What is an applicant tracking system?

Updated 11 October 2026

What it is

An applicant tracking system, or ATS, is the software an employer uses to run recruitment. It publishes the vacancy on the careers page, provides the application form, stores every application, and lets the recruiter and the hiring manager move candidates through stages: new, reviewed, interview, offer, declined. The emails you receive ("Thank you for applying") come from it.

From your side you only ever see its form. That is why applying to two unrelated companies can feel identical: they rent the same system.

The systems you will meet

There are dozens. Smaller and fast-growing employers tend to use Greenhouse, Lever, Ashby, Workable, Teamtailor, Recruitee, Personio or Breezy. Very large employers often use Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, Oracle or iCIMS. You can usually tell which by the address of the application page:

Many employers show these pages under their own web address, so the system's name is not always visible.

What happens to your application inside it

1. It is stored with your answers and your CV, under the vacancy you applied for.
2. Your CV may be read by software so that your name, contact details and work history can be shown as fields. This is why plain formatting matters: a CV in two columns or as an image can come out scrambled.
3. Knockout questions are checked. If the employer has set a question as a requirement, a "no" can decline the application automatically.
4. A person reads it, usually in the order applications arrived or sorted by the answers to the screening questions.

The widely repeated claim that a robot bins most CVs before a human sees them is not how most of these systems work. The bigger risk is simpler: the recruiter runs out of time before reaching yours.

What this means for you

• Use a plain CV. Standard headings, selectable text, PDF or Word.
• Use the posting's own words where they are true of you. Recruiters search and skim for them.
• Take the screening questions seriously. They are often read before the CV.
• Apply early, while the list is short. See how to apply for jobs faster.

Why Jobofinder cares which system it is

Because each system's form is built the same way for every employer that uses it, software can learn to fill it in reliably. Jobofinder applies for you on careers pages run by Greenhouse, Lever, Ashby, Recruitee, Workable, Teamtailor, Personio and Breezy. On other systems it tells you about matching jobs and you apply yourself, or, on the Pro plan, the browser extension fills in the form in your own browser and you press submit.

Common questions

Does an ATS reject CVs automatically?

Mostly it does not. In most systems a person looks at the applications. What can happen automatically is a knockout question: if the form asks whether you have the right to work in the country and you answer no, the system may be set to decline you. Answer those questions carefully.

Do I need a special ATS-friendly CV?

You need a plain one: ordinary headings, text that can be selected (not a picture of text), no tables or columns that scramble when read by software, and a common file type such as PDF or Word.

How can I tell which system an employer uses?

Look at the address of the page with the application form. It often contains the system's name, such as greenhouse.io, lever.co, ashbyhq.com, workable.com, teamtailor.com, personio or breezy.hr.