The hiring process can be lengthy and difficult for both applicants and human resources (HR) professionals. Interactive voice response, or IVR, can make it easier by automating the process.

Particularly in a bad job market, hiring professionals have to sift through a couple hundred resumes for every job they fill. Using an IVR system to help the process and possibly skip a step is one way HR professionals can streamline the process.

In this type of job market, applicants tend to throw a wider net with their resume submittals. Jobs they wouldn’t normally apply for (i.e., jobs they’re overqualified for and jobs they’re unqualified for) become targets because of desperation. For HR professionals, it means having to go through all those emails just to find a handful of candidates that might fit the bill.

Once they’ve done that, the process often includes a phone interview. It’s another step in a tedious process that takes time away from HR personnel’s day for other HR efforts.

One way to combine the application process and phone interview is through an IVR system. By automating the process, hiring companies can simplify and standardize submittals and early-round assessments.

The normal procedure today is applicants either email their resume to an address specified in the company’s job listing or they go to a proprietary company system to put in their info.

If it’s email, the email has to follow the guidelines established by the company (i.e., “resume and cover letter” or “resume and references”). Often the submittals don’t follow the instructions.

On one hand, it’s a first test to see if the applicants can follow direction. On the other hand, it’s an annoyance for the HR person, who has to contact the applicant for the missing submittal (if the HR person is still interested).

An IVR can take things out of the applicant’s hands by doing it all over the phone. Companies can effectively combine the application and phone interview steps into one.

When an applicant calls into an IVR, the system walks the applicant through the process. It ensures that HR gets all the information they need, and it gives the HR person a first glimpse at the applicant’s personality, which is difficult to gauge over email. For the applicants, it ensures that they always have a correct submittal, and it gives them the opportunity to show some of their personality over the phone.