Ashby vs Lever in 2025: The Battle for Best ATS for Growing Startups (And Why It Actually Matters)

Both Ashby and Lever target growth-stage startups, but they take very different approaches. Here's how to figure out which one is right for your team.

Circa: The Diversity Recruiting Platform That Actually Tracks OFCCP Compliance (Without Making You Want to Scream)

Circa combines diversity-focused job distribution with OFCCP compliance tracking in one platform. Niche use case, but if you need it, you really need it.

Kula: The AI Recruiting Outreach Tool That Wants to Replace Your Sourcing Team (Or at Least Reduce It)

Kula promises AI-powered candidate outreach at scale with personalization that doesn't feel like spam. Does it work, or is this just another automation tool that gets you ignored faster?

BrightHire: Interview Recording and Intelligence Platform (Or Big Brother for Interview Compliance?)

BrightHire records interviews, generates notes, and analyzes interviewer performance. It's useful for consistency and compliance. It's also mildly dystopian. Both things can be true.

Gem's 2025 Updates: The Sourcing CRM Got Smarter (But Also More Expensive)

Gem rolled out significant AI features and workflow improvements in 2025. The platform is legitimately better, but the pricing increases are making some customers reconsider. Here's what actually changed.

Textkernel: The Resume Parsing Engine That Actually Works (And Powers Half the ATS Platforms You Already Use)

Most recruiters have used Textkernel without knowing it. This Dutch company's parsing and matching tech runs behind the scenes in dozens of major platforms. But is the standalone product worth it?

Vettery vs Hired: Reverse Recruiting Marketplaces Compared (Which One Actually Works?)

Both platforms promise candidates will come to you instead of the other way around. Both have strengths and limitations. Here's which one makes sense for your hiring needs.

Grayscale Review - Text Candidates at Scale Without Getting Blocked as Spam

Grayscale lets you text candidates en masse for high-volume recruiting. It's built for hourly hiring, warehouses, and retail - not white-collar desk jobs. Good for what it does, terrible if you use it wrong.

Metaview Review - AI Interview Notes That Don't Make You Sound Like a Robot

Metaview records interviews, generates notes, and analyzes interview quality using AI. It's one of the better interview intelligence tools that actually saves recruiters time instead of creating more work.

Remote.com Review - Hire Internationally Without Losing Your Mind (Or Your Money)

Remote.com handles global payroll, compliance, and benefits for international employees so you don't have to set up entities in 60 countries. EOR platforms are expensive, but Remote.com is one of the less-terrible options.

SourceWhale Review - Recruiting Outreach That Doesn't Feel Like Spam (Mostly)

SourceWhale automates recruiting outreach sequences so you can scale candidate engagement without manually sending 200 InMails. It's solid for agency recruiters and high-volume sourcing, less useful for boutique firms.

Cord: The Messaging-First Tech Recruiting Platform That Thinks Email Is Dead

HireRight Background Screening: Enterprise-Grade Checks That Take Forever

LinkedIn Recruiter 2025 Updates: What's New and Is It Worth the Price Hike?

Oyster HR for Global Hiring: EOR Platform That Doesn't Completely Suck

Apply4Me: When Candidates Automate Back At You

Findem: 3D Talent Data That Sounds Made Up But Isn't

JobAdder: The Recruitment CRM Agencies Actually Like

Paycor Recruiting: When Your Payroll System Wants to Do Everything

Avature - Enterprise CRM for Strategic Talent Acquisition

Fountain - High-Volume Hiring Platform for Frontline Workers

Gem vs Hiretual (hireEZ) - Sourcing Tool Head-to-Head Comparison

Sense - AI-Powered Talent Engagement and Communication

Dover Review: AI-Powered Recruiting Automation That's Either Genius or Lazy, Depending Who You Ask

Pinpoint ATS Review: Modern, Flexible, and Doesn't Make You Want to Throw Your Laptop

Rippling Review: The HR Platform That Does Recruiting Too (Whether That's Good or Bad)

Workstream Review: Text-First Hiring for When Your Candidates Don't Check Email

JazzHR Review: The Small Business ATS That Won't Bankrupt You

JazzHR markets itself as the affordable ATS for small businesses. Translation: fewer features, lower price. Here's whether cheap actually means good value.

