ATS integration
An ATS integration is a connection between an applicant tracking system and another tool, so data moves between them without copying by hand. In recruiting it decides which candidates a tool receives, what it writes back to the candidate record and whether recruiters can keep working in their own system.
A recruiting tool is only as useful as its link to the applicant tracking system (ATS). If results stay in the tool, recruiters have to open a second screen, copy answers and remember to update the candidate. Most of them will not. A good integration puts the results where recruiters already look.
How does a one-way integration differ from a two-way integration?
| One-way | Two-way | |
|---|---|---|
| Direction | The ATS sends candidates to the tool | Data flows to the tool and back to the ATS |
| What the recruiter sees in the ATS | Nothing new or a link to another screen | Answers, a new phase or a note on the candidate |
| What the tool knows afterwards | Nothing about the next step | What the recruiter did next, such as an interview or a placement |
| Reporting | Stops at the tool's own results | Covers the funnel up to placement |
A one-way link starts the work. A two-way link also reports back, so you can see what the screening led to.
What should a tool write back?
Ask a vendor exactly what lands in your ATS:
- Answers in fields. Availability, certificates or start date in the fields your recruiters already filter on.
- A new phase. The candidate moves to the next step, such as "screened" or "intake booked".
- A note. A short summary of the conversation with a clear title.
- A new candidate or application, when someone who is not yet in the ATS applies through another source.
Each ATS allows different things. Some have no pipeline the API can move, so a note is the only option. Check this per ATS before you plan your workflow.
What is stage sync?
Stage sync means the tool reads back what the recruiter did after the handover. Did the candidate get an interview, a placement or a rejection? With that information, reports show more than "screened": they show which screenings led to placed workers. It is also how a team proves the value of a tool.
What else should an integration handle?
- Stopping. When a candidate is hired elsewhere or withdraws, the ATS must be able to stop all contact at once, on every channel.
- Duplicates. The same candidate should not be contacted twice because they appear twice in the ATS.
- Security. Credentials stay with the vendor's integration, not in a recruiter's inbox. Messages between the systems should be signed.
How does Ringtime integrate with your ATS?
Ringtime works on top of the ATS you already use. Ringtime sets up the connection with you; it is not a self-service plug-in.
- Your ATS tells Ringtime which candidates to contact, for example when a recruiter links a candidate to a vacancy.
- Ringtime writes the result back. Depending on your ATS, that is answers in the fields you choose, a move to the phase you choose or a note with a title.
- On Carerix and Connexys, Ringtime reads back what your recruiters did after the handover, so the report shows the full funnel.
- When your system cancels a candidate, Ringtime stops, also on the next channel.
- Ringtime sends a signed message to your system when a candidate is done, failed or cancelled.
Through Kombo, an integration platform, Ringtime can connect to many more ATSes. The applicant tracking system page lists the main ones.
To keep your team in the system they know, see which systems Ringtime connects to.
