Most companies do not build their own careers page. They use an applicant tracking system (ATS) such as Workday, Greenhouse, Lever, iCIMS, Oracle Taleo, or SmartRecruiters. If you apply to twenty companies, you will meet most of these systems, and each one arranges the same questions differently. Knowing what to expect makes every application faster, whether you fill it by hand or with a tool.
Workday has its own quirks and its own guide. This one covers the other platforms you are most likely to meet.
What to expect on each platform
- Greenhouse: usually a single page with contact fields, a resume and cover letter upload, links such as LinkedIn and portfolio, and employer-specific questions. US postings often end with voluntary demographic questions in custom dropdowns.
- Lever: typically a short single page. Uploading a resume may pre-fill your name and contact details, followed by links and an "Additional information" box where a short, specific note helps.
- iCIMS: often asks you to create an account first, then walks through several steps with many dropdowns. Some employers add assessment or screening questions.
- Oracle Taleo: an older, multi-page system with an account per employer, separate entry of each job and school, and session timeouts. Save as you go.
- SmartRecruiters: generally a single page, sometimes offering to import details from a profile on another site, plus screening questions set by the employer.
Every employer configures its own questions, so treat these as typical patterns rather than fixed rules.
Prepare once, apply many times
- Build a master profile with contact details, links, every job and school with exact dates, and skills.
- Write standard answers for work authorisation, sponsorship, notice period, relocation, remote preference, and salary range.
- Decide in advance how you will answer voluntary demographic questions, including "I prefer not to answer".
- Save your resume as a PDF with a clear name, such as Firstname-Lastname-Resume.pdf, and keep a cover letter template.
Filling them quickly with a form filler
A form filler turns your master profile into one-click answers on any ATS. With Aullevo, you fill in the Job profile once and press Alt+Shift+L on each application: fields are matched by label, custom dropdowns and radio buttons are selected, and with Pro your resume is attached to the upload field automatically. Multi-step systems like iCIMS and Taleo can be handled with Auto-Pagination, and the Multi-link queue lets you line up several postings and fill them in one go.
Tip: Resume parsing on ATS platforms is hit and miss. If a platform's parser mangles your work history, skip it and fill from your profile instead. Correcting a bad parse is often slower than starting clean.
Quality beats volume
- Tailor your resume and the first lines of any cover letter to each role. Automation frees up the time to do this.
- Mention the specific company in free-text answers, and double-check you did not leave another company's name in.
- Keep answers consistent across applications. Recruiters at the same company may see more than one.
- Use the checklist before you submit, especially when you filled the form quickly.