Manatal Review: AI-Powered Recruiting That Actually Uses Social Media

Manatal promises AI-powered recruiting with social media enrichment. Translation: it stalks candidates' LinkedIn so you don't have to. Here's whether the AI is actually smart or just marketing hype.

Recruitee Review: Collaborative Hiring for Teams Who Actually Want Input

Recruitee built an ATS for companies where hiring is a team sport, not a recruiter dictatorship. Does the collaboration actually work or is it just committee chaos?

Teamtailor Review: The ATS That Actually Gives a Damn About Your Career Site

If your current ATS makes your career page look like it was built in 2007, Teamtailor wants to fix that. Here's whether it actually delivers.

ClearCompany ATS Review: When Your Recruiting Tool Has an Identity Crisis

ClearCompany wants to be your ATS, performance management system, and employee engagement platform all in one. Does it succeed at everything or fail at most things? Let's find out.

Crelate ATS Review: Built for Staffing Agencies, Tolerates Everyone Else

Crelate is an ATS specifically designed for staffing agencies and recruiting firms. Does it actually solve agency problems, or is it just another database with delusions of grandeur?

VONQ Review: Job Advertising Platform for People Who Take Marketing Seriously

VONQ wants to bring actual marketing strategy to job advertising. Does it work, or is it just expensive job board posting with better branding?

Wellfound (AngelList Talent) Review: Startup Recruiting for the 'We Have Equity' Crowd

Wellfound wants to be the go-to platform for startup recruiting. Does it deliver, or is it just another place where 'competitive salary' means below market plus worthless equity?

Breezy HR: The ATS for Teams Too Poor for Greenhouse (2025 Review)

Hired: Where Companies Apply to Candidates (And It's Somehow Not a Disaster)

Jobvite: The Recruiting Dinosaur That Refuses to Die (2025 Review)

Loxo: The Recruiting Platform That Actually Understands Agency Life (2025 Review)

Fetcher: AI Sourcing That Actually Finds Candidates While You Sleep

Fetcher automates the soul-crushing parts of sourcing. Whether that's worth the price depends on how much you value your sanity.

Humanly: Conversational AI for When You're Hiring Humans in Bulk

Humanly automates screening and scheduling through chat for high-volume roles. It's cheaper than Paradox and almost as good. Almost.

Paradox (Olivia): The AI Recruiter Your Candidates Actually Want to Talk To

Paradox's AI assistant handles scheduling, screening, and FAQs so you don't have to. High-volume hiring teams swear by it. Everyone else should think twice.

SeekOut: The Diversity Sourcing Tool That Actually Finds Hidden Talent

SeekOut promises to find candidates everyone else misses, especially underrepresented talent. The technology delivers. The price tag hurts.

Beamery: The Talent Lifecycle Platform That'll Cost You a Small Fortune

Beamery wants to manage your entire talent relationship lifecycle. Your finance team wants to know why your recruiting software costs more than some employees.

Eightfold AI: The Talent Intelligence Platform That Claims to Reduce Bias (Does It?)

Eightfold promises AI that surfaces hidden talent and reduces hiring bias. The technology is impressive. The claims deserve scrutiny.

Hireology: The ATS Built for Franchises and Multi-Location Chaos

Hireology solves the specific nightmare of hiring across dozens of locations with different managers, different needs, and one corporate team trying to maintain sanity.

Phenom People: The Enterprise Talent Experience Platform That Wants to Own Your Entire Hiring Journey

Phenom promises to transform recruiting from transactional to experiential. But at enterprise pricing, is the juice worth the squeeze?

Krisp.ai - Noise Cancellation That Actually Works for Phone and Video Interviews

Krisp uses AI to eliminate background noise, barking dogs, crying babies, and construction sounds from your calls—making you sound professional even when your environment isn't. Essential for remote recruiters and candidates interviewing from home.

Otter.ai - Interview Transcription and Notes So You Can Actually Listen

Otter.ai transcribes your phone screens and video interviews in real-time, generates summaries, and extracts action items—so you can focus on conversation instead of frantically typing notes. Game-changing for interview quality and candidate experience.

Slack Integrations for Recruiting Teams - Turn Chat into Your Command Center

Slack isn't just team chat—it's your recruiting command center when you integrate your ATS, calendar, and hiring tools. Get candidate updates, schedule interviews, and collaborate on hiring decisions without leaving Slack.

