ApplicantStack™ is designed for small to mid-size businesses that require affordable and easy to use solutions for their recruiting needs. We are proud that our customers can log on and get start using the product in the first sitting.

This Quick Start Guide illustrates core features and benefits of ApplicantStack and serves as a guide during your trial period. ApplicantStack is designed to provide organizations the ability to easily manage their hiring process without being complicated.

The system has a standard set of values that allows you to begin utilizing the system immediately. However, you also have the ability to setup the system in a more customized way to support your process and effectively manage both candidates and your internal users with ease (for more information see the Setup section).

Home

The Home Page is command central, allowing users to view Activities, navigate the system as well as perform certain tasks directly from the menu.

At a glance, users can see the status of the positions being filled and what activities are taking place with the Candidates. Additionally, users can create new jobs, bring in resumes, manage the Administrative functions as well as access the Job Board from one location.

Jobs

The Jobs module provides a straightforward way to organize positions and manage them efficiently. Selecting the Jobs tab is the first step towards posting and accepting online applications.
An easy to use navigation panel will get you started:

Create Job begins with determining basic information; a unique Job ID and Title, what Department and Location for the job as well as establishing User Access. All this information will eventually display in the job listing and can be used for searching and sorting.

Listing

The Listing allows users to utilize a Word Processing feature to create the Job description, qualifications and any other information that your organization wants to communicate about the job. Templates can be created if your organization has a standard format or set of job descriptions already available (for more information see Templates under the Library section).

Questions

ApplicantStack has a robust Questions module that allows users to present a specific set(s) of questions to an applicant as part of the online application process. This feature makes it possible to capture important data from the applicant and takes them through the application process. There is no limit to how many sets of questions can be associated with a job; link as many sets as is appropriate.

Once again, using Templates provides the opportunity to re-use a customary set of questions presented to applicants.
Question Type: Selecting the Question Type is important when considering how the answers may be used for reporting, sorting and scoring. The choices are:

1. Yes/No
2. Multiple Choice
3. Select Many
4. Single Line Text
5. Multi Line Text

For each Question, users determine the Question Text (the exact wording of the question) and in the case of Multiple Choice and Select Many, the Possible Answers. You can also indicate if the question should be required.

Once a Questionnaire is complete, simply click “Apply” to associate it with the Job. The Questions can then be managed from the edit page functionality where you are able to create duplicates, edit existing and re-order the questions.

Preview provides an exact view of how the questions will be presented to the applicant during the online application process. Advanced Settings does provide the ability to create a Layout Template for a Questionnaire to customize the way the questions are displayed. Creating a Layout Template is an advanced task that requires knowledge of HTML. If you do not have this expertise, it can also be completed as a custom project.

Scoring

The Scoring module is a valuable tool which uses candidate answers and words/phrases in their resume to identify key factors. Being able to score candidates based on these data elements allows you to quickly and easily spot those that are unqualified and classify the candidate pool in a way that is meaningful. This is especially useful for managing a large volume of applications and offers an effective way to put focus on the most viable candidates.

To Create a Rule you first determine the Rule Source. The Rule Source can either be the answer to a Question or a word/phrase in a candidate’s resume. Users can assign points to a certain answer, or decide that an answer shows a candidate is unqualified.

In the example below, the rule source is Questionnaire, and is based on a question posed in the online application:

Or, a rule can be created with a source of Resume that will either assign a certain number of points to the candidate or indicate they are unqualified if that word or phrase is found in their Resume text.

Anytime an online application comes into the system, the rules will be run and the candidate’s scoring will be displayed. Rules can also be run manually if additional rules are added after the application has been received.

Workflow

Each organization has a unique way of managing the hiring process. ApplicantStack can be customized to support your workflow, track the status of the job and candidates, capture the appropriate documentation and help keep stakeholders informed and engaged.

By selecting the Workflow tab, you can view the Workflow Stages that have been completed. The Workflow stages are set up and edited either via the Configure Button on the Workflow tab or from Setup (for more information see Setup section).

When first created, a Job is in Draft stage. Once it is ready to post on the Job Board you will click Open to change the stage of the job to Open so it can accept applications.

Launch

The Launch tab provides the ability to post the job to your job board and other third-party sites, including paid job boards like Monster and CareerBuilder (account required), free sites like Indeed and SimplyHired, and social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. To post the job is has to be Open, then you click Edit Launch Status.

During the launch process you can select which sites you want to post your job to, and enter additional information required by your selected sites such as job City/State.

You are now ready to accept online Applications!

From your Job Board page, applicants are able to select a Job and view the Listing as well as Apply for the Job immediately. Utilize the standard Job Board template (as pictured below):

Or we can build you a custom template to match your website for a seamless display:

By selecting the Job, the Applicant is presented with the Job Description and the ability to Apply:

Once the applicant selects Apply, they are brought into the online application and prompted to enter basic contact information (for more information on Application Configuration options see Setup section). The applicant is also directed to attach their resume, provide Cover Letter text as well as answer any questions that have been associated with the Job.

