Managing applications

This guide will take you through how to review and manage the applications you receive, at each stage of the hiring process. Now that you have posted vacancies and candidates have started applying, the Tes Applicant Tracking System (ATS) provides tools to streamline shortlisting, interviewing, and hiring.

Our ATS (Schrole Connect within Tes) is an online tool that simplifies your recruitment workflow and enables you to act quickly to secure the perfect candidate. All applications submitted via Tes for your vacancy (i.e., those using the Tes online form or uploading your form) will automatically flow into the ATS under that vacancy. (If you chose to divert applicants to an external site, those applications will not appear here, so you’ll manage those outside the system.)

Using the ATS, you can:

Create and save shortlists of promising candidates.
Respond individually to successful candidates (e.g., send interview invitations).
Send batch emails to unsuccessful candidates (e.g., a polite rejection to all who didn’t make the shortlist).
Share applications with other staff members for review and collaboration (you can invite colleagues to view candidates and leave feedback).
Download or print applications, either one by one or all at once.
Manage reference requests through the system, with automatic reminder emails and standardised reference forms (this feature is available when you use the Tes application form for candidates).

Now, let’s walk through how to manage applications for a given vacancy:

Viewing applications for a vacancy:
On the Connect dashboard, go to your Current vacancies and click on the job you want to manage. This will open the vacancy details view. By default, it should show the Applications tab (or section) for that job. Here you will see the list of all candidates who have applied to this position.

The list of applicants may show each candidate’s name, application date, current application status (e.g., New, Shortlisted, Hired, Declined). Also, you can leave internal notes about applicants via School Notes.
You can click on an individual candidate’s name to view their full application, or use actions directly from the list (like a drop-down or buttons to change status).
There may also be filters or checkboxes; for instance, a filter to show only candidates in certain status, or a search box to find a particular name.

Reviewing and updating applications:
Within the Applications tab of a vacancy, you have a range of tools:

Select and bulk action: You can tick the checkboxes next to multiple applicants’ names (usually on the left of each name). Once selected, you might use a bulk action like “Email all selected”. For example, after you’ve hired someone, you might select all remaining applicants and send a group rejection email thanking them for applying. The system will send individual emails to each selected candidate (they won’t see each other’s addresses).
Individual actions: For each candidate, there is typically an action menu (e.g., clicking a drop-down arrow or “Actions” button by their name). From here, you can update their status (move to Shortlist, mark as Interviewing, Accepted, etc.), or quickly send an individual message.
Schedule Interview in the ATS allows you to send a calendar invite, notes and meeting links.
Shortlisting: Some ATS interfaces allow you to drag and drop candidates into different “buckets” or simply mark them as shortlisted. The Tes ATS provides a way to denote who your top candidates are (for your own tracking). You might click “Shortlist” on a candidate’s record; this could highlight them or move them into a shortlist view.

Working with an individual application:
Click on a candidate’s name (or a “View application” link) to open their full application. Here’s what you can do in the application viewer:

Application details: At the top, you’ll see the candidate’s provided information – typically their personal details (name, email – unless anonymised), answers to any application questions, their CV, cover letter or supporting statement, and any documents they uploaded. Take your time to read through these materials.
Comments/Notes: There is a Comments area where you and your colleagues can leave notes about the candidate. This is an internal discussion tool – candidates do not see these comments. You could note something like “Great teaching experience but needs to show more leadership skills” or record interview impressions. All administrators and reviewers you’ve invited for this vacancy can see and add to the comments, making collaboration easier.
Change status & actions: In the individual application view, you’ll also have controls to update the candidate’s application status (e.g., move them to “Interviewing” stage, mark as “Hired”, etc.). There might be buttons for quick actions like “Invite to interview” or “Send message”. If you click to invite to interview, you can schedule an interview time and send an email all from within the system – the platform can send calendar invites or notifications to the candidate.
Requesting references: If you decide to proceed with a candidate, you can use the built-in References section. This feature is available if the candidate applied via Tes (online form) and provided referee contact info. You can click Request reference – the system will email the referees a standard reference form to fill out. Those references, once submitted, will appear under the candidate’s application for you to review. The system will also send automatic reminders to referees who haven’t responded after a set time. (If the candidate applied using your own form or via external link, you would have to collect references outside the system.)
- If a referee hasn’t replied, you can come back and click Request new referee details to ask the candidate for an alternate, or re-send the request. You’ll see options to mark a reference as “Do not action” if you don’t need it or if one reference has come in but you’re still waiting on another. This gives you control in case you only want to chase certain references.

After reviewing an application, you can navigate back to the list or move directly to the next applicant’s profile (often there are arrows or a “Next applicant” button).

Organising and concluding the hiring process:
As you review applications, you can continuously update each candidate’s status.

Click the ‘move applicant to...’ dropdown
You can mark candidates as Shortlist, Longlist, Scheduled interviews, Completed interviews, Pre-employment, Accepted offers, Declined.

Changing statuses helps keep your pipeline organised and is also visible in the Audit Trail (history log).

Sending offers or rejections: When you’ve made a decision, use the ATS to communicate. For your chosen candidate, you might send an offer email through the system (or externally if you prefer). For those not selected, as mentioned, you can send bulk “thank you, but...” emails. The system often provides template language which you can customise. Doing this through the ATS not only saves time, it also records that you responded to candidates.
Downloading applications: If you need offline copies, you can download individual applications (usually as PDF) or sometimes export all applications in one zip file. This might be useful for record-keeping or sharing with a panel in a meeting.

By leveraging these tools, you can manage the entire recruitment process within Tes Staff Management: from the moment an application arrives, through shortlisting and interviewing, to the final hire and notifying all candidates of the outcome. Each step can be done in a few clicks, helping you stay organised and provide a good experience to your candidates as well.

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