Originally posted on www.sendouts.com/blog

You gotta love technology.  It can make life so simple.  Skype with a candidate in another region, reply to an email while you’re away from your desk, then come home and watch last week’s episode of The Voice on your dvr.  Sometimes, though, technology can be purely frustrating.  A malicious virus infects your hard drive, the internet is down for no apparent reason, and you just plain forget to plug in the toaster.  When technology works for you, it’s amazing.  When it doesn’t, it makes you want to stab your eye out with a plastic fork.

The same goes for your ATS.   So you have this fancy software that’s supposed to help you be a better recruiter.  But is it working for you, or just causing frustration?  Have you taken time to get really acquainted with your ATS?

You know your ATS can be an amazing tool to help you stay on task, contact people with speed, and document the paths of your candidates and clients.  But if you haven’t learned to use the system to its full potential, it can feel cumbersome – like peddling your Schwinn through mud instead of zipping along sleek and sexy blacktop.  If your ATS is lacking in the sleek and sexy department, you could probably benefit from in-depth training.

It’s time to get in-tune and become one with your ATS.  Roll out your yoga mat, salute the sun, then dial into some one-on-one training.  Or if you’re not into the mind/body thing, pour yourself a cup of joe, and email your account manager to sign up for a training session.

Maybe you never received one-on-one training, and have just been winging it for a while.  Or maybe the introductory training course you took is only a distant memory.  Software updates and new features are rolling out all the time.  A new mobile app, an updated tool bar, more functional sourcing tools – if you haven't kept up with changes, you could be missing out on a world of opportunity.  Even if you think you know everything about your ATS, you can always benefit from speaking with a trainer – especially when you come prepared (click here for part 2).