools to help with scheduling and repetitive recruiting tasks, opportunities, data analytics, and more. 🙌

To try us, you can request a demo here.

Pros

• Easy to search for new employees specific to high-volume frontline work
• Offers tools and analytics to improve hiring decisions
• Makes job openings more attractive with custom branding

2) Pre-hire assessment tools

Do the candidates in your talent pool have the right skills for the job? That’s what pre-hire assessment tools will tell you. These apps allow you to screen candidates for certain skills and even design tests for candidate assessments so you can score specific skills. This type of pre-employment testing is a great way to narrow down the list of potential candidates to just the top talent within your pool—which saves you time on interviews and makes the time to hire faster.

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Tools to consider

• Criteria Corp for skills, aptitude, and personality testing
• eSkill for a huge variety of tests covering most industries and roles
• HackerRank for coding, code analysis, and other technical testing

Pros

• Reduces time to hire by pre-screening
• Creates custom tests to search for precise skill sets
• Provides clear test results, demonstrating proficiency

Cons

• Typically target narrow niches
• Don’t universally offer broad integrations with HR platforms or recruiting software
• Some have an overwhelming number of tests and options to choose from

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3) Artificial intelligence chatbots

Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots are popping up everywhere—literally. You’ve probably seen them on a variety of websites, and they’re great tools to help recruiters, too. Use a chatbot to ask candidates questions before getting them started on the application, which will help them prepare to apply. 

Chatbots also offer an interactive way for job seekers to ask questions and get answers, which means you’ll spend less time answering those questions yourself.

Our top tool to consider for an AI chatbot? We may be a little biased, but it’s Emi all the way. Our recruiting chatbot tool offers the ultimate candidate-friendly recruiting experience. 

Applicants can quickly reach out with questions or apply via chat from their mobile device, all while Emi (our powerful AI) answers and guides them through the application process. That’s a big deal when 37% of hourly workers say that hiring speed is the most important factor when they’re deciding where to work—even more so than pay. 

Meanwhile, candidate info can be automatically funneled into your applicant tracking system (ATS). 

Pros

• Speeds up the hiring process with AI-powered FAQs and applications
• Pre-screens job seekers with targeted questions about skills
• Conveys company culture and employer branding with customizable chatbot messaging

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4) Video conferencing tools

Distributed teams and remote work are quite popular these days. For many roles, there’s no reason to limit talent acquisition to your time zone or immediate geographical area. And that’s why video-conferencing software is among the best recruitment tools out there. You’ll need it to schedule video interviews, meetings, and more.

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Tools to consider

• Zoom, which is the simple option that most job seekers will be familiar with
• Google Meet makes it easy to coordinate available times via Google Calendar and schedule live interviews
• Microsoft Teams is a helpful video tool for candidate assessment whether it’s a one-on-one or group interview 

Pros

• Helps with scheduling interviews where distance or other obligations get in the way
• Provides a quick and efficient way to meet potential candidates compared to in-person interviews
• Comes with many integrations, especially large platforms like Zoom 

Cons

• Most platforms not specifically geared toward recruiting
• Candidates may be unfamiliar with your app of choice
• Doesn’t always give the sense of a candidate’s personality as an in-person interview

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5) Applicant tracking systems (ATS)

If you want a tool that works through every step of the recruitment process, from job postings to applicants, post-hire, and beyond, then you need an ATS. These systems help you keep your process consistent so that it’s a smooth experience for everyone involved.

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Tools to consider

• ADP Workforce Now, which is among the biggest in the business, and which now offers a cloud-based ATS
• Greenhouse, which handles recruiting, inclusion, onboarding, and more
• Workday HCM for HR departments that need to manage finances, HIR, recruiting, and more

Pros

• Tons of tools to cover all recruiting needs
• Designed with recruiting in mind
• Offers customizable experiences that allow for branding, customized skill selection, and more

Cons

• Not optimized for high-volume recruiting—consider an integration like Emi that will complement your existing ATS 
• Steep learning curve for more complicated platforms
• Most geared toward recruiters, not human resources or hiring managers
• Often missing features like video conferencing for interviews

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6) Candidate relationship management software

Candidate relationship management software (CRM) is a lot like an ATS in some ways, but it does a few things differently. Recruiters often use a CRM alongside an ATS, and that’s because the CRM picks up on some of the things that an ATS system may not offer—like application screening, branding, and various hiring tools to make the application process even better for job seekers.

