Bullhorn Reviews

Bullhorn: From Job Distribution to Onboarding

The company is widely recognized as the industry-leading ATS and CRM software. However, it has several other products: time tracking, invoicing, VMS integration, business intelligence, onboarding, and automation tools. We’ve put together this Bullhorn review to evaluate each of these products, starting with the Bullhorn applicant tracking platform.

Bullhorn ATS

One of the key advantages of the Bullhorn ATS is its intuitive interface. The vendor further backs the product’s user-friendliness with a wealth of features, including a robust resume parsing engine that seamlessly extracts relevant candidate information.

Another functionality that gets praise from Bullhorn users is the software’s advanced search tool that retrieves candidate data based on search keywords and Boolean logic. Bullhorn ATS reviews further show that the vendor’s been working on improving this feature, although the company doesn’t make it their practice to respond to user reviews. Instead, they work in the background, focusing on perfecting the Bullhorn applicant tracking system.

The Bullhorn Sidebar brings even more value to the ATS, helping users get more accurate data. The product sources candidates from over 15 job boards, parsing them into the ATS database, and checking for duplicate entries.

According to some Bullhorn ATS reviews, the software sometimes fails to recognize duplicate candidate profiles. Many users, however, don’t know that the tool doesn’t check archived candidate records or the ones users are not allowed to access.

Bullhorn had a separate social recruiting software called Bullhorn Reach. It was discontinued in 2016, and this functionality was added to Sidebar, which is an excellent tool for boosting job board productivity.

On the flip side, the Bullhorn mobile app could be improved. Bullhorn reviews in particular claim that both the Android and iOS apps are a bit glitchy and don’t offer the full functionality of the software. Considering the iOS app was launched in 2018, the company has room for improvement in this field, which we hope to see soon.

Users are also not overly satisfied with the company’s basic reporting capabilities, but Bullhorn has a separate product for advanced reporting — Canvas, which we’ll review shortly.

Bullhorn ATS & CRM Shared Functionalities

Bullhorn doesn’t separate its CRM software from the ATS. So, let’s see what features are user favorites, according to Bullhorn reviews.

The software offers integration with Gmail and Outlook. This feature allows users to easily track all customer and candidate activity in their email client — right from the Bullhorn interface. They can also access CRM records with a single click.

SMS texting is another feature the platform’s users seem to appreciate. Despite being charged as an add-on, most reviews highlight the SMS texting service as one of the top Bullhorn’s features. This functionality allows users to text their clients and job candidates directly from Bullhorn or through TextUs integration. Based on numerous Bullhorn software reviews, the vendor’s SMS service is quite powerful. Still, TextUs seems to be the preferred option due to its comprehensive functionalities and smooth integration with the Bullhorn platform.

Bullhorn Pulse is another feature that got a round of applause from the platform’s users. It keeps track of all emails and calls and saves them in candidate profiles. Consequently, users can quickly get insights into all of their customer interactions, and discover which require immediate action. All of this helps build and nurture long-lasting candidate relationships.

Our Bullhorn review wouldn’t be complete without the notes feature. Users can easily leave notes for each candidate, which saves companies time, keeping everyone updated about candidates’ interest in a job position, whether someone’s already reached out to a candidate, etc. Lead and opportunity management tools are part of the Bullhorn CRM, too.

The platform further integrates with LinkedIn Recruiter. The Bullhorn LinkedIn integration goes into the basket of the software’s upsides, as it significantly eases candidate searches and management.

Bullhorn Middle and Back Office

The Bullhorn staffing and recruiting software expands its product offering with time and expense management software. According to Bullhorn reviews, the Middle and Back Office solutions are equally intuitive as the vendor’s ATS and CRM.

The time tracking tool is available online and on mobile devices, allowing employees to add time regardless of where they are. The product further supports the option to import timesheets from vendor management systems (VMSs).

The Bullhorn recruitment software also helps automate invoicing, while the Commission tool helps calculate commission plans. Overall, it’s a decent solution to streamline the entire hiring process without using multiple platforms.

Bullhorn Onboarding

When it comes to the Bullhorn pros and cons, the vendor’s onboarding software undoubtedly makes it to the list of the software’s strengths. The e-document management platform helps users see all new employees’ documents in one place, along with their data from the Bullhorn ATS. Employees can easily manage and sign documents through a customizable candidate portal.

Much like one of its main competitors, Zenefits, Bullhorn offers background checks through the integration with Checkr. However, Bullhorn has a somewhat broader background checking service offering. The platform supports Verified First, Sterling, and CareerBuilder Employment Screening, among other providers. It further integrates with E-Verify, and the revamped user interface, as Bullhorn reviews show, helps users adopt the product quickly.

Bullhorn Canvas

The rich selection of Bullhorn products includes a robust reporting tool — Canvas. Users are not overly pleased with the tool and for two reasons. First, the product has a steep learning curve, and customizing it to fit the needs of your business takes some time.

On the flip side, Canvas delivers detailed reports, helping companies make informed decisions. The tool excels at identifying investments that aren’t performing as expected, generating historical data, and setting goals.

Secondly, Canvas is billed separately from the ATS and CRM software, which further increases the Bullhorn cost. Still, the product justifies its price tag with its outstanding reporting capabilities.

