18 free recruiting tools you should invest in ASAP

Finding it difficult to find the right candidates under a tight recruitment budget?

Check out our list of the top 18 free recruiting tools to invest in and take your hiring process to the next level.

What are recruiting tools?

Recruiting tools are software applications, platforms, and resources designed to facilitate and enhance the hiring process. 

They help organizations source, attract, assess, and onboard the best talent while saving time and resources. 

These tools are essential in today’s competitive job market, as they enable recruiters to manage multiple tasks efficiently, streamline processes, and make informed data-driven decisions.

18 FREE recruiting tools to streamline your recruitment process

Applicant Tracking Systems

1. Recruit CRM

Recruit CRM is a powerful, user-friendly applicant tracking system which helps to streamline the recruitment process. It combines robust ATS and CRM capabilities to effectively manage candidates and is globally recognized for providing the best customer support to its users.

This tool helps recruiters track candidates throughout the hiring process, automate routine tasks, collaborate with team members and much more. It’s completely free to get started with but to fully utilize its capabilities, you’ll need to select the plan that best suits your needs.

Book a demo here.

Tips to use Recruit CRM properly

• Customize your recruitment pipeline to reflect your organization’s hiring stages.
• Make use of filter search to target specific keywords.
• Use the advanced AI resume parser to save time.
• Send personalized emails to 100s of candidates or contacts at once.
• Link any note, call log, or meeting to multiple records
• Leverage built-in analytics to track and optimize your recruitment process.

Also read: 10 awesome Recruit CRM features that our customers love

2. Freshteam

Freshteam is a cloud-based ATS that streamlines the recruitment process, from job posting to onboarding. It offers a user-friendly interface and powerful features for small and medium-sized businesses.

Freshteam helps recruiters manage job postings, track applicants, schedule interviews, and collaborate with their team, all in one platform.

Tips to use Freshteam properly:

• Create customizable job application forms to collect relevant candidate information.
• Search through full lists of candidates & employees 
• Use the candidate scorecards to evaluate and compare applicants.
• Set up interview schedules and integrate them with your calendar.
• Source active & passive candidates from multiple job boards, chrome plug-in, career sites, etc.

You might also like: ATS: Why you need one to accelerate your recruitment process?

Job posting and distribution tools

3. Indeed

Indeed is a leading job search engine that offers free job posting options. With its extensive reach, Indeed provides a great platform to attract job seekers across various industries.

Recruiters can use Indeed to post job openings, manage applications, and track applicant data.

Tips to use Indeed properly:

• Optimize your job postings with relevant keywords and clear job descriptions.
• Use Indeed’s analytics dashboard to track the performance of your job postings.
• Respond promptly to applications and engage with potential candidates.
• Upgrade to sponsored postings to gain more visibility if needed.

Also read: Master job descriptions in 9 easy steps [+ 5 free templates]

4. Glassdoor

Glassdoor is another popular job search and employer review platform that allows organizations to post jobs for free. It helps companies showcase their employer brand while reaching a vast audience of job seekers.

Recruitment companies can post job openings on Glassdoor as well as monitor their employer’s reputation to attract the best candidates.

Tips to use Glassdoor properly:

• Create a comprehensive company profile highlighting your organization’s unique selling points.
• Encourage employees to submit reviews to boost your branding.
• Respond professionally to reviews, both positive and negative.
• Utilize the analytics dashboard to track your job postings’ performance.

Communication and collaboration tools

5. Slack

Slack is a popular messaging platform designed for team communications. It allows users to create dedicated channels for various projects, integrate third-party tools, and share files easily.

Recruiters can use Slack to collaborate with their team, on candidate evaluation, share documents, conduct meetings and streamline the entire hiring process.

Tips to use Slack properly:

• Organize conversations into channels for specific job roles or projects.
• Integrate Slack with your ATS or other recruiting tools for seamless communication.
• Leverage Slack’s search functionality to find previous conversations and files.
• Utilize Slack’s audio and video calls for interviews and team meetings.

Don’t miss out: 8+ Slack communities recruiters need to be a part of

6. Trello

Trello is a popular Kanban tool that uses boards, lists, and cards to help teams organize and prioritize tasks. It offers customizable workflows and integrations with popular tools, making it a versatile collaboration platform.

With Trello, recruiters can keep track of job openings, candidate progress, and team collaboration, ensuring everyone stays on the same page.

