As an Employer, an Applicant Tracking System is probably a necessity. Or at least that’s what corporate and organizational executives lead you to believe. Nonetheless, it’s in place and you have to live with it. But how smooth is your application process? 9 times out of 10, it probably frustrates job seekers and leaves them feeling like they’re applying to a “black hole” rather than a company with actual people. It’s a brick wall, with no way around, no way to attract the attention of hiring managers other than a sterile profile. Boring, lame, confusing, complicated – these are all typical terms used by applicants when forced to interface with an Applicant Tracking System. Have you walked through your company’s applicant process to see what it entails? Often it seems like an interrogation. For applicants, doing this once is painful enough – doing it multiple times over and over because each company’s ATS is different? Ridiculous. Frustrating.

What are we doing to change this? Is this all we can expect in the future or will there be a more humanistic approach? An ATS is an automated way to collect data. It’s very impersonal and leaves little room for creativity or expression, which should be evaluated factors in hiring your next employee. Why wait until you’ve brought someone in for an interview to find out they don’t have any?

Obviously, no application process will satisfy the OFCCP police, employers and the job seekers 100%. What can we do within this industry and this process to add some human back into Human Resources? I’m curious about your thoughts on this.