Bullhorn VMS Integration

The Bullhorn staffing software integrates with over 40 vendor management systems. The product helps companies fill job openings quickly, minimizing manual tasks. Data entry is brought down to a minimum, as Bullhorn VMS automatically adds job and candidate information to the ATS. The synchronization between the ATS and VMS platforms works really well, keeping recruiters in the loop about the latest job openings.

The software further supports business rules and advanced analytics, and, according to Bullhorn software reviews, the VMS integration is an indispensable addition to staffing businesses of all sizes.

Herefish by Bullhorn

Another product from the Bullhorn software family that focuses on the staffing industry is Herefish. This powerful automation tool has a broad user base among staffing firms, which is why Bullhorn received positive feedback for providing seamless integration with the automation software. After acquiring Herefish, Bullhorn is now focused on improving the software’s automation capabilities even further through the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Herefish is another product that’s not included in the Bullhorn ATS pricing. Having said that, the software is still an excellent investment. It excels at data hygiene (eliminating incorrect and partial records). Other features users like include the option to automate repetitive tasks, text messaging, A/B testing, and gathering client and candidate feedback through surveys.

Is Bullhorn Built on Salesforce?

Formerly known as Talent Rover, Bullhorn for Salesforce is built on the Salesforce platform. According to Bullhorn software reviews, the ATS and CRM software is on a par with the best staffing and recruiting software.

Now, let’s look at the features that facilitate the recruitment process. First, Bullhorn for Salesforce offers excellent search functionality. Companies can easily find candidates, relying on Boolean search strings and keywords. All candidate profiles are well displayed, allowing recruiters to obtain relevant information quickly, collaborate, and manage candidate resumes with incredible ease.

Another feature worth highlighting in this Bullhorn review is Quick Submit, which helps recruiters submit candidates to open jobs with a single quick. The software also supports time and calendar management tools, comprehensive reporting tools, and client and candidate portals.

How Intuitive Is the Bullhorn Software?

One of the core strengths of the Bullhorn recruiting software is a user-friendly interface, and most users get a firm grasp of its ins and outs in no time. The binoculars button gives users the option to preview a candidate’s record without having to open a separate window, which is a nice touch. With each update, Bullhorn strives to reduce the number of clicks needed to perform any task, which shows us the vendor’s investing time in making the software as intuitive as possible.

How Good Is the Bullhorn Customer Service?

Based on user reviews, the Bullhorn support is one of the areas that need slight improvement. Delayed responses are the most common reason for users’ dissatisfaction with the vendor’s customer service. We also got in touch with the platform’s email support team and got a reply in two days.

While we agree that Bullhorn’s customer service could trim its current repose times, we don’t have any remarks on the quality of service. The support team answered our question and no follow-up was needed.

The Bullhorn customer support can be reached through various channels, including live chat, email, phone, web forms, and ticketing system. The live chat service is available from Monday to Thursday between 4 AM and 8 PM EDT. The Bullhorn email address is [email protected], and the phone number is 617 478 9100.

The Bullhorn support phone number for technical queries varies from country to country, and based on your location you can reach out to them Monday to Friday by calling 617 478 9126 (the US and Canada), (888) 465-4838 (US toll-free), +44 800 131 0842 (UK), +61 (0) 2 8073 5089 (Australia), and +1 617 478 9131 (international). The vendor also offers an emergency phone number (1 (617) 478 9191) if an issue occurs outside support’s working hours.

Bullhorn reviews further show that, apart from customer service, training materials aren’t lacking. The Bullhorn Academy, an extensive knowledge base, and the company’s blog all help users learn everything there is to know about the platform.

How Much Does Bullhorn Cost?

What you’ll often read in reviews of Bullhorn is that the company’s software is quite expensive. Users aren’t thrilled about add-ons either, as they need to purchase them separately from the ATS and CRM software to get the platform’s full potential.

Compared to industry standards, Bullhorn is indeed one of the priciest options out there. We asked the vendor’s customer support about the Bullhorn pricing and got the details. The ATS and CRM software’s lowest-tier plan costs £80 user/month (about $100), while the Enterprise edition goes up to £120 user/month (about $151) for up to 10 users. Plus, if you need any other solution, such as VMS integration, automation, or Middle and Back office tools, that will further up the price.

One of the Bullhorn’s closest competitors, Zoho Recruit, also offers an ATS with CRM functionality, but at a lower price. The vendor’s top-tier plan costs £54/user/month (about $57) and comes with a free trial. This compares to the Bullhorn demo available upon request.

Considering its pricing, Bullhorn has a large user base, which we expect to grow further. Zoho Recruit is an excellent product — there’s no doubt about that. However, the thriving recruitment and staffing software market offers a lot of choices, and for 11,000 companies, Bullhorn is a perfect solution for managing the entire recruitment process.

Our Verdict

Starting with the downsides, the Bullhorn mobile app needs some improvement, and we’d like to see better response times from the product’s customer support. On the upside, Bullhorn does so many things right. As noted in plenty of Bullhorn reviews, the software is super intuitive, and its feature offer is vast. The CRM platform has been fine-tuned for the staffing industry and is one of the best on the market. Candidate conversation tracking, SMS texting, automation tools, and the option to integrate Bullhorn with numerous tools all add extra value, while other products from the vendor’s software catalog further expand the software’s functionality.