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TalentRiver
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The problem
Your applicant tracking system holds years of candidate data. Past applicants, sourced profiles, referrals, silver medalists from previous searches. In theory, this is a gold mine. In practice, most of it is outdated.
People change jobs every 2 to 3 years on average. They move on, get new titles, join new companies. But the resume they submitted to your ATS 18 months ago still shows the old information. The result: your database shows the wrong job title, wrong company, wrong contact details. When you search your ATS for candidates, you are searching through stale data.
This is why most recruiters start a fresh external search for every new role, even though they already have a database full of relevant candidates.
The cost of stale data
Every time you source a candidate externally who already exists in your ATS, you are paying twice for the same person. First with the time that went into the original sourcing or application review, and then with the time to find and reach them again through external channels.
For TA teams with ATS databases of 10,000 or more profiles, the duplication is significant. You might reach out to a candidate without realizing a colleague already spoke with them last quarter. Or you might miss a great candidate in your own system because their outdated title does not match your search.
What candidate enrichment looks like
The idea is simple: when you search your ATS candidates through a sourcing tool, it merges in data from other sources automatically. So instead of seeing the stale resume a candidate submitted 18 months ago, you see the full picture. Their current job title, current company, verified contact details, updated skills, and more.
This does not mean someone is bulk-updating your ATS database. The enrichment happens on the sourcing platform's side, in real time, when you search. Your ATS stays as it is. But when you look at a candidate through the sourcing tool, you see enriched, current data merged from multiple sources on top of what your ATS already has.
You do not need to manually update profiles one by one. You do not need to export and reimport. You just search, and the results reflect where candidates are today.
Why this matters for your sourcing workflow
With enriched search, your ATS database becomes genuinely useful again. You can find candidates by their current role and company, not just their historical data. A "senior product manager at a SaaS company" search actually returns people who hold that title right now, even if they were a product manager at a different company when they applied to you two years ago.
This means you can start every new search with your own database. You reach out to people who already have some connection to your company, whether they applied before, were referred, or were sourced for a different role. These candidates are more likely to respond because there is already a touch point.
The connection between your tools
The best setup is one where your sourcing tool connects deeply with your ATS. When you find a candidate through sourcing and want to move them forward, they should land in your ATS pipeline with one click. And when you search your ATS candidates, the sourcing tool should layer on enriched data so you get the full picture without switching tools.
This keeps your ATS as the system of record while making sure you never have to work with outdated information.
Getting started
If you are running a TA team with an ATS that has been active for more than a year, your database almost certainly has stale data. Before your next search, ask these questions: When was the last time candidate records were updated? Can you search by current job title and company? Do you have verified contact details for your top candidates?
If the answer to any of those is no, enrichment should be a priority. The candidates you need might already be in your system.
TalentRiver connects to ATS platforms like Teamtailor, Invenias, and Ponty. Search your existing candidates with enriched, current data from multiple sources, all without leaving the platform.
