SmartRank

"𝙄𝙛 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙛𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙨."

In this cleverly worded quote, Henry Ford illustrates that most people live and think inside the box. It's never more true today than it was 100 years ago.

One of the places this happens all the time is when teams are considering a new Applicant Tracking System (ATS). The first ATSs were created around 1998 - 1999. They were intended to allow applicants to apply online, submit their resumes along with other information like education, experience, contact information, etc. Unfortunately recruiters had to go through every single applicant one-by-one so they could compare keywords on resumes and job descriptions, but at least they weren't dealing with paper anymore.

And we need to cut these first ATSs a little slack, they were pioneers in this space and created a whole new way to manage applicants. I respect that.

Now here we are 25 years later and what do most ATSs do? Well they allow applicants to apply online, submit their resumes along with other information like education, experience, contact information, etc. Unfortunately recruiters have to go through every single applicant one-by-one so they can compare keywords on resumes and job descriptions, but at least they weren't dealing with....wait a minute, this sounds eerily familiar.

That's because it is. They're functionally the EXACT SAME.

In two and a half decades the ATS industry has managed to NOT change the foundations of how they work and therefore not creating solutions to real problems that talent acquisition has. Sure, they have a few more bells and whistles, they can connect to a bunch of stuff, but they have not fundamentally evolved from where they were 25 years ago.

Most of the ATSs being used today were built before or during the emergence of the Smartphone. How's that going to go when Millenials and younger generations will comprise 75% of the workforce by 2025? They want to apply on phones, and if your ATS wasn't built to be mobile-first (not mobile-friendly...they're different), that's probably going to deter applicants from applying and it certainly won't differentiate your company from all the others out there.

If you're unhappy with your existing bad ATS and you're looking to fix that by getting a newer bad ATS, you're going to find it challenging to fundamentally solve big problems in talent acquisition...because you're just getting a "faster horse."

New Year, same me?

❌ So many companies will fill their websites with initiatives and feel like they've done enough.

Actions > Lip service

For example:
Want to prove how dedicated you are to DE&I?
💩 Talk about your "dedication to diversity" on your website. Do nothing else.

VS

✅ Use resume-free screening to eliminate unconscious bias
✅ Screen 100% of applicants to give everyone a fair + equitable chance
✅ Weigh applicants apples to apples and quickly identify who is most qualified based only on their fit for the role

"Our process is perfect, no need to make any changes."

If you can say that you:
- Screen 100% of applicants 💯
- Never ghost anyone 👻
- Have hiring managers who are happy and engaged 😁
- Consistently hire the right candidates with record time to fill 🏆
- AND have eliminated unconscious bias from screening ⚖️

Then you are right, that's a pretty ideal 🔥.

If you can't say all of those things yet or if you're using 2023 to improve your hiring process... You might want to consider the underlying cause that you're struggling.

RESUMES.
Using resumes as the main source of truth and building your process around them is a thing of the past. It is 2023, we can and should do better.

Ditch the resume. Hire Smarter.