All Recooty Articles, HR Tutorials and TipsHow Candidate Summary Feature in ATS Can Help You Hire Better
All Recooty Articles, HR Tutorials and Tips 
Imagine receiving tons of applications and feeling dizzy while seeing resumes of different designs and formats.
Despite knowing that only a few of them match the criteria for the job description, the recruitment team might have to go through all the resumes and also quantify which candidate matches the job description best.
This process of screening and selecting “the one” can now be automated with the help of AI, significantly reducing human time and effort.
This blog is about how an AI-powered ATS feature can reduce your time to choose the best among many leading to faster, smarter and better hiring practices.
What is Candidate Summary in ATS?
Candidate summary is an advanced AI feature in ATS which provides a summary of the candidate’s work experience and skills based on their submitted resume.
The candidate summary ensures that the recruiter gets a gist of all the relevant information in the resume like skills, qualifications, experience and education in a few lines without the need to look into their resume.
Though most candidates nowadays provide an impressive overview of their work experience, a candidate summary provides an objective overview of all the candidates’ competencies so that recruiters can make the best decision related to the hiring for that job role leading to reduced bias.
The human efforts get significantly reduced when the summary provides all the relevant information in one intuitive and user-friendly format reducing the need to go through complex CV structures of every candidate.
How Candidate Summary is Generated
When candidates upload their resumes, an AI-driven system parses the text and provides structured information in JSON format, making it easy to assess key data points.
In case the resume is an image in a document file format, Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology is employed to extract the baked-in text from the image.
The rich text format during the conversion process is maintained to ensure the extracted content is clear, presentable, and retains the important details such as bold or italicized text that showcases key achievements.
This is why candidates are recommended to use a minimalistic resume design and submit their files in commonly accepted formats like PDF, DOCX, or DOC. Adhering to these formats ensures that the AI can accurately parse the resume, capture vital details, and facilitate better decision-making during the hiring process.
By following these guidelines, candidates increase the chances of their resumes being effectively parsed and presented in a way that truly emphasizes their qualifications and potential for the role.
Let’s look at why this feature is a “must-have” while choosing an ATS for your recruitment and hiring needs.
Benefits of Candidate Summary Feature in ATS:
1. Time-Saving
The candidate summary feature in an ATS allows recruiters to quickly grasp key details about applicants without digging through long resumes or profiles.
This streamlined view makes it easier to assess qualifications, compare candidates, and make decisions faster, freeing up valuable time for more strategic tasks like engaging with top talent or improving the overall hiring process.
It cuts down on the time spent sorting through information and helps focus on what really matters.
2. Reduces Bias
The candidate summary feature helps minimize bias by presenting consistent, relevant information about each candidate.
Instead of focusing on factors like name, background, or other personal details that might unintentionally influence decisions, recruiters can make more objective choices based on skills, experience, and qualifications.
This structured view keeps the hiring team focused on the competencies, leading to fairer and more inclusive hiring practices.
3. Increases Efficiency in the Hiring Process
This feature streamlines the hiring workflow, allowing recruiters to quickly grasp key details about applicants without filtering through lengthy resumes or cover letters.
This reduces the time spent on initial candidate assessments and improves decision-making speed, making the entire recruitment process more fluid and focused.
Ultimately, fewer resources are needed to identify strong candidates, which accelerates the journey from application to offer.
4. Improves Communication
By providing a clear, concise overview of each candidate’s qualifications and experience, the candidate summary feature helps ensure that everyone involved in the hiring process is on the same page.
It makes it easier for team members to exchange insights and feedback, cutting down on misunderstandings and misalignments.
As a result, collaboration becomes smoother, and decisions can be made with more confidence and clarity.
5. Provides Better Candidate Experience
The feature helps create a more seamless experience for job seekers by reducing delays in decision-making. Since recruiters can quickly grasp a candidate’s strengths and qualifications, follow-ups, interview invites, or feedback can be delivered more promptly.
Job seekers feel more respected and valued, as they spend less time waiting in the dark. This also fosters a positive impression of the company, making applicants more likely to stay engaged throughout the process and speak highly of their experience, regardless of the outcome.
6. Supports Employer Branding
The candidate summary feature contributes to your company’s image by making the hiring process smoother and more responsive. When you’re able to move quickly, avoid unnecessary back-and-forth, and provide clear feedback, it reflects positively on your company’s professionalism and efficiency.
Candidates are more likely to spread the word about their positive experience, which can enhance their reputation as an employer that values people’s time and effort. In the long run, this strengthens your brand, helping you attract top talent organically.
7. Facilitates Future Recruitment Efforts
The candidate summary feature doesn’t just help with the immediate hiring needs, it also sets the stage for smoother recruitment in the future.
By keeping clear, organized summaries of past applicants, companies can quickly revisit strong candidates who might be a better fit for upcoming roles without starting from scratch.
This saves time and leverages the work already done, creating a valuable talent pool that can speed up future hiring and maintain relationships with qualified candidates.
RecootyAI ATS not only streamlines all the tasks of your recruitment and hiring with job postings on 250+ job boards, customizable hiring stages, integrated scheduling, communication platform and a lot more but also comes with AI-powered candidate matching features like scorecard and summary for you to hire faster and better.
Frequently asked questions
Candidate summary in ATS is an advanced AI feature which provides a summary of the candidate’s work experience and skills based on their resume. The candidate summary ensures that the recruiter gets a gist of all the relevant information in the resume like skills, qualifications, experience and education in a few lines without the need to look into the resumes of the candidates.
When candidates upload their resumes, an AI-driven system parses the text and provides structured information in JSON format, making it easy to assess key data points. The rich text format during the conversion process is maintained to ensure the extracted content is clear, presentable, and retains the important details—such as bold or italicised text that showcases key achievements.
Candidate summary reduces time and bias, improves communication, facilitates future recruitment efforts, supports employer brand and provides a better candidate experience.
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