Zapier for Recruiting - Connect Your Entire Tech Stack Without Writing Code

Zapier lets you build recruiting automation workflows that connect your ATS, email, calendar, Slack, and 6,000+ other tools—no developers required. If you're manually copying data between systems, you're wasting hours that could be spent actually recruiting.

Airtable For Recruiting - The Budget ATS That Actually Doesn't Suck

Forget dropping $20K/year on a clunky ATS. Airtable is the recruiting workflow tool you didn't know you needed. Customizable candidate pipelines, automated follow-ups, collaboration features, and it costs $20/month. Tech recruiters and startups are using it as a lightweight ATS replacement—and honestly, it slaps harder than most enterprise recruiting platforms.

Grammarly Business For Recruiters - Because Typos In Job Descriptions Make You Look Unprofessional

Recruiters send hundreds of emails, write dozens of job descriptions, and message countless candidates. One typo can kill your credibility. Grammarly Business catches grammar mistakes, suggests tone improvements, checks for clarity, and helps you sound professional without spending 20 minutes editing every message. It's $15/month per user and works everywhere you write. Your candidates will judge you for typos—don't give them the chance.

Hunter.io And Apollo.io For Finding Candidate Contact Info - Because LinkedIn InMail Is Expensive And Ineffective

LinkedIn InMail costs $100/month and has terrible response rates. Hunter.io and Apollo.io let you find candidate email addresses, phone numbers, and contact info for a fraction of the cost. Hunter is $49/month for email finding. Apollo is $49-$99/month for emails plus phone numbers and intent data. Recruiters are using these tools to bypass LinkedIn's paywall and reach candidates directly—and response rates are better.

Trello For Recruiting - The $10/Month Candidate Pipeline That Actually Works

Trello isn't just for project management—recruiters are using it as a dead-simple candidate pipeline tracker. Visual Kanban boards, drag-and-drop candidates through stages, collaborate with hiring managers, and it costs $10/month. It's not a full ATS, but for small teams or solo recruiters who want to stop using spreadsheets without spending thousands, Trello hits different.

AI Resume Screening Tools Compared - Fetcher, Paradox, HireVue, And The Ones That Actually Work

AI resume screening promises to eliminate the grind of reading 500 resumes. But which tools actually work vs. which ones just automate bias and reject qualified candidates? We compared the major players to find out which are worth the investment.

Calendly Alternatives For Recruiters - Chili Piper, YouCanBook.me, And Others That Don't Suck

Calendly is everywhere but it's not always the best interview scheduling tool. Chili Piper has better routing, YouCanBook.me is cheaper, Cal.com is open-source, and SavvyCal respects candidates' time. Here's which one actually fits recruiting workflows.

Using Notion For Recruiting - The Poor Man's ATS That Actually Works

Your ATS is expensive, clunky, and nobody likes using it. Notion costs $10/month and recruiters are building entire hiring workflows that are somehow better than enterprise recruiting software. Here's how they're doing it and whether you should too.

Greenhouse Onboarding Review - Finally, An Onboarding Platform That Doesn't Suck

Greenhouse Onboarding picks up where your ATS stops and actually makes new hire onboarding not terrible. Clean interface, smart workflows, solid integrations. Here's whether it's worth the premium price tag.

iCIMS ATS Review - The Enterprise Recruiting Platform That's Everywhere (For Better Or Worse)

iCIMS dominates enterprise recruiting. It's powerful, customizable, and can handle massive hiring volume. It's also clunky, expensive, and makes candidates want to throw their laptops. Here's the full breakdown.

Using LinkedIn Sales Navigator For Recruiting - The Hack Nobody Talks About

Recruiters are limited by LinkedIn Recruiter's filters and pricing. Sales Navigator costs 1/3 as much and has better search. Here's how to use it for recruiting (and why LinkedIn would prefer you didn't).

Toggl Hire Review - Skills Testing That Doesn't Make Candidates Rage Quit

Toggl Hire is a skills assessment platform that actually respects candidates' time. Quick tests, practical questions, auto-grading, and affordable pricing. Here's whether it beats your current resume screening process.

Bullhorn ATS Review: The Staffing Agency Beast That's Ugly, Expensive, and Unavoidable

Bullhorn dominates staffing agency recruiting software for a reason—it's built for the unique chaos of agency life. Whether that's worth the steep price and 1990s UI is another question entirely.