Tips to use Trello properly:

• Create dedicated boards for each job opening, with lists representing the different stages of the recruitment process.
• Use cards to represent individual candidates and move them through the lists as they progress.
• Add labels, due dates, and checklists to cards for better organization and prioritization.
• Integrate Trello with other tools, such as your ATS or communication platform, to centralize your workflow.

Employer branding and recruitment marketing tools

7. Canva 

Canva is a powerful and intuitive graphic design platform that enables users to create a wide range of visuals, from graphics and presentations to posters and e-books. 

With its extensive library of templates, images, and design elements, Canva makes it easy for anyone to create professional-looking designs without advanced design skills.

Recruiters can leverage Canva to create visually appealing job ads, social media posts, recruitment flyers, and other branded materials to attract top talent and promote their employer brand. You can even explore various hiring flyer templates that can help you showcase your job opportunities in a compelling and eye-catching manner.

Tips to use Canva properly:

• Explore Canva’s template library to find the perfect starting point for your designs.
• Customize templates with your company’s branding elements, such as logos, colors, and fonts.
• Use Canvas collaboration features to work with your team on designs and gather feedback.
• Take advantage of Canvas resizing features to optimize your designs for different platforms and formats.
• Save your designs to your Canva account for easy access and future edits.
• Utilize Canvas tutorials and resources to continuously improve your design skills.

8. Buffer 

Buffer is a comprehensive social media management platform that streamlines content scheduling, publishing, and performance analysis across multiple social networks. 

Buffer’s user-friendly interface and robust features help businesses and professionals maintain a consistent online presence and engage with their audience more effectively.

Recruiters can use Buffer to plan, schedule, and analyze recruitment-related content across various social media platforms, ensuring they reach a wider audience.

Tips to use Buffer properly:

• Connect your social media accounts to Buffer and set up a posting schedule that aligns with your recruitment strategy.
• Craft engaging content that showcases your company culture, job openings, and industry insights.
• Utilize Buffer’s built-in content calendar to plan and visualize your social media strategy.
• Leverage Buffer’s analytics tools to identify trends, measure the performance of your posts, and refine your content strategy.
• Use Buffer’s browser extension to easily share content you find online.
• Use Buffer’s integration with tools like Canva to create visually appealing content and streamline your workflow.
• Set up team accounts and assign user roles to collaborate with your colleagues on social media management.

AI tools for recruiters

9. ChatGPT

ChatGPT is a powerful AI-powered language model developed by OpenAI. It can generate human-like text, making it suitable for various applications, including content creation, answering queries, and automating tasks. To further enhance its capabilities, there are even the best ChatGPT plugins available that can expand its functionality.

Recruiters can utilize ChatGPT to draft engaging job descriptions, automate candidate questionnaires, and streamline initial screening processes.

Tips to use ChatGPT properly:

• Integrate ChatGPT with your recruitment chatbot or website to answer familiar candidate questions instantly.
• Leverage ChatGPT’s content generation capabilities to create unique and persuasive job descriptions or other recruitment-related content.
• Set up an automated pre-screening process by having ChatGPT ask relevant questions to candidates and evaluate their responses.
• Continuously train ChatGPT to improve its understanding of your company culture, job requirements, and recruitment objectives.

10. DALL-E

DALL-E is another AI-powered language model developed by OpenAI, focusing on generating images from textual descriptions. This innovative tool can create unique visuals based on specific input, making it an exciting resource for content creation.

It allows recruiters to create custom images for job postings, social media campaigns, and other recruitment marketing materials.

Tips to Use DALL-E Properly:

• Provide DALL-E with a detailed textual description of the image you want to create, specifying colors, objects, and layout.
• Review the generated images and choose the one that best aligns with your vision and branding.
• Use the visuals generated by DALL-E in your recruitment marketing materials, such as job postings, social media posts, and promotional materials.
• Experiment with different textual descriptions to discover the full range of images that DALL-E can produce.
• Continuously refine your textual input to improve the quality and relevance of the images generated by DALL-E.

Also read: AI recruiting software: A definitive guide for recruiters

Social media recruiting tools

11. LinkedIn Recruiter

LinkedIn Recruiter is a specialized solution offered by LinkedIn that provides advanced search and messaging capabilities to help recruiters find and engage with potential candidates.

With LinkedIn Recruiter, recruiters can source top talent, manage their talent pipeline, and build relationships with passive candidates.

