The U.S. labor market has trailed expectations this year. The number of open jobs has been sinking since the beginning of 2024, and it’s getting harder to find a job, applicants say. Job seekers are frustrated not only because there are fewer open roles, but because hiring processes are so poor. LinkedIn is full of users writing about their terrible job-seeking experiences with confusing or unusually protracted hiring processes, fake job postings, and ghosting recruiters.

Kim Stevens is the manager of talent acquisition at Lever, an applicant tracking system. She’s spent a decade in talent acquisition, working across industries, and at both B2B and B2C companies. She says it doesn’t have to be this way, and employers have an obligation to do better–by their recruiters and their applicants.

“Full-cycle recruiting is a holistic approach,” Stevens said during a From Day One webinar on how full-cycle recruiting can help employers hire top talent. “Instead of passing candidates from one recruiter to the next to move them through the process, there is a single recruiter managing the process from the initial job requisition all the way to how new hires are integrated into the company.”

Many companies have already adopted a full-cycle process, but some are still stuck on old models, like a sourcing-led path where one recruiter brings in the talent then candidates are passed among the team; very early on, the hiring experience is interrupted. For job candidates, full-cycle recruiting should be unnoticeable. “Having one person manage all of it does create a more seamless transition for the candidate and one point of contact. If it’s done well, it’s very good as far as the candidate experience goes.”

A full-cycle approach is important now because the labor market is so tight, she said. “We have so many [job seekers] in the market, and we can empathize with that and embed that in our thought process when we’re creating processes within our [applicant tracking system] to not only manage the volume, but to focus on all of the different parts of the process. We should ask ‘How can they work for us, and how can they work for the candidate?’ And you really have to do that with automation.”

Stevens spent a year on the job market as a candidate herself and saw how brutal the process can be for job seekers. “It made me think about all the times where I could have done my job better; I owed it to candidates to give them a better experience. I needed to reset and really value what my job is and the impact that it can make on people, their lives, and their livelihood.”

She also felt the importance of having a single point of contact at the hiring company. “I saw the good and the bad and the ugly when it came to the candidate experience.” Whether it was being passed around among a recruiting team or having to create a username and password for every application (even if it was at the same company).

“Being in the job market is stressful enough. If we can mitigate some of those steps and automate and customize, it’s such an important way to create that seamless experience for the company and for the candidate. There are so many different layers within your ATS that you can customize, like candidate communications, ensuring that they’re not only getting followed up with after they apply but that they’re getting updates about where we are in the process.”

Full-cycle recruiting teams, juggling multiple activities and multiple candidates at once, have to be really good at time management. New adopters may require training before they’re ready to fly solo. A good applicant tracking system, and maybe even a little artificial intelligence, can help with multitasking, but “technology should be viewed as an enhancement, not a replacement for that human interaction,” Stevens said.

For instance, full-cycle can be enhanced by some smart, time-saving changes. “It was ingrained into me by a previous leader of mine, that if you’re having to do something more than once and it’s the same task: Automate it,” she said. “If you’re getting the same questions about–let’s say, benefits–then create something that’s automated, where you can just reply with a signature.”

The recruiting process is often the first impression a company will make on job seekers. And if it’s a bad one, the relationship can sour–or solidify–as soon as it begins. A good ATS doesn’t solve all problems. Other factors, like a company’s employer brand will make it easier–or harder–to recruit the workforce you need. Stevens recalled working in university recruiting for a past employer whose employer brand was so strong that when she walked onto the University of Texas at Austin campus, she felt like a celebrity. Students wanted to see what the company would do next, they wanted to talk to recruiters. Of course, recruiting is a huge part of that reputation.

Every step of the process is an opportunity for thoughtful interaction with job candidates. It’s a reflection of your company and what the employee experience is like. “There’s so much to say about a full-cycle recruiting process, but also an ATS that enables that process and makes it more streamlined, especially given how many candidates in the market are already stressed. It’s so important as leaders and as companies to keep that in mind. The reality of our market is that we have so many people in it–how can we really make sure that our ATS is working for them too?”

Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Lever by Employ, for sponsoring this webinar.

Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is a freelance journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about work, the job market, and women’s experiences in the workplace. Her work has appeared in the Economist, the BBC, The Washington Post, Quartz, Fast Company, and Digiday’s Worklife.