The old ways of hiring candidates are outdated and stagnant, not to mention that they can lead to organizations hiring the wrong people. With the advancement of HR technology, it’s never been easier for companies to hire the right people for open positions.
Resume screening plays a crucial part in this new wave of HR technology. But how does it integrate into your hiring pipeline, and what will it actually do for YOU?
Below, we’ll chat about the importance of resume screening software, why hiring managers should be signing up for new software asap, and how applicant tracking systems are the future of hiring.
TL;DR – Key Takeaways
- Resume screening tools offer unparalleled advantages in processing job applications, providing efficiency and time-saving benefits by automating initial pre-screening.
- By using candidate screening software, you can handle large volumes of resumes quickly and accurately, ensuring consistency in evaluations.
- However, resume screening software can rely too heavily on matching keywords in resumes and job descriptions. They lack the ability to assess soft skills and have difficulty recognizing non-traditional candidates. Discover more about the resume screening process.
- A shift to evidence-based hiring puts resume screening tools in a tight corner. With more hiring managers focusing on skills over resumes, skills assessment platforms offer a viable alternative to spotting truly qualified candidates.
- For example, Toggl Hire’s role-based assessments enable recruiters and hiring managers to quickly check if a candidate’s qualifications and experience listed on the resume match their job-relevant technical skills.
What are the different types of resume screening software?
| Type | Description | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI-driven Resume Screening | These tools utilize Machine Learning algorithms to assess resumes for job-relevant keywords and phrases. Their precision increases with use. | AI-driven hiring systems become more accurate over time as they learn from past hiring decisions. Focusing on qualifications alone can help to reduce bias. | Could potentially overlook distinctive applicants who do not meet standard criteria; Can be costly to establish and sustain. |
| Traditional ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) | Recruiting systems store and track job applicants’ data, utilizing keyword searches that do not change. | A recruitment management system simplifies the task of managing numerous job applicants with the applicant tracking system. | Keyword searches may cause desired candidates to be overlooked, and those not familiar with technology may find the system difficult to navigate. |
| Resume Parsing | Resume parsing tools extract data from resumes and convert it into an organized format quickly and efficiently. | Automation of resume data entry into a database saves time and makes it easier to search for specific skills and qualifications. | Automating resume data entry into a database saves time and makes searching for specific skills and qualifications easier. |
| Semantic Search & Matching | These tools go beyond keyword matching to understand the context and concepts behind the words in a job description and a resume. | More precise matching by understanding the context of words; Improves the quality of matches. | Hiring for complex roles can be costly; A well-crafted job description is essential for success. |
| Recruitment Assessment Tools | Companies can now use modern tools to assess candidates’ skills instead of relying on traditional testing methods. Such tools allow for tests or challenges to be administered to candidates. | Evaluate a candidate’s abilities without relying on their own reports of their skills. | A requirement for a higher commitment from candidates could shrink the applicant pool if the tests are seen as challenging or irrelevant. |
What are the benefits of resume screening tools?
When it comes to processing job applications, resume screening tools offer an unparalleled advantage. While a human recruiter can only sift through one resume at a time, these automated tools can effortlessly handle hundreds or even thousands of resumes in a fraction of the time.
“With the help of applicant tracking systems, HR teams can quickly and easily screen resumes, manage job postings, and communicate with candidates, improving the recruitment process and ensuring that the best candidates are hired.”
Sumit Sabharwal, Vice President of HR at Fujitsu
Efficiency and time-saving
Utilizing resume screening tools can significantly increase efficiency and save time in the hiring process. These powerful tools can rapidly process vast quantities of resumes in a matter of minutes, reducing the workload for human recruiters.
And automating the initial screening stage allows recruiters to quickly and precisely assess candidates’ qualifications, skills, and experience. Simply put, say goodbye to reading over piles and piles of CVs and LinkedIn profiles.
Consistency
Maintaining consistency in the resume screening process is essential to ensure all applicants are evaluated equitably and without bias. Human recruiters may be prone to fatigue or personal preferences, leading to companies potentially hiring candidates that don’t fit the required tole.
