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BIG shifts are happening in the world of work. Recruiters around the globe are realizing the benefits of using authentic, employee-created video throughout the hiring process.
With this new wave of discovery, recruiters are waking up to the fact that video is no longer a nice-to-have, it’s now an essential part of any modern recruitment strategy.
One of the most important questions you need to ask yourself before you go all out and invest in a video solution is “How does my applicant tracking system (ATS) support video?’’
Understanding how different ATS display and support video content
The good news is, most ATS allow you to either embed via a published video URL, upload an MP4 file to their server for hosting and display, or, at the very least support hyperlinking to external video hosting platforms.
The not-so-good news is, although your ATS may allow you to include video in your original job description, some of the job boards that your ATS auto-publishes to are likely to strip your description of any video or hyperlinks.
This little bump in the road shouldn't throw you from leveraging the power of video, because in the boards that do display your content, the volume and quality of applications you receive will surely do the talking.
So whether you're on the hunt for an ATS that supports video or you want to investigate how well your current solution optimizes the format, check out our list of the ten most popular and don't skip the final section on thinking outside the job board to take control of your online recruitment tactics.
Our top 10 ATS for companies looking to leverage video job ads
BambooHR
BambooHR is an American technology company that provides human resources software as a service. Around since 2008, the company is based in Utah. BambooHR's services include an applicant tracking system and an employee benefits tracker.
Video support: Hyperlink your job description text to a published video, no pull-through display.
Caveat: Choose a section of text and insert the URL to your video using the link button. It’s currently not possible to upload an MP4 to a BambooHR job description, the candidate will need to click to view the video outside of the platform.
Bullhorn
Bullhorn is a cloud computing company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. They provide customer relationship management, applicant tracking system and operations software for the staffing industry.
Video support: Hyperlink your job description text to a published video, no pull-through display.
Caveat: To include a video in the job description field, choose a section of text and insert the URL to your video using the link button.
ELMO
ELMO offers a comprehensive suite of cloud HR, payroll and rostering / time & attendance software solutions that can be configured for your organization, and solutions live within a single dashboard and user interface.
Video support: Embed video in your job description with an MP4 or paste the URL to your published content.
Caveat: To include a video in your job description, click the media button to upload an MP4 file or using the link button insert the URL to your published video to pull through the thumbnail image display.
Greenhouse
Greenhouse is a highly intuitive ATS. It’s easy to use for interviewers as well as recruiters and hiring managers, allowing you to really track your hiring data and make smarter recruiting decisions down the road.
Video support: Embed video in your job description by pasting the URL to your published content, ATS does not support MP4 upload.
Caveat: To include a video in your job description, click the media button or using the link button insert the URL to your video. The video must be hosted on a platform, not uploaded as a raw file.
Support: Including a Video in Job Post
iCims
iCIMS is an American software company based in New Jersey. They’ve been around since 1999. iCIMS stands for Internet Collaborative Information Management Systems, the collaborative and streamlined recruiting system enables you to measure strategies around sourcing, recruiting and onboarding, all in one place.
Video support: Embed video in your job description by pasting the URL to your published content, ATS does not support MP4 upload.
Caveat: To include a video in the job description field, select the Insert/Edit Video icon. Provide the URL for the published video in the Source field or the Insert/Edit Video popup window. ATS does not support MP4 upload, videos must be hosted outside of the platform to successfully embed in a job description.
Support: Creating a New Job Posting
JobAdder
JobAdder is a global recruitment platform that empowers recruiters all over the world to recruit smarter and simpler. Their cloud-based technology is built to effortlessly ease the pressure of finding and placing quality candidates.
Video support: Embed video in your job description with an MP4 or paste the URL to your published content.
Caveat: To include a video in your job description, click the upload button to select an MP4 file or insert the URL to your published video on YouTube or Vimeo. JobAdder also has cover letter functionality allowing candidates to submit a 60-second video. You can then watch candidates' video submission straight from the job application quick view or click on ''get share link'' to forward to a team member or hiring manager for review.
More info: How a Video Cover Letter Can Help
Lever
Lever is a cloud-based solution that offers ATS and CRM functionality in one single platform to manage the hiring process. It helps teams of all sizes to source, nurture and manage their candidates, all in one place.
Video support: Hyperlink your job description text to a published video, no pull-through display.
Caveat: To include a video in the job description field, highlight a section of text and insert the URL to your video using the link button found in the rich text formatting bar at the top of the Job Description editor.
Support: How to Create and Edit a Job Posting
SAP SuccessFactors
SAP SuccessFactors is an American multinational company headquartered in California, providing cloud-based software for human capital management using the software as a service model.
Video support: Hyperlink your job description text to a published video, no pull-through display.
Caveat: Links to videos can be added in the job description by clicking the link button and pasting your video URL. SAP can also host a video on their server and provide you with the hyperlink, you can then paste the hyperlink into the job description. Even though the video is hosted within SAP it is still not possible to embed, only link to view.
Support: Embedding Videos or Images in Job Descriptions
SmartRecruiters
The SmartRecruiters Talent Acquisition Suite provides full source-to-hire capabilities for the modern workforce. Move beyond applicant tracking towards talent sourcing and engagement with native collaboration, assessment and AI tools.
Video support: Embed video in your job description by pasting the URL to the published YouTube or Digi.me video, does not support MP4 upload.
Caveat: To include one or more videos in your job ad, add YouTube and Digi.me links into the ‘Add video’ field. You can add as many videos as you’d like, but they must be hosted on YouTube.
Support: How to Create a Job Ad
Workable
Workable combines machine learning and AI with 40+ integrations to provide a complete hiring toolkit. Once hired, Workable provides recruiting reports to review process and plan strategy.
Video support: Hyperlink your job description text to a published video, no pull-through display.
Caveat: To include a video in the job description field, insert a URL to your video using the link button or paste the URL into the main body of text. As most of the job boards remove all hyperlinks from descriptions, Workable suggests that if the link is important their customers should include the full URL in plain text.
Outside of the job description, it’s possible to embed a YouTube or Vimeo video in the Company Profile settings in your Workable account so that it appears properly in the Workable Careers Page.
Support: Creating a Job Posting
Thinking outside your ATS and traditional job boards for video distribution
All of the ATS solutions listed above do support video on the front-end in some way, but as soon as the listings are shared to the hundreds of job board integrations, the video compatibility ventures into the unknown (we will be exploring that in more detail next year, stay tuned!)
Stopping job boards from stripping your descriptions of links and content is unfortunately out of your control, but being smart with your recruitment marketing is somewhere you can really take the reins.
Although LinkedIn job descriptions don't allow for embedded video just yet, the platform has been championing and connecting people with the visual format for the last two years. It is the number one social platform you should be considering when recruiting online.
Leverage the power of your community by posting a video on your LinkedIn company page with a link to apply, then encourage your team to share the video post to increase reach and potentially widen your candidate pool.
If you really want to hit a home run with candidate engagement don't just stop at LinkedIn, consider sharing the same video across your other social accounts and the niche online groups frequented by your candidate personas. If you create a video through the VideoMyJob app, you can use the unique landing page feature to generate short-links for each channel and measure the impact of your additional online efforts.
An ATS can take the manual labor out of posting to multiple job boards, but if you really want to see the true impact of video it's important not to get complacent, given the uncertainty of some integrations and how they display your content. Consider your digital amplification as a whole and how you can use video to meet the candidate wherever they are online.
