Recruiting Software: The Essential Guide to the Best Picks of 2024

Recruiting Software: The Essential Guide to the Best Picks of 2024

Recruitment is a critical function of Human Resources. And we all long for the best talents that can drive our organizations forward!

If you landed on this page, it’s likely that you’re looking for technology and advancement opportunities to level the playing field.

In the past few years, the recruitment landscape has evolved dramatically, driven by shifting workforce dynamics, the desire for hybrid remote work and the rise of fractional talents.

It urges HR leaders and hiring managers to adapt to new recruitment strategies and adopt recruiting software to keep up with best practices, streamlining and optimizing the entire process.

But the search isn’t easy, especially given how busy you might be as an HR leader and the many solutions available on the market.

To help you navigate your choices, I have compiled a list of the best recruiting software options I recommend for promising recruitment success in 2024 and beyond based on my in-depth research and hands-on hiring experience across various roles.

Featured in this guide:

• Greenhouse (ATS)
• Workable (ATS)
• Lever (ATS)
• Gem (CRM)
• Phenom (CRM)
• Beamery (CRM)
• Vervoe (Assessments)
• Glider (Assessments)
• Sapia (Text Interview)
• Spark Hire (Video Interview)

Best Recruiting Software: Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS)

The power of ATS software is real. 

From scattered spreadsheets to organized databases, applicant tracking systems let your hiring teams collaborate closely throughout the process, freeing them from manual tasks with one-click job distribution, resume parsing, automatic interview scheduling, and real-time reports.

To meet the demands of today’s recruitment, 2024’s ATS software even comes with AI-powered features for smart screening, built-in features for in-between processes, and initiatives for DE&I hiring practices.

If you’re choosing your first ATS software, make sure to check out:

Greenhouse - best ATS software for optimized external candidate sourcing and streamlined applicant tracking

Greenhouse is a comprehensive ATS with a rich feature set designed to enhance the overall recruiting experience and effectiveness.

With its intuitive interface, robust analytics, and powerful automation tools, Greenhouse helps HR teams complete the end-to-end recruiting process. 

What sets Greenhouse apart from its competitors is its over 1,000 sourcing integrations, including niche job boards, for free distribution and targeted advertising. This means you can escape juggling multiple sites to post and manage job postings, while ensure that your opening jobs reach a broad and diverse candidate pool.

The platform also shines in collaborative efforts with features such as notes, tags, a job kickoff form, and GDPR-compliant candidate packets, enabling efficient communication and transparency among the hiring team.

Other key capabilities of Greenhouse include candidate tracking and a searchable database, interview scheduling and planning, anonymous scorecards and inclusion nudge for DEI hiring, an onboarding suite, advanced analytics, and a mobile app for on-the-go management.

Greenhouse Pricing: Greenhouse offers scalable pricing tiers with all the core features even in its lowest plan (of course, with limited credits), but the pricing details are not disclosed publicly.

>> Click here for our detailed review of Greenhouse

Workable - best all-in-one recruiting management solution with AI supports

Workable nicely packs ATS and CRM capabilities in its user-friendly one-stop-shop for recruiting management.

It excels at enriching your talent pool and rediscovering passive candidates to keep your hiring pipeline filled with high-quality prospects.

Leveraging AI, Workable will give you instant candidate recommendations from available sources for every new job and assist you in recruiting materials like job descriptions, email templates, and interview questions.

Key features of Workable include AI-enabled smart sourcing, Chrome sourcing extension, career page builder, referral program management, anonymized screening, behavioral and cognitive tests, bulk communication with self-scheduling portal, digital offer letters & e-signs, and a mobile app for recruiters.

Workable Pricing: Workable offers 15-day free trials. Its paid plans start at $149/month for 2 active jobs. Higher pricing tiers are based on your team size, preferred modules, and add-ons. 

