How do I re-engage candidates already in our ATS instead of paying for job boards?
Most agencies have thousands of candidates in their ATS and still pay for job board ads to find people they already know.
- Our database is out of date.
- Job boards are expensive.
- How do we contact old candidates?
Clean and tag your database: current role, skills, location, salary and availability. Search it first for every new role. Send targeted messages to matching candidates about specific roles, and run a regular profile update campaign so data stays current. Track placements from database candidates versus job boards.
Database health
- Remove duplicates.
- Tag skills, seniority and location.
- Record last contact date.
- Ask candidates to update profiles twice a year.
Measure
| Source | Placements | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Your database | ||
| Job boards | ||
| Referrals |
How we look at it at ShoutEx
We set up data clean-up, update campaigns and targeted messaging in your ATS.
- Job boards first.
- Untagged database.
- Mass generic emails.
- No consent records.
- Database first.
- Tagged profiles.
- Targeted messages.
- Placement source tracked.
What recruiters and regulators say
Here is what recruiters and regulators say.
Candidate data must be accurate, used for its purpose and kept no longer than needed.
Read PIPEDA in brief →Email to candidates about roles may need consent records.
Read the CRTC FAQ →Community summaries describe recurring themes in public threads, not individual posts. Vendor pages describe vendor claims, so test them on your own calls.
Read next
Go deeper in the ShoutEx guides, or check the sources behind this answer.
We'll clean the data and set up re-engagement.
Book a call →Follow-up questions
How long can we keep candidate data?
Only as long as needed for its purpose. Set a policy.
Can AI match candidates to roles?
It can rank. Recruiters check.
Should we text candidates?
Many prefer it. Keep consent records.