Duplicate applicants and merging applicant record

TAM does not require applicants to create a user account in order to apply for any position. This is one of our fundamental beliefs: an ATS should not discourage applicants with unnecessary barriers to applying. Whenever applicants have to deal with usernames, passwords, etc., it just adds another barrier and possible layer of confusion, leading to a reduced number of applicants. This means we handle duplicate applicants in a different fashion.

TAM gives you the option of matching applicants by combinations of first name, last name, email or phone number. This option is found under Setup -> Other Company Settings and is usually only available to administrators.

Every time an applicant applies for a different position in TAM we create a separate record. This way the applicant's information, status in the recruiting flow, notes on that applicant, etc. are kept separate from any other positions they apply for. Managers viewing that applicant's data will see only the record for their position, although they will be able to see that the applicant applied for another position, and who the hiring manager is for that position.

If an applicant applies for the same position more than once we merge the records into one, so they will always have one record only for each position. This method selected above will be used in merging records.

Each time they apply TAM will overwrite their personal information. So if they apply giving the wrong address, then realize their mistake and apply again with the correct address, their TAM record will contain only their latest address.
All attachments will be maintained. If, for example, John Smith applies to the same position three times, you may see three resumes: John Smith resume.docx (the 1st apply), John Smith resume(1).docx (the 2nd), and John Smith resume(2).docx (the 3rd).
Pre-screening questions will be overwritten but TAM will note in the Status History if the applicant changed any answers. So, if an applicant applied once and failed a pass/fail question, then applied again with passing responses, their status will be New but you'll be able to see that they applied previously with different responses.

In addition TAM cross-references all applicants and non-applicants, again, based on the first name, last name, email address and phone number method that your company has selected. If an applicant appears more than once anywhere in TAM, you will see this noted on their page:

Clicking on the duplicate records link will then display a tab for each record in TAM for this applicant. Clicking through each tab will allow easily stepping through each applicant record. Access to these tabs will still be managed by each user's access to that position.

TAM also has a feature which allows merging duplicate records. To access this feature click on the Edit icon when displaying multiple records, then click on the Merge icon (If you do not see the Merge icon please contact TAM Support to enable this feature for you).

This will bring up a menu where you can select the merge options.

First, select the record to merge into. This is also thought of as the "master record". None of the data in this record will be changed.
Second, select the data you want to move/copy into the master record. Any resumes, cover letters, or attachments you select will be moved, meaning they will no longer be attached to the old record. Any other items will be copied, meaning they will also remain in the old record.
Third, you can optionally delete the record that you merged data from.

Other things to be aware of:

When you Fill a position and mark an applicant as "hired", TAM will search to see if that person is an active applicant for any other positions, and if so, TAM will send email alerts to both the recruiter and hiring manager for those other positions. You may eliminate that applicant from other positions as you need.
If a resume is inserted into the Non-Applicants database, we do not perform any matching. You will see duplicate non-applicants in this case. The reason for this is that if you are building a passive applicant database you may want to compare old resumes vs. new ones. You can always use the merge feature to combine these records.

TAM also possesses the feature to locate duplicate applicant profiles in the case that users would like to remove one of the duplicate applicant profiles. To access this feature, go to Talent Pool -> Find Duplicate Applicants. This tool will perform a "fuzzy" search, looking for any applicants with matching emails or names.