Hiring 2 people and looking for free recruitment software: Is it worth setting up or is email enough?

The moment two people try to review incoming CVs in an email inbox together, the process grinds to a halt. One person reviews a candidate, the other misses it; notes get lost. The simple Kanban board in a free tool (applied, screened, interview, offer) lets your team see at a glance where everyone stands.

We hired for a single position at our warehouse in Madrid last fall and got 120 applications. We ran it through a free applicant tracking system; including initial screening and scheduling calls with 8 people, I spent 3 hours a week total. The year before, dealing with email and spreadsheets ate up 9-10 hours a week for the same task.

Most free tiers have hidden paywalls. Right when you have 60-70 candidates lined up, they hit you with 'resume download limit reached' or 'pay 40 euros/month to add a team member'. If you don't check candidate limits and data export policies up front, you might get stranded halfway through.

If you don't want to bother setting up software, there's a third option: 1) Build a free cloud form page with a resume upload field. 2) Add the data retention consent disclaimer at the bottom. 3) Link the responses to an automated spreadsheet and score them there. You won't hit software limits, and your inbox won't get clogged.

definitely dont collect them via email. last year a rejected applicant asked to have their personal data deleted six months later, we wasted half a day hunting down four separate emails and attached pdfs across company mailboxes. with a portal you can wipe the record in one click.

I'm not totally clear on the data protection side; when we upload candidate info to a free platform, the servers belong to them... If a data breach happens, who is considered legally responsible, us or the platform provider?

Under the European Union General Data Protection Regulation, your business acts as the data controller, while the software provider is considered a data processor. Since ultimate legal liability rests with you, you must ensure that the platform you choose hosts its servers within the European Economic Area and provides a valid data processing agreement.

We made a similar mistake two years ago by putting the company's general email address in a job posting. We received 150 CVs in three days, and supplier invoices and customer orders got lost in the mix. We missed an urgent shipping email from a client for two days and ended up paying a penalty. Ever since, I never post a job opening without a dedicated tool or a separate form.

I think differently. When you try to change everything at once, nothing settles.

It's rare to find an explanation this clear.

The cheap-looking path usually ends up costing more later. Everyone rushing into free recruitment software gets stuck at the same point.

Do a small three-month project before talking stocks, so you see each other.

I'm writing this so you don't make the same mistake. Do a small three-month project before talking stocks, so you see each other.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

I was thinking the same thing. When listing, put proof that the product actually works at the very top.

Proven by experience.

i don't think this advice fits everyone. anway most time waste accumulates in tasks waiting for approval.

when making a decision firts look at what data you have on hand.

Exactly, and not many people know this. If you get three different answers on a topic, the question was asked wrong.

If you don't write this down from the start, it leads to arguments later. Hope this helps.

If you're going this route, sort this out first. Solutions that work at a small scale collapse when you grow; I learned this late.

That's all, sorry if I went on too long.

Don't miss this: Most time waste accumulates in tasks waiting for approval.

You're right.