How to Turn Gmail into a free applicant tracking system! (ATS)

Because most apps begin as emails, managing them straight from your inbox makes perfect sense. You won't need to move between Gmail and a recruitment tracker after all.

By enhancing Gmail with the advantages of an applicant tracking system (ATS) and a shared inbox, you will discover how to utilize Drag as a recruitment program to hasten the hiring process for your company.

1. How to manage applications in Gmail

With the use of a Google Chrome Extension, Gmail may be used as a free applicant tracking system: Drag. It is a Gmail-based shared inbox solution.

To control your apps from Gmail using Drag, you must take the following actions:

• Create a visual talent pipeline.
• Add applications to the bulletin board
• Streamline your hiring procedure.
• Candidates can be classified using labels.
• Interviews should be scheduled.
• To save time, use templates.
• Use automation to eliminate manual labour.

Step 0: Install Drag.

You must first install Drag's Chrome Extension on your browser before proceeding with the rest of the steps. Don't worry, it's completely free and just takes a few seconds. After that, open or refresh your Gmail tab. Following that, an automated popup will come from Gmail's authorizations. To enable Drag to work on your Gmail account, read it and approve the permissions.
That's all! You are now ready to begin creating fresh talent pipelines in your email.

Step 1: Build a visual talent pipeline

Drag allows you to convert your recruitment pipelines into boards like the one above. You may tailor them to your requirements and tastes by using kanban or list views. Both views make it simple to see your processes and monitor all of your apps by allowing you to drag & drop between columns.

These columns might include the names of the phases that the applications will go through. For example, you might call your first column "Incoming resumes" or "New Candidates." The following columns will then be in the order of your

It's time to begin adding cards to your board after you've created one and organised the columns. Cards might be emails that arrive in your mailbox or assignments that you generate. To move the cards across columns based on the phases the applicants are currently in, just drag & drop the cards. It makes keeping track of procedures more simpler for both individuals and teams. pipeline.

Step 2: Add applications to the board

You must add apps to your boards after selecting the optimal view and generating columns with all of your phases.

There are three ways to accomplish this in Drag:

• receiving candidate emails in a team's shared inbox with a subject line like careers@ or jobs@;
• data from an online form or from a job website arriving in your inbox automatically;
• Making cards and filling them with information about the candidates;

Share your HR inbox

Drag allows teams to create dynamic shared inboxes where emails arrive in real time. All team members may be added to the shared board where they can read and respond to emails as a group without leaving their individual accounts.

So, when a candidate submits an email to the HR inbox with a CV attached, this message will also be delivered directly to the board you designated as a shared inbox.

Step 3: Standardize your recruiting process

A hiring procedure must be consistent from start to finish. Collaboration elements can aid in achieving this aim when working as part of a team. The good news is that you can get all the background information you want on a candidate from Drag in one convenient location.

Drag has the following capabilities for team collaboration:

• Team assignments include delegating duties and correspondence to teammates.
• Tasks and checklists: to create a consistent procedure at each stage;
• Email notes: to record the candidate's profile, contact details, or notes from the interview;

Step 4: Use labels to categorize candidates

Adding labels to prospects may make a significant difference in the recruiting process. They enable the Human Resources staff to quickly scan the pipeline for the best applicants. You may add tags for the candidates' essential talents or years of experience, for instance.

The team may arrange the cards carrying the information they now need to view using tags, which enables them to act more quickly and intelligently.

Step 5: Schedule Interviews

Whether the interview is conducted over the phone, through video conference, or in person. Scheduling interviews using a programme like Google Calendar gets things more organised. Specifically, when utilising Gmail to track candidates.

You may use drag to add due dates, such as the date of an interview, to your emails or business cards. After you've established the date, you can invite the applicant through email or using Google Calendar's interface with Gmail. To access a sample of your schedule, pick the Calendar icon from the menu on the right side of your screen. The candidate's email should then be added to the interview event so they may get the invitation.

Step 6: Use templates to save time

Instead of repeatedly typing the same response email, you may save time by quickly making Drag email templates. Drag enables you to customise your email templates using unique fields like the applicant's name, avoiding generic communications.

You could be considering Gmail's built-in email templates. And, sure, they function virtually identically to Drag's, with one notable exception: you cannot share templates with teammates. This is due to the fact that they are unique per email address.

Step 7: Use automations to stop manual work

Every day, a hiring process might include a lot of repeated duties. Drag automations in your boards can help you optimise your personnel management approach.

You may be familiar with Gmail filters. Drag automations operate in a similar manner. For example, when shifting applicants from one stage to another, you may automate steps such as sending an email, ideally using a certain template you defined in the previous phase.

Because each board and process is unique, it is feasible to construct numerous alternative automations for each one. Automations allow you to personalise three factors: the board, the circumstances, and the actions. Aside from that, you have a choice of five actions:

• Move to (someone)
• Assign to (someone)
• Change color
• Gmail action
• Apply tag

CONCLUSION

It might be quite time-consuming to constantly go between your email inbox and a premium talent acquisition programme. Having a solution that operates inside it can be very helpful. You may simply spend more hours of your day focused on the hiring process by delegating tasks to Drag.Consider completing our guide's step 0 and letting Drag handle the inbox job. You will quickly see how simple and effective it is to manage a talent acquisition pipeline with your team.

Above all, we want to help you make the greatest hiring for your company by using this free application monitoring system. We are confident that if you follow all of the stages, you will successfully integrate the programme into your operations.

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