Updated 27 Oct 2026, by Dev Rishi Khare
An applicant tracking system, or ATS, is software employers use to collect applications and manage candidates through hiring stages. It keeps resumes, notes, feedback, messages, and decisions together, giving recruiters and hiring managers one current record instead of scattered inboxes and spreadsheets.
What is an applicant tracking system?
An applicant tracking system, or ATS, is software that collects job applications and moves candidates through hiring stages. It stores resumes, notes, feedback, messages, and decisions in one place. Recruiters and hiring managers can review current records together without losing candidates across separate inboxes, documents, or spreadsheets.
What is an applicant tracking system used for?
Employers use an ATS to publish jobs, collect applications, review resumes, track stages, gather feedback, and communicate with candidates. Some products also score resumes. Curriculo's Resume screening agent gives each candidate a score with written reasoning, while a human reviews that information and makes every hiring decision.
Read the ATS definition, see what an ATS does each day, and learn how to choose an ATS.
FAQ
What is an applicant tracking system?
An applicant tracking system, or ATS, is software that collects job applications and moves candidates through hiring stages. It stores resumes, notes, feedback, messages, and decisions in one place. Recruiters and hiring managers can review current records together without losing candidates across separate inboxes, documents, or spreadsheets.
What is an applicant tracking system used for?
Employers use an ATS to publish jobs, collect applications, review resumes, track stages, gather feedback, and communicate with candidates. Some products also score resumes. Curriculo's Resume screening agent gives each candidate a score with written reasoning, while a human reviews that information and makes every hiring decision.