SmartRecruiters Review: The AI-Powered Platform That Promises Everything (And Almost Delivers)

SmartRecruiters pitches itself as the modern, AI-enhanced recruiting platform that does it all—and it actually comes closer than most, as long as you can stomach the pricing and occasional overpromising.

Workable ATS Review: The Goldilocks Platform That's Just Right for Mid-Sized Companies

Workable sits in the sweet spot between overcomplicated enterprise systems and underwhelming startup tools—but whether that's enough to justify the price depends on what you actually need.

ZipRecruiter for Employers Review: The Volume Hiring Machine That's Better Than It Has Any Right to Be

ZipRecruiter built its reputation on job seeker side, but the employer platform is surprisingly capable for small-to-mid-sized companies that need to hire quickly without drowning in complexity.

Crosschq Review: Reference Checking That's Actually Useful (For Once)

Crosschq turns the nightmare of reference checking into automated, data-driven intelligence. Here's whether it's worth the investment or just another HR tech gimmick.

LinkedIn Recruiter Lite vs Full: Which Overpriced Option Should You Pick?

LinkedIn's got two recruiting products that'll drain your budget. Here's the brutal breakdown of Recruiter Lite vs Recruiter Full so you can choose your poison wisely.

Modern Hire Review: Pre-Employment Assessments That Actually Predict Performance

Modern Hire (formerly Montage) combines video interviewing, assessments, and AI-powered insights to help you make better hiring decisions. Here's whether the science backs up the marketing.

Spark Hire Review: Video Interviews That Don't Make Candidates Rage-Quit

Spark Hire focuses on live video interviews instead of the one-way garbage that everyone hates. Here's whether it's worth using and how it stacks up against Zoom.

Ashby ATS Review: The Analytics Powerhouse That's Worth the Price Tag

Ashby is the ATS for teams that actually care about data. It's expensive, complex, and absolutely worth it if you're serious about analytics-driven recruiting.

BambooHR Recruiting Module Review: Great HRIS, Mediocre ATS

BambooHR's recruiting module is convenient if you already use their HRIS, but it's not going to impress recruiters used to dedicated ATS platforms. Here's what actually works and what doesn't.

Calendly vs. GoodTime: Which Interview Scheduling Tool Is Actually Worth It?

Calendly is simple and cheap. GoodTime is powerful and expensive. Here's how to figure out which interview scheduling tool your recruiting team actually needs.

SeekOut Review: The Sourcing Platform That Actually Finds Hidden Talent

SeekOut promises to find candidates LinkedIn can't. After seeing what it can do, I'm convinced it's the most powerful sourcing tool most recruiters aren't using yet.

Checkr Background Check Review: Fast, Automated, and Occasionally Wrong

Checkr dominates the background check space with speed and automation. But when accuracy issues pop up, candidates pay the price. Here's what you need to know before you use them.

Gem CRM Review: The Recruiting Platform That Actually Understands Recruiters

Gem promises to revolutionize recruiting workflows with relationship management and sourcing automation. After months of testing, here's what actually works and what's just marketing fluff.

Lever ATS Review 2025: Beautiful Interface, But You'll Pay $12K/Year for Features You Could Get Elsewhere for $4K

Lever is one of the most popular ATS platforms with a gorgeous UI and strong candidate experience. But at $12K-$18K per year for small teams, you're paying a premium for design over functionality.

Textio Review: Can AI Actually Write Better Job Descriptions?

Textio uses AI to analyze and improve your job postings, promising better candidate quality and higher application rates. I tested it on 30 real job posts to see if the hype is justified.

Deel Recruiting: Built for Global Hiring, But the ATS Features Feel Like an Afterthought

Deel is known for global payroll and compliance. Now it offers recruiting features to help companies hire international talent. The global hiring integration is seamless—but the actual ATS functionality is basic compared to Greenhouse or Lever.

HireVue Video Interviewing Platform: Powerful AI Analysis, But Candidates Feel Like They're Talking to a Wall

HireVue offers AI-powered interview analysis, facial expression evaluation, and speech pattern analysis. But candidate feedback consistently flags one problem: the asynchronous interview experience feels impersonal and awkward.

Juicebox AI Recruiting: Searches 800M+ Profiles, But Tends to Surface the Same 'Perfect Candidate' Everyone Else is Recruiting

Juicebox is an AI-powered recruiting tool that searches 800M+ public profiles across 30+ data sources. The AI matching is impressive—but it often recommends the same high-profile candidates that every other recruiter is already messaging.