>> Click here for our detailed review of Workable

Lever - best ATS software for traditional companies to centralize application data and automate workflows

Lever is one of the leading players in the ATS marketplace known for its automation capabilities, robust feature set, and rich integrations to streamline start-to-end hiring processes.

To help the hiring team better manage and track all candidates, Lever offers features like bulk import of candidates, unified candidate profiles, duplicate alerts and merging, blocking repeat applicants, etc., so that every information and interaction are well synchronized in a centralized database.

Also, Lever seamlessly integrates with various third-party apps, including recruitment tools and popular HRIS (for a smooth transfer of candidate-to-employee data).

Among the 5000 customers who use Lever as their talent acquisition suite, it includes Netflix, Spotify, and KPMG.

Other standout features of Lever include stemmed search and complex filter, multi-location job posting, fast resume review, anonymous screening, candidate engagement surveys, referral updates, custom automation workflows, and talent analytics.

Lever Pricing: Lever has two packages - LeverTRM for SMEs and LeverTRM for Enterprise for high-volume hiring, but they don’t disclose pricing details.

>> Click here for our detailed review of Lever

More ATS Software for 2024: Explore our top picks.

Best Recruiting Software: Candidate Relationship Management

Positive impression and application experience will lead to increased applicant completion rates and higher job offer acceptance rates.

Also, considering that LinkedIn reports 70% of the global workforce are passive candidates, hiring managers must fine-tune the way they handle applications, keep them engaged, and leverage this untapped candidate pool.

Recruitment CRM relationship plays a crucial role in harnessing this potential by enhancing employer branding, providing an engaging and undisrupted application journey, and maintaining warm connections with candidates, even those who don’t make the final selections. 

Here are the top CRMs to consider:

Gem - best recruitment CRM for automated outreach and communication

Distinguishing itself with a data-centric approach, Gem offers full-funnel visibility into the recruiting process, enabling hiring teams to optimize strategies, forecast needs, and drive operational efficiencies.

Gem helps centralize candidate data from various sources like email, ATS, LinkedIn, and social networks into a unified system. 

It empowers talent acquisitioners to automate outreach at scale through multi-stage email sequences to engage both active and passive talent pools.  

Gem's AI capabilities provide intelligent skills suggestions, resume filtering, sequence templates, and talent analytics for data-driven hiring decisions. 

Other key features include sourcing integrations, applicant reviews, career site and recruitment landing page builders, career event management, nurturing campaigns, talent analytics and forecasting.

Gem Pricing: Not shared publicly.

>> Click here for our detailed review of Gem

Phenom - best recruitment CRM for candidate rediscovery and conversational AI chatbot 

Phenom is an AI-powered talent experience platform that helps identify, engage, and convert top talents.

Its key strengths lie in rediscovering past and passive candidates from your talent pools and providing hyper-personalized candidate experiences.

Phenom’s AI chatbot helps recruiters interact with candidates in real time, promptly answering inquiries, providing application status updates, scheduling interviews, and offering tailored job recommendations.

Other Phenom's CRM-related features include AI-powered candidate ranking, personalized career site experiences, SMS/messaging, employee growth opportunities, and interview intelligence tools.

Phenom Pricing: Not shared publicly.

>> Click here for our detailed review of Phenom

Beamery - best recruitment CRM for skills-based internal mobility and external hiring

Beamery is an AI-powered skill-based talent management platform with robust candidate relationship management capabilities. 

Beamery assists hiring managers in identifying top talent and skills gaps within existing teams while also proactively building pipelines of qualified external candidates.

Beamery's TalentGPT AI generates relevant job descriptions, email campaigns, and career path recommendations aligned with required competencies.

For external recruiting, Beamery offers features like automated candidate sourcing and matching, database enrichment, an AI-powered chatbot for screening and scheduling, SMS messaging, and targeted recruitment event management.  

Beamery Pricing: Not shared publicly.

>> Click here for our detailed review of Beamery

Explore all recruitment CRM options in 2024 here.

