Applicant tracking system (ATS)
Also called: ATS
Software companies use to collect, search, filter and track job applications.
Definition
An applicant tracking system stores every application a company receives and lets recruiters search and filter candidates, often by keywords and by answers to screening questions. It also tracks where each candidate is in the hiring process. Because recruiters search it like a search engine, a CV that lacks the job ad's key terms may never be seen by a person.
In practice
A recruiter searches the ATS for "mobile testing" and "Jira". A CV that only says "quality checks on apps" doesn't appear in the results, even though the candidate has done that work.