Tips to use LinkedIn Recruiter properly:

• Set up a LinkedIn Recruiter account and familiarize yourself with its features and interface.
• Use the advanced search options to find candidates based on specific criteria, such as skills, experience, and location.
• Create and save search alerts from receiving notifications when new candidates match your criteria.
• Utilize InMail to reach out to potential candidates and establish relationships.
• Leverage the Talent Pipeline feature to organize and track candidate information.
• Monitor recruitment metrics and analytics provided by LinkedIn Recruiter to refine your sourcing strategy.

12. Instagram

Instagram is a famous photo and video-sharing platform that enables users to create and share visual content, making it an ideal tool for showcasing company culture and attracting talent through engaging visuals.

Recruiters can use Instagram to share behind-the-scenes looks at their workplace, highlight employee stories, and promote job openings to attract potential candidates.

Tips to use Instagram properly:

• Set up a dedicated Instagram account for your company’s recruitment efforts.
• Develop a consistent visual style and theme for your recruitment-focused content.
• Share engaging visuals that showcase your company culture, candidate experiences, and job opportunities.
• Utilize Instagram Stories and Highlights to share temporary content and organize important information.
• Engage with your audience by responding to comments and building a solid community.
• Leverage the power of mobile recruitment and hire on the go.

Also read: Recruiters must use these powerful strategies to attract top candidates via Instagram.

Candidate assessment tools 

13. ProProfs Quiz Maker

ProProfs Quiz Maker is an online assessment platform that allows recruiters to create and administer customizable quizzes, tests, and assessments. As a result, recruiters can use ProProfs Quiz Maker to streamline the candidate assessment process, quickly identify top talent, and enhance the overall quality of their hiring decisions.

A wide range of question types and pre-built templates enables an efficient evaluation of candidates’ skills, knowledge, and cultural fit.

Tips to use ProProfs Quiz Maker properly:

• Sign up for a ProProfs Quiz Maker account and explore the available features and question types.
• Choose from the pre-built templates or create custom quizzes tailored to the specific requirements of your open positions.
• Utilize the platform’s reporting and analytics tools to track candidate performance and identify trends in the data.
• Customize the quiz settings, such as time limits and question randomization, to create a challenging and engaging assessment experience.
• Share the assessments with candidates by email or embedding them on your website.
• Analyze the results to make data-driven hiring decisions and identify areas for improvement in your assessment process.

14. HackerRank

HackerRank is a technical assessment platform designed explicitly for evaluating the coding skills of software developers. HackerRank allows recruiters to efficiently screen and evaluate the technical skills of software development candidates, ensuring they hire the best talent for their teams.

The platform offers a vast library of coding challenges and supports multiple programming languages, enabling recruiters to tailor assessments to their specific hiring needs.

Tips to use HackerRank properly:

• Create a HackerRank account and familiarize yourself with the available coding challenges and supported languages.
• Select the appropriate challenges for the specific skills you want to assess or create custom challenges tailored to your organization’s requirements.
• Invite candidates to take the assessment by sharing a unique link via email or through your applicant tracking system.
• Monitor candidate performance in real time with HackerRank’s CodePair feature, allowing you to observe candidates working through the challenges.
• Review the results, including automatically generated scores and detailed reports, to gain insights into the candidates’ technical abilities and problem-solving skills.
• Use the insights provided by HackerRank to make informed decisions about candidate selection and improve your technical assessment process.

Productivity tools for recruiters

15. Asana 

Asana is a popular project management and collaboration tool designed to help teams plan, organize, and track work progress. With a user-friendly interface and a wide range of features, Asana enables recruiters to manage tasks, deadlines, and communications in one centralized platform.

Tips to Use Asana Properly:

• Organize tasks by creating projects and categorizing them according to stages in the recruitment process, such as candidate sourcing, interviews, and onboarding.
• Assign tasks to team members, set deadlines, and monitor progress with Asana’s visual project tracking features.
• Utilize custom fields to track crucial information, such as candidate status, interview dates, and feedback.
• Integrate Asana with tools like your ATS, email, and calendar to centralize your recruitment workflow.
• Leverage Asana’s built-in communication features to collaborate with team members, share updates and discuss feedback in real-time.

16. Todoist

Todoist is a powerful and user-friendly task management application that helps individuals and teams organize, plan, and prioritize their work with its clean interface, robust features, and cross-platform compatibility. 

