When it comes to managing job applicants, small businesses have different needs than large corporations. Instead of being coordinated through an HR department, hiring responsibilities at most small businesses rest entirely with a manager or a group of managers. Instead of weeding through and managing thousands of applications for hundreds of positions, small businesses might only have one or two positions open up a year.
Because the hiring process is managed so much differently at small businesses, it doesn’t really make sense for them to use the same application management tools as large companies. Simple web applications can help manage job applications without breaking the bank or requiring several hours of instruction to operate.
Here are top three web apps for that matter, in no particular order:
By generating a unique URL to include in entries on each job board you use, Catch the Best can track which sites are referring the most applicants. The app also helps optimise entries for search engines and tags applicants with keywords so that the archive of applicants can be easily searched when a new job opens. Catch the Best offers an option to integrate postings into your own site instead of directing applicants to a separate application site.
Members of the hiring team can easily communicate their reviews on each applicant using thumbs-up or thumbs-down votes, which are stored, along with any comments, below the applications. E-mails sent to the applicant are also stored with the application, which makes it easy for teams to stay organised.
See: 10 Free Tools for More Efficient Employees
When you sign up for Simplicant, you’ll get a public job board URL to which you can direct applicants (there’s also a widget option) and an employer URL where you can access the submitted applications from a simple dashboard. As you manage applications, you can set up tasks for yourself, like “set up an interview with Joe Smith,” that are displayed in the dashboard. If you’re working with a hiring team, this feature can also be used to designate who will do which tasks.
Default tags for managing the hiring flow are typical (New, Screened, Interview, etc.), but they’re also customisable if you would like to tweak them to better describe your process. A five-star rating system helps sort new applicants.
One big plus that will prevent your inbox from overflowing is that you can correspond with applicants from within the application.
Jazz, a recruiting software which supports Applicant Tracking System (ATS), sets itself apart by making applications completely searchable. Employers can search for keywords in resumes and cover letters, by applicant name or even by phone number. It’s also a bit different from the other web apps in this post in that it helps share your job post through your company’s social network profiles and automatically posts your job to free job boards.
Jazz also repeats some of the best features of the other applications in this post. It has a unique URL generator for tracking the source of applicants, a task tracker, in-application communication with applicants, a five-star rating system, more than 20 applicant status tags and the option to store reviews alongside the relevant application.
See also: 5 Efficient Tools for Human Capital Management
