.

Here are 8 recruiting tools that we love and preach.

#1 Schedule Interviews

On average, how many emails do you need to send to secure a meeting time, whether it be on Skype or via the phone? Three? Four? Five? If you happen to be attempting an in-person appointment in a city like London you’re probably enjoying the ten-email conversation to secure that meeting at your local coffee spot, the one with your favourite bearded barista. But exhaust your email quota no more!

Calendly

By displaying your available times and dates to whomever you need to arrange a meeting with, Calendly allows for efficient scheduling… not to mention getting rid of the dreaded back and forths. Ten candidates need to arrange interview times? Simply send them your Calendly link and let them book their desired slot – no muss, no fuss. Once you confirm the booking the appointment is set, and is added directly to your calendar. Oh, Calendly also syncs across your different mail accounts, ensuring that you are never double-booked… as long as your clendar in up-to-date.

X.ai – Beta Access

Described by their beta tasters as “extremely thoughtful UX”, X.ai have created an AI scheduling service called Amy. Simply cc Amy into your initial email and let her do the rest. No apps, no installs. Kinda cool.

X.ai is currently in private Beta, however you can sign up for their tester waitlist here. I have.

#2 Communicate With Applicants

So. Many. Applicants. SO MANY MESSAGES!

So, so, annoying.

Sending out a form letter response to a ton of interested applicants? Need to deny some, invite some and hire some, and incredibly tired of awkward copy/paste issues and the hours it takes? It’s time to get your time back.

But how?

Yesware Gmail Plugin

The Yesware Gmail Plugin allows you to create and save templates for repeated/future yes. It’s incredibly simple, and you can easily add your chosen template from the “compose new” pop-up screen. Next time you need to thank 30 applicants for their time and invite them to schedule an appointment on your newly installed Calendly, Yesware will be there to optimise and save you time.

Gorgias

Gorgias is a rather nifty piece of software. Installed as a plugin, it allows you to create templates that correspond to a keyboard shortcut. Anything you find yourself typing repeatedly can be saved, whether it be a full, long form response or a swift “Kind regards”, and added into your message by entering the correct shortcut. Instead of 3 minutes of typing each response, imagine a swift 10 seconds of keystrokes creating the same outcome.

That’s definitely a time-saver. I’m saying goodbye to finger cramps as I install it.

Hire startup talent without recruitment agencies.

#3 Application Tracking Systems

OK. You have positions to fill, businesses to run, a world to conquer. Aaand then you discover that finding that perfect hire takes time. And attention to detail. And a system to manage all the applicants, filter the and track their progress through the hiring pipeline.

Good news – you don’t have to do it all yourself. These apps will save you time, money, and potentially the CV of your next best employee… you know, the one that may have accidentally been sent to spam.

Workable

Perfect for smaller companies, Workable is a comprehensive and intuitive applicant tracking system, and sets up a hiring ‘team’ for each job. From creating a branded careers page, through to pre-screening candidates to narrow down your search, Workable serves to streamline and automate the recruiting process as much as possible. Workable is extremely customisable, responsive across all devices and easy to use by yourself or as a team. It’s features include Facebook company page integration, bulk emails, the ability to add external recruiters and SO. MUCH. MORE.

Lever

Lever

If your company has over 40 employees, now would be the time to turn to Lever. With software very similar to Workable, Lever automates, streamlines and organises the hiring process from customised job page all the way through to appointment. Heralded as ATS meets CRM, Lever offers larger companies the ability to keep all candidate data in one place, easy accessible and in context. With data-based insights into your entire process and the opportunity to get the whole team involved in the hiring process, Lever is a fantastic resource for companies looking to scale quickly, and scale well.

Charlie

If you’ve ever wanted to make a good impression, whether via email or in person, Charlie is the tool for you. Charlie app can assist your recruiting efforts by helping you establish positive relationships with your candidates before they even walk in the door. By searching over 100’s of online and social sources for pertinent information before providing a one page ‘breakdown’ on the candidate, Charlie allows you to connect with people over things they really care about – be it a mutual friend, their favourite football team or their last venture. Charlie also saves you time on research – up to 30 minutes a day of Googling. When it comes time to reel in that next great hire, let Charlie help you out.

Hire startup talent without recruitment agencies.

#4 Offer the Right Compensation

You found the perfect hire. Problem is – they’re the perfect hire. How many other companies are you competing with for their talent? It might be none, or it might be many – but in order to close the deal with your perfect candidate you need to be able to offer the right compensation for their ‘perfect’ talent.

But how? To understand what their talent might be worth, you need to understand what demand for their talent looks like.

Startup Salaries

This nifty little calculator not only lets the user conceive what the average employee earns at a London startup, but it also reveals what the demand for their talent looks like in real time. By playing around with the three dropdown menus available (type of job, type of startup, years of experience) the calculator discloses three different results: what the average base salary of an employee (in that set of circumstances) is, how many job offers with shares they typically receive – and how many interview offers these candidates typically acquire on Kandidate.

The data is based on the salary earnings of over 2500 and job offers from over 100 companies (mostly post-series A) on Kandidate, including Uber and Transferwise, and so promises a fairly accurate reading on employee salary and demand in London startups.

Looking to hire startup talent without recruitment agencies? Join leading startups like Uber, GoCardless, Yieldify and more. Learn more at Kandidate.com