With Todoist, recruiters can efficiently manage their everyday tasks, set timely reminders for crucial activities, and consistently meet essential deadlines throughout the recruitment process.

Tips to Use Todoist Properly:

• Add tasks to your project, set due dates, and prioritize them using Todoist’s priority levels.
• Organize tasks by breaking them into subtasks or grouping them into sections to create a structured workflow.
• Use labels and filters to categorize tasks and quickly find the necessary information.
• Set up recurring tasks for regular activities, such as following up with candidates or reviewing job postings.
• Collaborate with team members by sharing projects, assigning tasks, and discussing details in task comments.

Video interviewing tools

17. Zoom 

Zoom is a widely-used video conferencing platform that enables users to conduct online meetings, webinars, and video calls. With its high-quality video and audio, user-friendly interface, and extensive features, Zoom has become a popular choice for conducting virtual interviews.

With Zoom, recruiters can conduct virtual interviews with candidates, saving time and resources while maintaining a personal connection.

Tips to use Zoom properly:

• Schedule interviews by creating a new meeting and sharing the invitation link with candidates.
• Set up a professional and distraction-free background for your virtual interviews.
• Familiarize yourself with Zoom’s features, such as screen sharing, breakout rooms, and chat functionality, to enhance the interview experience.
• Record the interviews (with the candidate’s consent) for later review and evaluation.
• Utilize Zoom’s security features, such as waiting rooms and meeting passwords, to ensure privacy and prevent unauthorized access.

18. Skype 

Skype is a well-known communication platform that offers video calling, voice calling, and instant messaging capabilities. With its easy-to-use interface and reliable performance, Skype is a solid option for recruiters looking to conduct video interviews with candidates.

Tips to use Skype properly:

• Add candidates as contacts on Skype by searching for their username or email address.
• Schedule interviews by setting up a calendar event and sharing the details with candidates.
• Ensure a professional and clutter-free environment for your video interviews.
• Familiarize yourself with Skype’s features, such as screen sharing, file sharing, and chat functionality, to improve the interview experience.
• Record the interviews (with the candidate’s consent) to evaluate them later or share them with relevant team members.

You might also like: Change your recruiting game with one-way video interviews in 2023

Tips to make the most out of your recruiting tools

• Integrate your recruiting tools with your existing systems to ensure seamless data flow and enhanced productivity.
• Regularly evaluate your recruiting tools’ performance to identify improvement areas and make necessary adjustments.
• Train your team to effectively utilize these tools, maximizing their potential and minimizing errors.
• Stay informed about updates and new features to optimize your use of the tools and stay ahead of the competition.
• Customize the tools to fit your organization’s unique needs and processes for a tailored recruitment experience.

Frequently asked questions

Q: How do I choose the right recruiting tools for my organization?

Selecting the right recruiting tools for your organization involves carefully considering various factors. 

First, identify your organization’s specific recruitment needs and challenges. Then, determine the features and functionalities to address these issues and help you reach your recruitment goals. 

Next, consider your budget and the tool’s scalability, ensuring it can grow with your organization. 

Research user reviews and testimonials to gauge the tool’s effectiveness and reputation. Verify that the tool offers excellent customer support and regular updates to stay current with industry trends.

Q: Can I use multiple recruiting tools together?

Absolutely! Using multiple recruiting tools together can significantly enhance your recruitment process. 

Many tools are designed to integrate with your existing systems, creating a seamless and unified workflow. When selecting tools, consider their compatibility and integration capabilities to ensure a streamlined experience. 

You can create an organization-specific recruitment ecosystem by combining different tools.

Q: Are free recruiting tools practical, or should I invest in paid options?

Free recruiting tools can be highly effective, especially for small businesses or startups with limited budgets. They often provide essential features and capabilities to significantly improve your recruitment process. 

It’s essential to carefully assess your organization’s needs and determine whether a free or paid option will better serve your recruitment objectives. 

Paid options may offer more advanced features, customization, and support, benefiting larger organizations or those with more complex recruitment processes.

Q: How can I stay updated on the latest recruiting tools and trends?

Staying informed about the latest recruiting tools and trends is crucial to maintaining a competitive edge in the recruitment industry. Subscribe to industry newsletters and follow recruitment blogs to receive regular updates on new tools, best practices, and emerging trends. 

Participate in industry events, conferences, and webinars to network with professionals, learn from experts, and discover the latest innovations in recruitment technology.