TestGorilla Skills Assessment Platform: Great Tests, But You'll Spend Hours Building Custom Assessments

TestGorilla offers 300+ pre-built tests covering technical skills, cognitive ability, personality, and role-specific knowledge—perfect for skills-based hiring. The tests are well-designed, but setup is time-consuming and requires calibration to be useful.

BrightView Video Interviewing Platform: Solid For Volume Hiring, Frustrating For Technical Roles (Full Review)

BrightView promises to streamline first-round interviews with AI-powered video screening. It works well for high-volume non-technical roles, but falls short for technical interviews. Here's what works, what doesn't, and whether it's worth $299/month.

Calendly For Recruiting: Simple Scheduling, Limited Features (Is It Enough For Hiring Teams?)

Calendly makes interview scheduling painless with automatic calendar coordination. But it lacks recruiting-specific features like panel coordination and ATS integration. Here's when Calendly works for hiring—and when you need a specialized tool.

SkillCheck Assessment Platform: Great Technical Tests, Terrible Candidate Experience (Review)

SkillCheck offers comprehensive technical assessments for engineering and data roles. The tests are rigorous and well-designed. But candidates hate the platform's clunky interface and 2-hour time commitment. Here's what works and what doesn't.

TalentFlow ATS Review: Modern Interface, Frustrating Integrations (2025 Update)

TalentFlow is a modern applicant tracking system with a clean interface and strong candidate pipeline features. But integration issues and limited reporting make it frustrating for data-driven teams. Here's our full review after 90 days of use.

Candidate Texting Platforms: Which SMS Tools Actually Get Responses (And When Texting Candidates Is Appropriate)

Phone calls go unanswered. Emails get ignored. But candidates respond to text messages. Here's which texting platforms work best for recruiting—and when to use them without being creepy.

Employer Branding Platforms: Which Tools Actually Improve Candidate Perception (Not Just Create Pretty Career Pages)

Employer branding platforms promise to make your company attractive to candidates. Some deliver measurable improvements. Others are expensive website builders. Here's which ones actually move the needle on perception and applications.

Job Board Aggregators: Which Tools Actually Increase Applications (And Which Just Spam Your Job Across Useless Boards)

Job board aggregators promise to post your jobs to 100+ boards with one click. Some deliver quality applicants. Others flood you with unqualified spam. Here's which aggregators work and which waste your money.

Onboarding Software Platforms: Which Tools Actually Improve New Hire Retention (Not Just Digitize Paperwork)

Most onboarding software just digitizes paperwork. The best platforms improve new hire engagement and reduce early attrition. Here's which ones deliver real retention value, not just compliance checklists.

Employee Referral Software: Which Platforms Actually Increase Referrals (Without Annoying Your Employees)

Employee referrals are your best source of quality hires—but only if employees actually participate. Here's which referral platforms make it easy for employees to refer without feeling like they're spamming their networks.

Recruiting Analytics Platforms: Which Tools Actually Provide Insights (Not Just Pretty Dashboards Full Of Useless Metrics)

Your ATS has reporting. But it's limited, manual, and doesn't connect to other data sources. Recruiting analytics platforms promise real insights. Here's which ones deliver actionable data instead of vanity metrics.

Recruiting CRM Platforms: Which Tools Actually Help You Build Talent Pipelines (Not Just Store Resumes)

Your ATS manages active candidates. A recruiting CRM manages everyone else—passive talent, warm leads, and future hires. Here's which platforms actually help you build relationships, not just databases.

Video Interviewing Platforms Compared: HireVue vs Spark Hire vs Modern Hire (And When Zoom Is Good Enough)

Dedicated video interviewing platforms offer features Zoom doesn't—async interviews, AI analysis, structured evaluation. But are they worth the cost? Here's how the major platforms compare.

Background Check Providers Compared: Which One Is Fast, Accurate, And Won't Destroy Your Candidate Experience

Background checks are mandatory but painful. Slow turnaround loses candidates. Inaccurate reports create legal nightmares. Here's which providers actually work.

Interview Intelligence Platforms: AI Note-Taking That Actually Helps (And Doesn't Creep Out Candidates)

AI interview intelligence platforms record, transcribe, and analyze interviews so you can focus on the conversation. Some are genuinely helpful. Others feel like surveillance. Here's which ones work.

