Talent, the University's new applicant tracking system, is now live

Feb. 4, 2020
By Andy Ober, University Communications

This article first appeared in Lo Que Pasa.

Managing job postings and searches – from scheduling interviews and completing reference checks to drafting offer letters – has been made easier with the launch of the University's new applicant tracking system.

At any given time, the University has about 700 job openings posted. Each year, job seekers submit about 70,000 applications. The new system that handles all of that information, referred to internally as Talent, will result in a better experience for both applicants and University units.

"We wanted to streamline and automate our recruitment process," said Lisa Gundy, director of recruitment and outreach in the Division of Human Resources. "We felt we had some limitations with the previous software, as well as some performance and downtime issues. As our contract expired, it was a perfect opportunity for us to go to the market and see what was available."

After Human Resources convened an advisory group and gathered campus feedback, a committee tasked with selecting a new vendor chose Cornerstone, a California-based HR and talent management platform provider. The system went live Jan. 27 in conjunction with a new applicant landing page, which replaces the UACareers and Why UA websites.

Gundy says Talent provides hiring units and applicants many new and enhanced features.

For hiring units

  •  The Hiring Dashboard displays active postings, applicant counts, upcoming interviews and pending approvals.
  •  The Talent Reference Collection allows hiring units to electronically request and collect their recommendation letters and/or candidates' references from previous employers.
  •  An automated interview scheduling process allows hiring units to electronically plan and schedule upcoming interviews and download them to Outlook calendars.
  •  The Talent Offer Letter Builder provides more streamlined template offerings, e-signature capabilities and the ability to easily modify and send new versions of letters.

For applicants

  •  A simpler interface.
  •  An applicant can upload a resume and the system will use it to complete fields on an application.
  •  Applicants can create a profile on the website or apply as a guest.
  •  Applicants can choose to have their information be searchable, which allows units to invite them to apply for positions that might be a match for them.

Another important addition, said Endeliza Ramos, manager of recruitment and outreach, is an internal applicant portal.

"Before, whenever we wanted to post an opportunity that was only available to current University employees, we had to advertise it on our public website, so it would create confusion and frustration among (external) applicants," Ramos said. "Now, we have an internal applicant portal where we can display those positions in a space where only current employees can see them."

Talent went live on the same day as the changes that resulted from the University Career Architecture Project.

"What's nice about that is the recruitment system now has a career architecture to lean on," Gundy said. "Now there is more structure, so our hiring units and applicants will know the career ladder and compensation structure for each staff position."

Gundy said HR's Recruitment and Outreach team will continue to enhance the system as user feedback is received.

Employees can explore the new platform and access user guides and tutorial videos by going to talent.arizona.edu and using the drop-down feature in the upper right to log in as a current employee. That takes them to a campus users portal.

Hiring units can direct potential applicants to the public-facing area of Talent, where they can access resources, testimonials and additional information about why they would want to join the University of Arizona.

Questions or feedback on the Talent website can be directed to talent@email.arizona.edu.