Hi Geniuses!

For those of you who have taken up the offer for a free audit, thank you! It has been a blast and I hope you got as much value as I did.

I've been getting a ton of questions lately about tools and automation for solo recruiters.

I use the term solo recruiter instead of independent because some of you may be internal at a budget tight startup or simply augmenting on contract and you need a lightweight solution.

The number one question from solo recruiters is always "What ATS should I use?"

Well folks, it's not a simple answer. It depends on your needs, work style, favorite tools, and budget.

So, let's dive into my top ATS platforms for solo recruiters.

RecruiterFlow 

A great option for solo recruiters who want great UI and functionality, with the flexibility of a monthly plan. It has a clean, professional-looking jobs page and client portal that your Candidates and Hiring Managers will love. Just beware, it's limited in features and the integrations can be a bit tricky.

The Automation

The outreach functions are narrowed down to email campaigns. They do have some integrations with Zapier and you can customize functionality with webhooks; however, that may be too complicated for the layman recruiter. If you can get past this, there are solid automation recipes available that can help with scheduling, sending alerts, and nurturing candidates.

Who’s it good for?

At $90-$129 month-to-month, RecruiterFlow is awesome for small internal and agency teams that want a simple to use ATS. I call it the iOS of ATS’s. It has a highly intuitive design that centers around the everyday user. Users can easily build recruiting processes for each job order, create scorecards and feel great about showing it off to those they work with. Recruiters who have deep partnerships with clients, built strong relationships with candidates and are comfortable investing in tools like HireEZ & Seekout would find this ATS awesome.

Tech Stack Recommended: LinkedIn Recruiter or Sales Nav, HireEZ or SeekOut, texting tool like Zipwhip, Apollo.io for client sourcing and outreach, Zapier, a LinkedIn Automation Tool.

Gem 

A candidate outreach platform with a few ATS features. It's perfect for recruiters who already have a solid ATS. But, it falls short as a full ATS platform. And, it's a bit pricey with a yearly commitment.

Automations & AI

Gem has some great outreach capability and acts more like an add-on to the more robust ATS’s out there. It has really great tracking, outreach campaigns, and alerts features. Integrations with your latest sourcing tools make it an awesome product for the tech heavy recruiters.

Who’s it good for?

I have seen Gem used as a full fledged ATS before, in fact one of the guys I coach bills $500k a year just using Gem and LinkedIn Recruiter. Would I recommend it? Probably not. Gem is great for the recruiter who has a solid cashflow, a strong candidate/client network and a fully functioning ATS. It’s also great for recruiters who work on an RPO and sourcing basis, as it really caters to that level of partnership. It’s free to start, but you aren’t getting much use out of the free version. Paid is pricey with single user plans costing folks up to $3k+ per year. That’s not including your sourcing tools. If you got the budget and the know how to integrate then this is a fantastic tool.

Tech Stack Recommended: Low cost ATS, HireEZ or SeekOut, Zapier, a LinkedIn Automation Tool

Zoho Recruit 

It's come a long way, baby! It's got automation and a marketplace to plug in your favorite tools. And, it's cost-effective, but be ready to make some extra purchases to fully utilize it.

The Automation & AI

The product acts like a LEGO base where you can easily stack on accompanying tech to make it your own build. If RecruiterFlow is iOS, Zoho is definitely Android. Users will need additional sourcing tools like HireEZ to integrate into the system. At its core, it is still very impressive even without the plug ins. My favorite feature is how granular users can get with automated tasks and emails. To top it off, they already have most of the tasks you’d want set up when you sign up. The campaign/outreach features are top notch. They have so many ways for users to nurture and engage with candidates and clients outside of your standard email. There are polls, webinars, event and more campaign users can easily set up for as low as $4 extra dollars a month.

Who’s it good for?

This product starts at $30 month-to-month and is great for recruiters who want an inexpensive solution that interfaces with the public nicely and allows them to splurge on other tools. With its low entry cost, you can easily get started with this and invest in job postings, sourcing tools and contact finders. With Zoho, they all can talk to each other making it a solid ecosystem platform. It also scales really well should you have aspirations to grow a small agency or team.

Tech Stack Recommended: RingCentral, Twilio, HireEZ, Zapier, a LinkedIn Automation Tool

Loxo.co

A comprehensive all-in-one platform that's a total powerhouse. Outreach is a breeze with email, text, and dial campaigns all included. Just don't expect a sleek UI/UX, job page and client portal.

The Automation & AI

LoxoSource, LoxoConnect, LoxoAI and LoxoOutreach are all included in their one tier paid application. It singlehandedly takes away the immediate need for tools like LinkedIn Recruiter (sourcing), SignalHire (contact data), HireEZ (matching) and Gem (Outreach campaigns). And because email and dialer systems are integrated, you can quickly go from sourcing to outreach in seconds.

Who’s it good for?

Trying my best to not play favorites, but Loxo takes the cake for most solo recruiter and small agency. The two issues I have with it are: the initial set up and the yearly commitment. There are so many features that you can get lost in setting up. They do have great customer service, but you still need to know what you are looking for. Starting off, you may not be ready to make the investment into a yearly commitment. They do have monthly payment plans, but you are still bound to the 12 month contract. You have to go to Loxo for updated pricing as I’ve been grandfathered in as an early adopter. According to SourceForge they start at $119 a month per user. Get past, that and its a no brainer solution.

Tech Stack Recommended: Recruiter or Sales Navigator and a LinkedIn Automation Tool.

Conclusion

Every recruiter has a different workflow, priorities and goals. That’s why I would never say that 1 platform is best for everyone’s needs. However, you may have noticed that I recommend every stack needs to have a LinkedIn Automation Tool. Like ATS’s, there are a few out there with different price ranges, functions and features.

If you are trying to determine the stack that’s best for your specific recruiting business, just reply with "BOOM" and let's schedule a fun and free Outreach Audit!

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