Resume screening tools, however, ensure all resumes are assessed the same way, reducing the risk of prejudice and errors and resulting in a more impartial screening process.
Improved quality of hire
The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technology has revolutionized resume screening tools. These tools use sophisticated algorithms to examine resumes, searching for specific keywords, job qualifications, and applicable experience.
By harnessing the power of AI and ML, recruiters can pick out exceptional candidates that may have been missed in a manual screening process. Additionally, these tools ceaselessly learn and adjust according to feedback and results, elevating their accuracy and refining the selection process over time.
Cost savings
Automating the resume screening process may potentially cut hiring costs for organizations. By minimizing the demand for extra recruitment personnel, companies can maximize their resources and allocate them to other essential parts of the hiring process.
What’s more, the time saved through automation transforms into cost savings, as recruiters can concentrate on more strategic aspects of talent acquisition.
Scalability
Resume screening tools offer businesses unparalleled scalability for expansion or seasonal fluctuations in recruitment requirements. They can easily accommodate increasing numbers of applications while maintaining accuracy and efficiency.
Resume screening tools provide the flexibility to quickly adjust to changing demands, whether a company is expanding rapidly or facing increases in applicant volume.
The challenges of relying on resume screening software
While resume screening software can be an efficient tool, it does face certain limitations.
“CVs are written to present the applicant in the most positive light possible. They focus on the strengths of the candidate and might leave out important weaknesses. They also require you to trust in the honesty of the applicant, which at this stage in the process, is not a given.”
Paul Scharf, CTO @ Toggl
These are the limitations you’ll need to keep in mind when looking at and integrating resume-screening software.
Over-reliance on keywords
One such drawback is its reliance on specific key phrases. These tools tend to prioritize comparing resumes to job postings based on precise keywords.
Unfortunately, this strategy could unintentionally leave out competent candidates who may have used different language or word choices. For example, if a job description highlights “content production,” the software could overlook a candidate who listed “content creation” as a relevant capability. Not to mention the unintended incentive for job seekers to lean on keyword stuffing to pass the initial ATS software check – that can really muddle your talent pool!
Potential for bias
Even though they can diminish prejudice, resume screening software is not invulnerable to it. If the algorithms that power these tools are trained on prejudiced data, they can inadvertently continue present unconscious biases.
For instance, there have been cases where resume screening AI developed partiality against female applicants due to the historical data it was based on — mainly consisting of resumes from male candidates. This highlights the significance of frequently overseeing and enhancing the algorithms to guarantee equitable and unprejudiced results.
Difficulty recognizing non-traditional candidates
Another major challenge faced by resume screening software is its struggle to acknowledge the worth of non-conventional candidates. These applicants, such as those switching careers or having unusual work records, could possess beneficial abilities and experiences that are not effortlessly picked up by traditional screening standards.
If an experienced teacher submits an application for a corporate training position, the software may have difficulty recognizing the transferability of the candidate’s teaching expertise. A candidate’s work history and professional title don’t predict future job performance, so you’re much better off pre-screening and shortlisting candidates based on job-specific abilities.
Technological limitations and errors
These tools may sporadically misinterpret or mishandle information, specifically when faced with distinct resume formats. If, for example, a candidate’s resume is formatted as a PDF file rather than a Word file, the software might incorrectly process or even disregard it.
Inability to assess soft skills
Resume screening software often has trouble effectively gauging and evaluating soft skills, like communication, teamwork, and problem-solving aptitudes. These tools generally focus on keyword matching and certifications.
As a result, a candidate may appear highly qualified on paper but lack the indispensable soft skills required for success in a particular job. It emphasizes the importance of including alternate assessment methods to thoroughly analyze applicants’ overall fit.
The rising star: skill assessments as a modern alternative
As we’ve already pointed out, skill assessment platforms are proving invaluable to employers. Rather than profiling candidates solely on their resumes, these platforms offer a deeper understanding of a candidate’s true abilities. So, let’s take a look at all of the benefits associated with them.
Demonstrating actual ability
Skill assessment tools give candidates a chance to show off their actual aptitudes and skills, allowing employers to see their skillfulness firsthand. Rather than relying solely on self-declared abilities mentioned on a resume or their social media profile, these platforms enable candidates to actively demonstrate their competencies through practical assessments.