Skills Assessment Platforms: Which Ones Actually Predict Job Performance (And Which Are Just Expensive Personality Quizzes)

Skills assessments promise to identify top talent objectively. Some deliver real predictive value. Others are astrology for HR. Here's which platforms work.

Best ATS For Small Businesses: Which Platforms Won't Crush Your Budget Or Overwhelm Your Team

Enterprise ATS platforms cost $50K+ annually. Small businesses need something simpler and cheaper. Here's what actually works for teams making 5-20 hires per year.

AI Interview Scheduling Tools That Actually Save Time (And The Ones That Don't)

Scheduling interviews shouldn't take 15 emails. These AI tools promise to automate the process. Some deliver. Some create more problems than they solve.

Automated Reference Checking Platforms: Which Ones Actually Get Honest Feedback?

Traditional reference checks are slow, biased, and rarely reveal anything useful. These automated platforms promise better data faster. Some deliver. Others just digitize the same old problems.

Recruitment CRM Platforms Compared: Which One Actually Helps You Build Relationships?

Your ATS tracks applicants. A recruitment CRM builds relationships with passive talent. Here's how the top platforms compare and which one fits your workflow.

Recruitment Marketing Platforms Worth The Investment (And The Ones That Aren't)

Posting jobs isn't enough anymore. You need recruitment marketing—employer branding, candidate nurture, and talent attraction. Here's which platforms actually deliver ROI.

Ceipal's Q1 2025 Updates: Streamlined Hiring, Billing, and Payroll—But Is It Worth Switching?

Ceipal rolled out major improvements to hiring workflows and LinkedIn integration. Good updates, but are they enough to justify ripping out your current ATS?

Juicebox's 'Find Similar Profiles' Feature Finds 900+ Lookalikes in Seconds—Does It Actually Work?

Juicebox claims its AI can find 900 similar candidates from one profile. That's either revolutionary or complete BS. Let's find out which.

Voice AI Pre-Screening Is Here: Candidates Talk to Bots Before They Talk to You

AI is now conducting actual voice interviews with candidates, analyzing their responses, and deciding who moves forward. This is either efficient or dystopian. Maybe both.

AltHire TalentBoost Claims 60% Faster Time-to-Hire—I Tested It and Here's the Truth

AltHire is marketing TalentBoost as the solution to slow hiring processes, promising 60% faster time-to-hire. Does it deliver, or is this another overpromised recruiting tool that underdelivers?

HireBuddy QuickScreen Claims to Cut 95% of Screening Time—Does It Actually Work?

HireBuddy QuickScreen promises to eliminate 95% of resume screening time and cost. I put it through real-world testing to see if it lives up to the hype or if this is just another AI screening tool that overpromises.

PageUp's AI Skills Matching with Paige: Revolutionary or Just Rebranded Resume Parsing?

PageUp is marketing their new AI assistant "Paige" as next-gen skills matching technology. I tested it for a month to see if it actually delivers or if this is just another overhyped AI rebrand.

AR/VR Onboarding Platforms: Future of Remote Hiring or Expensive Gimmick?

Meta, Talespin, and others are betting big on virtual reality onboarding for remote hires. But is strapping a headset on new employees actually better than Zoom calls, or is this just tech hype?

Blockchain Credential Verification: Solving Resume Fraud or Overhyped Tech?

Blockchain platforms promise to end resume lies and fake degrees forever. But do recruiters actually need distributed ledgers to verify credentials, or is this just crypto bros invading HR?

Nova AI Recruiter from Peoplebox: The Anti-LinkedIn Hiring Assistant?

Peoplebox just launched Nova, an AI recruiting agent that claims to do everything LinkedIn's Hiring Assistant does—but cheaper and without locking you into LinkedIn's ecosystem. Is it legit or just riding the AI agent hype wave?

Predictive Analytics for Recruiting: Which Platforms Actually Work?

Everyone's talking about predicting quality of hire, retention, and performance before making offers. But do these platforms deliver, or is it just expensive snake oil? Let's cut through the hype.

AI Scheduling Assistants: I Tested 6 Tools So You Don't Have To

Interview scheduling shouldn't require 12 emails. I tested every major AI scheduling assistant to find out which ones actually save time and which ones create more work.