More Recruiting Software: Skills Testing and Asynchronous Inteviews

With a dispersed workforce, companies need efficient ways to evaluate candidates' skills from anywhere. 

Online coding tests, data analysis challenges, and pre-recorded video interviews allow hiring managers to objectively assess hard and soft skills regardless of location.  

AI recruiting and its AI recruiting software play a key role in this process, too. 

Algorithms can automatically grade coding challenges and data tests. 

AI can also analyze video interviews for verbal and non-verbal cues around competencies like communication and critical thinking.

This is not about AI taking your jobs away, but rather enhancing your abilities and allowing you to focus on the uniquely human aspects of roles that add the most value in the world that hybrid work and remote work are preferred and asynchrony is highly appreciated.

For the sake of this, make sure to check out:

Vervoe - recruiting software for job simulations and skills assessments 

Vervoe stands out in the crowded market of recruiting software by emphasizing job simulations and skill assessments to identify top candidates. 

Vervoe allows hiring managers to simulate job scenarios that candidates would face in their roles, ensuring a fit not just for skills but also for company culture. 

Key features of Vervoe include customizable assessment scripts, AI-driven grading for immediate candidate ranking, and a vast library of pre-built tests for various roles.

Vervoe Pricing: Vervoe offers the Pay & Go plan for 1 assessment for up to 100 candidates at $228/year, along with custom quotes for requirements and usage-based plans.

>> Click here for our detailed review of Vervoe

Glider - recruiting software for AI-proctored skills tests

Glider is an AI-enabled assessment platform designed to ensure the integrity of remote assessments. 

Glider is known for its ability to verify candidates' identities, prevent cheating during assessments, and provide a detailed analysis of technical capabilities, which is useful for roles like Software Developers.

Glider's comprehensive suite includes real-time coding tests, project work simulations,  behavioral assessments, one-way video interviews, and AI-enabled text recruiting, offering a holistic preview of candidates’ capabilities and fit.

Glider Pricing: Not shared publicly.

>> Click here to check out Glider AI

Sapia - recruiting software for text-based and mobile-first interviews

Sapia.ai aims to provide a candidate-friendly interview process, which is a core aspect of their AI Smart Interviewer's design.

Its conversational AI will learn your requirements and create a structured interview that candidates can complete on their mobiles via chat at their own convenience.

Key features of Sapia include scheduling, managing no-shows, AI-powered candidate ranking, candidate feedback (unique), and talent insights.

Sapia can connect to popular ATS to provide a better experience for candidates, making it a helpful addition to your recruiting toolkit.

Sapia Pricing: Not shared publicly.

>> Click here to check out Sapia.ai

Spark Hire - recruiting software for high-volume video interviewing

Spark Hire is a recruiting software solution to handle video interviewing at a large scale.

Spark Hire streamlines the screening phase, allowing recruiters to conduct one-way or live video interviews that significantly reduce the time and logistical challenges associated with typical one-by-one face-to-face interviewing methods.

Spark Hire's intuitive interface enables hiring teams to review, rate, and comment on video interviews easily and quickly to choose the top potential ones.

Its key features include customizable interview questions, branded interview portals, and in-depth analytics to track interview performance and engagement.

Spark Hire is most often used by companies with 50-200 employees & $10M-50M in revenue.

Spark Hire Pricing: It offers scalable pricing tiers starting at $149/month.

>> Click here to check out Spark Hire

Key Features to Look For in Recruiting Software

When evaluating recruiting software, here are some key features to consider:

1. Applicant Tracking: A robust ATS is essential for managing job postings, tracking applicants, and streamlining the hiring process. For ATS, look for features like customizable application forms, resume parsing, and candidate ranking tools. AI features come in handy to craft recruiting materials and connect insights.

2. Candidate Sourcing: Effective candidate sourcing tools can help you find and attract top talent with features like job board integration, social media recruitment, and employee referral management.

3. Collaboration and Communication: Recruiting often involves multiple stakeholders, so look for software enabling collaborative hiring. The recruiting software should allow comments and tags, task assignments, and automated notifications to let everyone be on the same page.

