ATS integration: what connects to your ATS and how to plan it

ATS integration connects your applicant tracking system (ATS) to other hiring tools so candidate data moves between them without anyone retyping it.

For a recruiter, every tool that doesn't connect means copying names, notes, and statuses by hand, and each copy is a fresh chance for an error. The right connections also decide whether your pipeline reports match what the hiring manager or client sees.

What is ATS integration?

ATS integration is the link that lets your applicant tracking system send data to and receive data from the other tools in your hiring process. Instead of entering a candidate in three places, you enter them once and the connected tools share that record. A stage change in one tool can then show up in the others without a recruiter touching it.

The idea has been around for years. SHRM reported in 2011 that recruiting experts already saw the ATS as a hub for video interviewing, background checks, assessments, and onboarding. That hub role is why the first question to ask about any new hiring tool is how it connects to the ATS.

The ATS still holds the core record: the opening, the people who applied, and where each one sits in the process. Integrations add the work that happens around that record, like scheduling interviews, sending tests, and collecting signed offers.

Common ATS integrations

The tools worth connecting to an ATS are the ones that find, screen, schedule, and hire candidates, and each one saves a specific kind of manual work.

Some of these features may not come with your ATS at all. In 2022, an HR tech consultant told SHRM that an ATS module inside a human resources information system (HRIS) can lack resume parsing and on-demand video interviewing. Features like those can need a third-party subscription and an integration before your team can use them.

The HRIS link matters most at the finish line, when a candidate becomes an employee. SHRM's HR technology guide says new-hire data flows into core systems once an offer is accepted when the ATS connects to the HRIS. That cuts rekeying and errors. Our walkthrough of HRIS integration covers the payroll side in more detail.

Check sourcing gaps before you connect a tool

Sourcing decides what enters your pipeline in the first place, so check its gaps before anything else. A sourcing tool that pushes stale emails or missing phone numbers into the ATS fills it with candidates you can't reach. Before you connect one, pull a sample of profiles and check whether the contact details are current and whether candidates agreed to be contacted.

Also look at how location, work authorization, and relocation details arrive in the ATS. If they land as free-text notes instead of fields, you can't filter on them later when a hiring manager asks for local candidates only.

How ATS integrations work

Integrations run on a handful of methods, and the method decides how fast data moves and who keeps the link working.

• Native connectors: Prebuilt links that the ATS vendor or the tool vendor maintains. You switch them on in settings and map a few fields, with little or no developer help.
• APIs: An application programming interface (API) lets one system request data from another or send data to it on demand. It's flexible, but someone has to write and maintain the code.
• Unified APIs: A single API that connects to many ATS products at once. Tool vendors build on these so they don't have to write a separate link for each ATS.
• File transfers: Scheduled exports, such as a nightly spreadsheet dropped into a shared folder. They're slow and break when a column changes, but they work when nothing else is offered.
• Webhooks: Automatic messages that one system sends the moment something happens, like a candidate moving to the offer stage. They keep updates close to real time.

When a vendor says its tool "integrates" with your ATS, ask which of these methods it uses. A native connector puts upkeep on the vendor, while a custom API build puts it on your team or your IT group.

Decide what to connect first and test it

Plan each connection by deciding which tool owns which field, then test it on one opening before you switch it on for every role. Start with the tool your team copies data out of most each day. Then work toward the offer: scheduling, assessments and checks, e-signature, and the HRIS last.

• Map the fields: List every field each tool sends, like name, email, stage, and source. Match each one to an ATS field and flag anything that has no home.
• Pick a system of record: For each field, decide which system wins when two disagree. The ATS can own stage and status, while the HRIS owns start date and pay details.
• Test with one opening: Run a single live role through the connection first, such as a nurse manager opening or a warehouse supervisor search. Check every record that lands in the ATS against the source tool.
• Watch for duplicates: The same candidate can arrive from a job board and a sourcing tool with slightly different emails. Set a match rule, such as email plus phone, and review merges by hand at first.

Skipping these steps has a cost. SHRM's recruiting guide warns that integrating disparate systems can lead to data silos or quality issues that hurt collaboration and accurate reporting. That's also why SHRM's buying advice tells ATS buyers to check how well a system will integrate with the rest of their HR technology.

Agency recruiters have one extra step. The client's ATS can be the system of record, so confirm with the client which fields you're allowed to write before you connect anything. If you're reworking your whole recruiting tech stack, plan these connections in the same pass so each tool has one clear job.

ATS vs CRM: what's the difference?

An ATS tracks applicants against open jobs. A candidate relationship management (CRM) tool tracks your relationships with people over time, whether or not a role is open.

The ATS answers who applied to this opening and where each person stands. The CRM answers who you know, when you last spoke with them, and who might fit a role next quarter.

When a strong finalist doesn't get the offer, the integration can send them back to the CRM as a warm lead. Your next search then starts with people you've already vetted. Our guide to choosing a recruitment CRM covers that side.

Start with the tool you rekey most

Your first step this week is a list of every tool your team copies candidate data out of by hand. Rank that list by how many records you move each week, and connect the top tool first. Use the field map and the one-opening test above before you turn it on for every role.