Skill assessments supply a more accurate and reliable measure of a candidate’s talents by focusing on in-the-moment performance rather than just verbal statements.
Reducing bias
A remarkable benefit of skill assessment tools is their capability to assist in diminishing prejudice and bias in the recruitment process. By concentrating on a candidate’s capability to undertake work-related tasks or resolve issues directly associated with the role, these platforms move the emphasis away from subjective elements such as personal background or demographics.
Applicable to various roles
Skill assessments are flexible and adjustable to meet different job roles and sectors. From coding tests for software engineering roles to writing evaluations for content producer roles, the variability allows employers to rate candidates’ talents in a precise and job-specific fashion.
Data-Driven Decisions
Skill assessment platforms provide employers with quantifiable information about each applicant’s aptitudes, allowing for data-driven decision-making in the recruitment process.
By tracking objective measurements of capabilities and performance, these tools supply useful insights that can be contrasted and examined to make informed hiring decisions. Employers can judge candidates depending on pre-established criteria, ultimately enhancing the caliber of hiring results.
Improved Candidate Experience
Candidates usually appreciate the chance to demonstrate their talents through skill assessments. By giving a balanced and involving evaluation process, skill assessment platforms add to a better candidate experience.
Candidates sense that their capacities are really thought about, augmenting their involvement and contentment throughout the recruitment journey.
Efficient and Cost-Effective
Skill assessments streamline the evaluation stage and help reduce the amount of time and effort spent reviewing each resume. Not only that, but the data-driven nature of skill assessments also helps employers focus their resources on the top contenders, making the entire hiring process easier and more effective.
9 Great resume screening software tools
Now, it’s finally time to get to the heart of the article: we will tell you about some of the best resume screening software for your organization.
Mind you, we’re listing different types of resume screening software in no particular order, so don’t jump to conclusions too fast 😉
#1 – Zoho Recruit
Zoho Recruit is a resume management software that helps recruiters save time spent on shortlisting, engaging, and hiring candidates. It lets you parse multiple resumes and transfer candidate information to your candidate or client database.
Category: Applicant tracking system with multiple solutions
Key features: Candidate sourcing, resume management, social recruiting, employee referrals, job advertising, background screening
What customers say:
“Zoho Recruit is tailor-made for a recruiter so that I can interact with my client in real-time, 24/7 no matter where I am. I don’t have to do a lot of documentation that in itself is worth a million bucks.”
Katari Grassiel, MD, Seattle BC Group, Seattle
#2 – Ideal
Ideal is an AI-driven HR software platform that enables hiring managers to make better, faster, and unbiased talent decisions.
Category: AI-driven Resume Screening
Key features: AI-powered screening, resume parsing, job board integration, chatbot assistant, candidate ranking and scoring, workflow automation, collaborative hiring
What customers say:
“The IDEAL project team is easy to work with and aren’t “Locked In” to their own way of doing things rather they are willing to listen and open to new concepts. Ideal brought an entire integration project team to the table from day 1 to help us integrate and get launched.”
Robert B, Director, Talent Acquisition Systems and Strategy
#3 – Oracle Talent Management Cloud (formerly Taleo)
Oracle Talent Management facilitates strategic review and analysis of talent, retention and improvement of skills, provision of career opportunities, coaching of goals and performance, talent reviews, and succession planning to keep talent engaged and productive.
Category: Traditional Applicant Tracking System
Key features: Recruiting, candidate relationship management (CRM), onboarding, performance management, learning and development, succession planning, career development, compensation management, analytics and reporting, integration and API, compliance and security, and mobile accessibility.
What customers say:
“Detail-oriented recruitment tool. Globally used and I have been using this tool for the past 5 years. Easy to understand and use the tool for creating candidate experience and others with respect to recruitment.”
Priyanshul G., Talent Acquisition – Sourcing & Identification Specialist
#4 – Sovren
Sovren is a software company specializing in creating configurable, scalable, and precise recruitment intelligence software.