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Tools to consider

• TalentLyft, an entry-level CRM designed to distribute job listings to multiple job boards and on social media
• Beamery, a platform made to attract passive candidates
• Symphony Talent, which is an AI-powered CRM with event management, referrals, analytics, and more

Pros

• Streamlines job board and social media recruitment
• Helps search underutilized talent pools, like passive candidates
• Many offer lots of tools that make them comparable to an ATS

Cons

• Most aren’t as feature-rich as an ATS
• Often specialized, only targeting graduates or certain careers
• May not have integrations with other recruiting tools that you’re using

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7) Employee referral systems

Sourcing talent from ground zero can be challenging, especially with the state of the job market today. Employee referral systems are of particular interest to human resources personnel and recruitment agencies who work with the same companies again and again. This is because these systems support employee referral programs, giving them a platform on which they can refer friends and acquaintances from their own networks—and reap whatever referral bonuses may be available. Utilizing a referral system can be a central element of filling your talent pipeline.

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Tools to consider

• Workable, which is a fully-featured recruitment tool that offers a system for referrals
• Hireology, another platform that offers a full suite of recruitment tools, including a platform for referrals
• ERIN, a platform devoted exclusively to referrals that can be 100% automated

Pros

• Often a preferred talent sourcing method
• Tends to be mostly or fully automated
• Usually includes automation that pre-screens referrals for specific skills

Cons

• Most are built into ATS or CRM platforms—not standalone platforms
• May not integrate with other tools
• Referral bonuses can give referrals a boost—but companies with tight budgets may be reluctant to pay bonuses

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See how Danone unlocked a steady pipeline of referred candidates here.

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8) Social network monitoring tools

It’s incredibly time-consuming to manage several social media platforms at once. But if you’re putting out calls for resumes and applications for hourly employees, then you want to make sure you have a presence on platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Social network monitoring tools should help you keep track of metrics and interested candidates. Bonus points if they give you tools and templates to manage job postings.

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Tools to consider

• Sprout Social, which is a platform all about social media posting and analytics
• Agorapulse, a tool that lets you build relationships and manage conversations within the platform
• Buffer, which automates scheduled postings on all platforms and helps you engage

Pros

• Automates postings according to your schedule
• Tracks analytics to learn which posts have the most reach
• Gives access to unified dashboard so you can see postings on all social platforms

Cons

• Many platforms not specifically geared toward recruitment
• May lack integration with ATS platforms
• Time-consuming to set up and link numerous social profiles
• Apps only manage social media—no talent management tools

9) Job aggregators

This one is a simplistic solution, ideal for HR departments or recruiters who don’t need a lot of extras. Job aggregators let you post job openings—and seekers can search for them on the same platform.

Tools to consider

• The Applicant Manager, a cloud-based tracking system with database management and other features
• HireEZ, a platform that integrates with ATS and CRM to streamline hiring from the first call or email
• LinkedIn, which is a social media platform ideal for posting jobs and connecting with hourly job seekers

Pros

• Typically easy to use
• Offers a direct route to job boards where seekers are searching
• Usually offers additional communications tools, like messaging systems

Cons

• Often light on features
• May not offer many integrations with common recruiting tools
• Less popular platforms may not have as many active job seekers

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10) Automatic interview scheduling tool

Automatic interview scheduling software does exactly what you might imagine—streamlines the scheduling process. These tools are important not only to manage a busy schedule but also to provide the best experience possible for candidates.

Tools to consider

• Calendly, a hub to automate meeting schedules
• YouCanBook.me, a platform that you can set up in minutes
• ADP Workforce Now, a full ATS platform that includes interview bookings

Pros

• Easy to set up and use
• Keeps schedules organized in one spot
• Lets you send out notifications to interviewees
• Customized messaging for notifications sent to interviewees

Cons

• Most platforms handle scheduling only—very few extras
• Offer little in the way of integrations

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11) Hiring and onboarding tool

Found a great candidate who wants the job you’ve listed? That’s awesome—and it also means that your work isn’t over. Next comes onboarding. There are tools for this, too. You can use them to handle all the legal paperwork, human resources items, training, and more. 

To save you some time, Emi offers rich onboarding functionality but also plugs into your Human Resources Information System (HRIS) so that you can trigger this entire workflow and streamline your new hire’s experience. 

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Tools to consider

• Paychex, which is designed to collect forms, set up direct deposit, and handle other onboarding needs
• Paycor, an HR platform made to streamline onboarding
• ApplicantStack, which supports all aspects of onboarding

Pros

• Lots of options, including ATS and HR platforms with onboarding tools
• Streamlines everything from payroll to legal and training
• Lets new hires get started on paperwork before their first day

Cons

• Can be difficult to navigate
• Standalone platforms may not have many integrations
• Setup time required to customize everything around a particular company’s needs

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Sign up with Emi today, your ultimate frontline recruitment tool

When you need a tool that can do it all, one designed to improve the candidate experience while increasing your ROI, you need Emi. ✅ Our platform has a lot to offer you, including integrations with popular tools, data analytics, and much more. To check us out or sign up for a demo, click here.

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