Candidates

Being able to effectively and efficiently manage candidates who apply for the Jobs within an organization is critical to Human Resource professionals. Especially in today’s climate where hundreds of applications are received for one position, being able to quickly prioritize qualified matches is critical.

From the Candidates tab, users can filter and sort the full list of Candidates in the system by Job, Stage, Source, Score or Rating. This offers the user the ability to view the list in a way that is meaningful to their objectives.
Right from the grid, users can perform many actions in the system. Some of the most utilized:

In additional to bringing in Candidates through online applications, utilize Create Candidate or Upload Resume(s) to manually create a Candidates or load in Resumes received from other sources to produce individual Candidate records in the system.

Candidate Search also offers a quick and easy way to find a specific candidate or group of candidates. Demographic information or a Keyword in a Resume or Cover letter helps to quickly and easily find the Candidate.

ApplicantStack offers numerous Email capabilities for bulk e-mailings to candidates as well as internal users. Need to communicate a single message to all Candidates who are no longer being considered? Simply filter the Candidate list and the same e-mail can be sent to all candidates who meet that criteria or Forward multiple candidates to an internal user by Email.

Meeting with a Candidate face to face? Utilize the Print feature for a printer-friendly printout of the complete online application.

Summary

Summary provides a complete Candidates view at a glance.

Resume

By selecting the Resume tab the user is presented with the full resume as submitted by the applicant. There is no need for excess attachments or spending time looking for the file or the paper resume; easily access the candidate’s information with one click.

Answers

Selecting the Answers tab shows the candidate’s answers to any Questionnaires that are associated with the Job. Additionally, the ability to open another questionnaire and answer it for the candidate is available and a useful feature to capture additional data after the initial application.

Workflow

At any point while in a Candidate’s record, the Workflow buttons are available. This allows users to send a candidate to the next step in the hiring process. Clearly displaying the stage the Candidate is currently in, internal users can manage the process and candidate each step of the way.

History

History is a useful chronological summary of all the actions that have taken place for a candidate.

Email

Manage all the Email sent through the system for tracking and reference. View Email for a particular Job, Recipient Type, Read or Unread mail as well as filter for Received or Sent mail.

Library

Simplicity and re-usability are available through the use of the ApplicantStack Library. The Library makes it possible to create Templates for Listings, Questionnaires as well as Emails. Long gone are the days when your organization had to re-create job descriptions and applications for each new opening. Using the word processing feature, users create Templates that can save time and create structure.

In addition to saving time, Templates add consistency to the process. Through Templates, users are able to develop standard formats and re-use Job Listings for positions that are filled often. Constructing a standard set of questions provides a baseline for all online applications, and questions which are specific to the job can be added with ease.

You can save even more time by setting up Email Templates to send out automatically to candidates as they move through your process. Assign a Trigger Stage to an email template and it will be sent out automatically when a candidate is moved to this stage of your process. You can use triggers for things like sending an Email to a candidate when their application is first received, when they are rejected as being unqualified, or when they are selected for a phone screen or interview.

Reports

ApplicantStack Reports offers your organization flexible and powerful reporting capabilities. This module offers features that range from a simple report to show how many Jobs are being managed per month to a detailed listing of candidates that can be exported from the system.

A standard set of reports are offered with the system as well as the ability to create Ad Hoc reports. When creating an Ad Hoc report, users are able to decide which data you wish to report on (Job or Candidate data), choose Summary or Detail report and finally decide what data fields you wish to bring into the report.

Setup

Once you are ready to begin to customize ApplicantStack to meet your organization’s recruiting needs, you will want to review the Setup for all the modules. This section provides a brief overview of the options you have when configuring the system.

Users

Under User Setup Administrators can create and maintain the information on the Users of the system. When you create a User you can set their security level as Administrator, Recruiter or Hiring Manager.

Capture basic contact and password information and determine what access the User(s) needs within the system. Below lists the permissions granted when assigning the security level to a User:

Configure

Configure is broken down into three sections, Configure Job, Candidate and Application. Configure Job walks you through determining basic Job Fields that need to be captured such as Department and Location of a Job.

Also determined are the Workflow Stages specific to Jobs such as Open, Interviewing, Filled, Cancelled. The Workflow Actions are also setup, determining what actions are appropriate within a Stage.

Candidate fields designate the information you wish to collect on every candidate. This can be as basic as collecting demographic data to asking more detailed questions that your company captures on all applicants.

Configure Application also walks the Administrator through determining basic Application Fields needed such as the Source or Rating of the Application. As with Jobs, determining the Workflow Stages and Workflow Actions specific to the Application process is available. These fields illustrate to users the status of the application (i.e. in interviewing or reference check) as well as the Actions needed to be taken along the way (i.e. Failed phone interview, Passed Manager Review).

Job Workflow Stages also allow customization of the system to reflect the steps in an organization’s hiring process. By assigning Owner(s) of a Stage they can be notified when there is activity in the stage such as a new candidate or job to review.

Settings

The Settings page is where you can edit basic account information such as Organization Name and Domain.

Job Boards

In the Job Boards section you can activate / deactivate job boards in your account and modify their settings. All available job boards are listed and you can click Edit Settings to edit the settings for any of your job boards.