4. Interview Scheduling: Efficient interview scheduling can save time and improve the candidate experience. This can be done through calendar integrations, self-scheduling options, and automated reminders.

5. Assessment and Testing: Many recruiting software solutions offer pre-employment assessments and skills tests to help you evaluate candidates more effectively. Suppose they don’t, check out my recommendations above and integrate them with your core recruiting system to better predict candidates’ future performance.

6. Reporting and Analytics: Comprehensive reporting and analytics capabilities can provide valuable insights into your recruiting efforts. Look for software that offers customizable reports, metrics tracking, and data visualization tools.

7. Mobile Optimization: People are more on their smartphones than laptops. So, it's important to have a mobile-friendly application process to nudge their applications and completion.

8. Compliance and Security: Recruiting software should comply with relevant employment laws and data privacy regulations. Check secure data storage, security and privacy practices, role-based access controls, and audit trails.

The ideal recruiting software should align with your organization's requirements, budget, and hiring needs. Its user-friendliness, customer support, and overall ease of implementation are essential to ensure you and your team successfully adopt and effectively utilize the system.

You will also want recruiting software that can connect with your existing HRIS software to seamlessly transfer and integrate employee data once candidates are hired.

More software selection guide: Best HRIS Software in 2024 to Boost Employee Experience

Should we have one recruiting software or many?

Whether to use a single comprehensive recruiting software or multiple specialized tools depends on several factors, including your organization's size, hiring volume, and specific recruitment needs.

A single recruiting suite will give you:

• A centralized platform for managing the entire recruitment process, from job postings to onboarding.
• A unified interface and consistent user experience for recruiters and hiring managers.
• Easy data integration and sharing across different stages of the hiring process.
• It may be more cost-effective in the long run, as you only need to maintain and pay for a single system.

But I must tell you that there is no such software if you need advanced methods in every recruiting process. Let’s think about What are your focuses and strategies?

On the other hand, having many specialized software for recruiting will:

• Allow you to select best-in-class tools for specific recruitment tasks, such as applicant tracking, candidate sourcing, assessments, or interviews.
• Provide more flexibility to switch or add tools as your recruitment needs evolve.
• Allow you to cater to the specific requirements of different departments or roles within your organization.

Many organizations, especially larger ones with high hiring volumes, opt for a combination approach. 

They use a central ATS as the core recruiting software and integrate it with specialized tools for tasks like candidate sourcing, video interviewing, or background checks.

If you have a smaller organization with modest hiring needs, a comprehensive recruiting software might be more suitable. 

The Bottom Line: Recruiting Software in 2024

Selecting the right recruiting software is crucial for attracting and hiring top talent in 2024 and beyond. 

The recruitment landscape continues to evolve rapidly with AI and automation playing an ever-increasing role. 

The best recruiting platforms leverage these technologies to streamline processes, enhance candidate experiences, and provide powerful analytics. However, choosing software still requires carefully evaluating your organization's specific needs against key factors like integration capabilities, compliance, and vendor support. 

By investing time into making an informed decision aligned with your recruiting strategies, you can implement tools that give you a competitive hiring edge. 

And there you have time and attention for strategic oversight and the truly human touch in recruitment.

The future of recruiting is now - is your software ready?

More guide on recruitment and HR in 2024:

• Human Resources: What HR Does in 2024 + Where We're Going
• Best HRIS Software in 2024 to Boost Employee Experience
• Best Free Payroll Software & Trials for Startups & Small Teams
• Recruitment in 2024: Meaning, Processes, & Technology‍
• 23 Best Recruitment CRM Software for Smart Hiring (2024 Top Picks)
• AI Recruiting Software: 6 AI Recruiting Tools for Smart and Effective Hiring in 2024
• Best ATS Software for 2024 to Hire Smarter and Faster
• Recruiting Software: The Essential Guide to the Best Picks of 2024