LinkedIn Recruiter Lite vs. Full: Stop Overpaying for Features You Don't Use

One costs $170/month, the other costs $800+/month. I tested both for 90 days to figure out who actually needs the expensive version and who's just burning budget.

Mobile Recruiting Apps: Which Ones Actually Let You Recruit From Your Phone

Candidates apply from their phones. Your hiring managers are never at desks. So why is your recruiting software still built for desktop? I tested 8 mobile recruiting apps to find the ones that actually work.

Eightfold vs. Beamery vs. Loxo: The Talent Intelligence Platform Showdown

Everyone's pivoting to talent intelligence, but which platform actually delivers? I tested the big three to find out which one is worth the enterprise price tag.

Candidate Texting Platforms: Because Nobody Answers Their Phone Anymore

Email response rates are tanking. Phone screens are dying. Text messaging is how candidates actually want to communicate. But most texting platforms are spam machines in disguise.

Recruiting Analytics Dashboards: Pretty Charts That Tell You Nothing

Your ATS has recruiting dashboards. So does your HRIS. And your sourcing tool. But which numbers actually matter? I tested 7 analytics platforms to find out.

Recruiting CRMs: The Tool You Don't Know You Need (Until You Do)

Most companies don't think they need a recruiting CRM until their talent pipeline is a disaster. Here's when a CRM actually makes sense and when it's just extra software bloat.

Reference Checking Software: Automating The Part Nobody Actually Wants to Do

Reference checks are tedious, time-consuming, and candidates always give you references who will say nice things. Can software make this less painful? I tested 5 platforms to find out.

AI Resume Screening Tools in 2025: Which Ones Don't Suck?

Everyone's selling AI screening, but most of it is garbage. Here's what actually works and what's just expensive snake oil.

Boolean Search in 2025: Still Useful or Totally Outdated?

AI sourcing tools promise to make Boolean search obsolete. But the recruiters finding the best candidates are still using these techniques. Here's why.

The Only Chrome Extensions Recruiters Actually Need in 2025

Your browser has 47 extensions and you use 3 of them. Here are the Chrome extensions that actually make recruiting easier, not just clutter.

Video Interview Platforms: HireVue vs Zoom vs Everything Else

Everyone's doing video interviews now, but which platform doesn't make you want to throw your laptop out the window? Let's compare.

Checkr vs. Traditional Background Check Companies: The Speed vs. Accuracy Debate

Checkr promises faster, cheaper background checks through technology. But are they actually reliable, or are you sacrificing accuracy for speed?

Ashby: The ATS for Data Nerds Who Actually Know What They're Doing

Most ATS platforms have basic reporting. Ashby has analytics that would make a data scientist happy. But is it overkill, or is this the future of recruiting?

Your ATS is Trash: 10 Features That Actually Matter in 2025

If your recruiting software doesn't have these features, it's time to break up with it. No shade, just facts.

Textio: Does AI-Powered Job Description Writing Actually Work?

Textio claims their AI can make your job postings more effective and less biased. But does it actually improve your hiring results, or is it just expensive word processing?

Spark Hire: The Video Interview Tool That Doesn't Make Candidates Hate You

Most video interview platforms are terrible for candidate experience. Spark Hire is actually decent. Let's talk about why—and where it still falls short.

SeekOut vs. hireEZ: Which AI Sourcing Tool Doesn't Suck?

Both platforms promise to revolutionize candidate sourcing with AI. But which one actually delivers, and which is just burning your budget?

Is LinkedIn Recruiter Worth $10K/Year? Let's Do the Math

LinkedIn Recruiter costs more than some people's cars. But is it actually worth it, or can you get by with the free version and some creativity?

Workable vs. Lever: Which ATS Actually Deserves Your Money?

Both are popular, both are pricey, and both claim to be the best ATS on the market. Let's settle this with actual facts instead of marketing fluff.

HireVue's AI Interview Platform: Game-Changer or Creepy Dystopia?

HireVue promises to revolutionize hiring with AI-powered video interviews. But is it actually effective, or are we just making candidates uncomfortable for no good reason?

Is Greenhouse Actually Worth the Hype? A Brutally Honest Review

Everyone and their recruiter raves about Greenhouse. But is it really that good, or just expensive marketing? Let's talk real talk about whether this ATS lives up to the price tag.