Category: Resume parsing
Key features: Resume parsing, job order parsing, skill extraction and matching, semantic search, AI-powered matching, data standardization
What customers say:
Their technology affords you an opportunity…a means to do what you do at a higher level, more efficiently, more effectively…than ever before.
#5 – DaXtra Parser
DaXtra Parser is the most accurate and multi-lingual resume/job parsing software, capable of converting unstructured documents into structured XML/JSON in multiple languages.
Category: Resume parsing
Key features: Resume parsing, job parsing, skill extraction, semantic search, multi-language support, industry-specific taxonomies, data standardization, integration capabilities, configurable rules and filters, and compliance and privacy.
What customers say:
They did exactly what the told us they could do. Efficient parsing, comprehensive search.
#6 – Affinda
Affinda‘s machine-learning system identifies more than 100 details from resumes, organizing the information into a searchable format.
Category: Resume parsing
Key features: document processing, data extraction, entity recognition, language detection, sentiment analysis, named entity recognition (NER), optical character recognition (OCR), text classification, relationship extraction, and data visualization.
What customers say:
When I compared the accuracy of the Affinda resume parser to 8 other resume parsers, Affinda was better than or equal to the others. But where Affinda really stood out head and shoulders above the others is in their level of support and attention to the customer.
#7 – Tracker
Tracker is a web-based recruitment management and CRM solution designed for recruiting professionals across all industries.
Category: semantic search and matching
Key features: applicant tracking, job posting and distribution, resume parsing, candidate database, interview scheduling
What customers say:
“As the marketing director for our firm, I am already seeing an increase in productivity and ease-of-use for implementing all strategies. The built-in campaign and sequencing is clutch for our prospecting. Data import and access to both client and candidate data online has been terrific.”
#8 – Eightfold.ai
Eightfold.ai, an AI-driven, continuous learning platform brings intelligence from mining millions of data points and billions of interactions across the internet to your organization.
Category: semantic search and matching
Key features: talent intelligence platform, candidate relationship management, personalized candidate experience, AI-powered candidate matching, diversity and inclusion analytics
What customers say:
“The Eightfold AI is very intuitive and brings in several dimensions to present employees with quality recommendations. The combination of jobs, learning, mentors and projects helps employees and the enterprise connect all the dots. It is truly a dynamic tool delivering a quality employee experience.”
#9 – Toggl Hire
Toggl Hire is a skills assessment platform with powerful applicant tracking system capabilities. It gives hiring teams incredible insight into candidates’ job-specific skills with smart screening tools. Instead of focusing on self-reported competencies on candidates’ resumes, recruiters and hiring managers can get reliable proof of competence via pre-employment assessments, pre-recorded video interviews, and homework assignments. So you find and shortlist quality talent, real fast!
Category: Skills-based hiring platform
Key features: 200+ skills, 180+ ready-made assessment templates, anti-cheating automatic tracking system, different types of tests: skills tests, video tests, homework assignments, hiring pipeline, talent pool, team collaboration
What customers say:
“We’ve been using Toggl Hire for almost 3 years, with more than 20,000 test-takers that completed one of the 20+ tests we have on the platform. The service is easy to use and helps us perform quick and effective top-of-the-funnel filtering while keeping a great Candidate Experience.”
Gilad Bornstein, Co-Founder and CEO at Flatworld.co
No More Paper Chasing: The Rise of Skills over Resumes
Resume screening software tools have become invaluable in the hiring process due to their efficiency and time-saving capabilities. Leveraging AI and machine learning algorithms, they quickly process large volumes of resumes, promoting consistent evaluations while minimizing bias and errors.
In addition, they can identify exceptional candidates that might be missed in manual screenings, thus enhancing the quality of hire.
By adopting these tools, organizations can make data-driven decisions, enhance the candidate experience, and streamline the evaluation stage, ultimately making the hiring process more efficient and cost-effective.
But if you’re really serious about efficient candidate screening, enrich your screening process with auto-graded skills tests!
Juste loves investigating through writing. A copywriter by trade, she spent the last ten years in startups, telling stories and building marketing teams. She works at Toggl Hire and writes about how businesses can recruit really great people.
