How to Find Your Purple Squirrel with an AI ATS in 2025

Jimena Tsai

·July 10, 2025

How to Find Your Purple Squirrel with an AI ATS in 2025 — Image Source: linkedin

Do you ever feel like finding the perfect person for your job takes forever? You’re not alone. Many hiring teams face the same challenge—they want to find their purple squirrel with an AI ATS. A “purple squirrel” is that rare candidate who meets every requirement and brings exceptional talent. The hiring process can be tough, and traditional recruiting tools often fall short in finding the best fit.

Finding the right talent is essential for any enterprise's growth and success, as it directly impacts the company's productivity, innovation, and overall performance. As businesses continue to face increasing competition, leveraging advanced tools like Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) has become crucial. These systems streamline the hiring process, ensuring that companies attract, evaluate, and retain the best candidates efficiently and effectively.

Purple Squirrel Defined

Ideal Candidate Traits

When someone says purple squirrel, they mean a person who fits every part of the job. This person is special because they have rare skills and experience. They can start working right away and do many things well. They help the team right from the start.

Here’s why a purple squirrel is great for your team:

Has the right mix of skills, education, and personality.
Can do many jobs, not just one.
Brings new ideas and ways to solve problems.
Needs little training and learns fast.
Is happy at work and stays loyal.
Is often one of the best in their field.
Has both technical and creative skills, like a software engineer who also knows graphic design and SEO.

Why They’re Hard to Find

Finding a purple squirrel is not easy. These people are rare because they have skills most people do not have. Many already have good jobs and are not looking for new ones. Old ways of hiring often miss them because they do not apply for jobs.

Purple squirrels almost never look for jobs. They might be managers or run their own companies. Hiring teams sometimes ask for too much, hoping to find someone perfect. This makes it even harder to find the right person. Even great people, like Steve Jobs once was, can get missed if they do not fit every job rule.

To find a purple squirrel, you need to try new things. Use new hiring tools, look in more places, and offer fun challenges. This is how you get the best people who can really help your team.

Find Your Purple Squirrel with an AI ATS

Purple Squirrel Defined — Image Source: deloitte

AI ATS Features for Search

You want to find your purple squirrel with an AI ATS. But you may wonder how these tools really work. AI-powered applicant tracking systems use smart tech to scan your candidate database. They help you spot the perfect person who matches your job needs. These systems do more than just look for keywords. They understand what skills and experience mean, so you can find a purple squirrel who fits your team.

Here’s what makes these systems special:

They look at old hiring data to find patterns in top workers and ideal candidates.
You can find great people in your database who applied before but did not get hired.
Predictive analytics help you find a purple squirrel already working at your company, so you do not miss out on talent you have.
Collaboration tools let your team and managers change job needs and talk about what makes a perfect candidate.
Diversity dashboards show you what your candidate pool looks like, so you can attract people from many backgrounds.
The system keeps both numbers and notes about candidates, so you get a full picture of their skills and experience.

Recruitment tech like this helps you use networks you may not know about. You can search alumni groups, social media, and your own employee lists. This helps you find your purple squirrel with an AI ATS faster and more easily.

Smart Filtering and Shortlisting

You do not want to waste time looking at hundreds of resumes. Smart filtering in an AI ATS makes recruiting much easier. The system uses deep learning to read resumes and understand skills and experience. It matches people to your job needs better than old ways.

With an AI ATS, you can quickly find your purple squirrel. The system sorts your candidate database, shows top talent, and even finds hidden or passive candidates who are not looking for jobs. You get a shortlist of people with the right skills and experience, so you can focus on those who fit your job.

Here are some ways to use AI ATS to find hidden talent:

Let the system do the first search to save time.
Use profile analysis to find hidden skills and experience.
Connect your ATS with CRM systems for easy data sharing.
Reach out to candidates when they are most likely to reply.
Send messages that match their work history and interests.
Stay in touch by sharing news and updates they care about.
Use predictive analytics to match people to jobs they may not think about.
Pick AI sourcing tools with strong analytics and integration.

Improving Candidate Experience

You want every candidate to feel important, even if they do not get the job. An AI ATS helps you by making the process smooth and personal. The system sends updates right away, answers questions with chatbots, and suggests jobs that fit each person’s skills and experience.

Studies show companies using AI-powered ATS hire 40% faster and spend 75% less per screen. Candidates finish applications faster and get clear updates at every step. Fewer people miss interviews because the system sends reminders and helps with scheduling. You also see better candidate satisfaction scores, so people feel good about your process—even if they do not get hired.

AI-driven ATS set up interviews and send reminders.
Candidates get messages and updates made just for them.
The system predicts which candidates will fit best, so you hire better.
You can handle more applications and still be personal.

When you find your purple squirrel with an AI ATS, you fill jobs faster and show you care about people. This brings more top talent and helps you find a purple squirrel who fits your team.

Maximizing Results

Refine Search Criteria

You want to find a purple squirrel who fits every need. Start by making your job description simple and clear. Use AI-powered tools to help write what you want in a candidate. These tools look at skills and experience, not just words. They can find hidden things in resumes, like volunteering or special skills, so you do not miss great people.

AI in recruitment tech uses smart language tools to see what you really want. It matches candidates to your job by checking their experience, career path, and even if they fit your team. This means you get people who fit your group, not just those who use the right words. When you make your search better, you save time and find top talent faster.

Automate Tasks

You can make hiring much easier by letting AI do boring jobs. AI-powered ATS can check thousands of candidates in minutes. It ranks each person by how well they match your job. This helps hiring teams spend more time talking to the best people and less time reading resumes.

Here are some ways automation helps:

Sets up interviews and sends reminders.
Answers questions with chatbots.
Tracks every step of hiring.
Cuts resume screening time by 60%.
Makes shortlisting more accurate by up to 95%.

With automation, you can spend more time talking to top talent and finding the purple squirrel who fits your company.

Monitor and Adjust

You want to keep getting better results. Track where your best candidates come from. Use recruitment analytics to see which places bring in top people and which ones need work. Watch important numbers like time to hire, quality of hire, and diversity in your group.

Set flexible goals for your ideal candidate. Work with your team to update your job description and needs as you learn more. Use feedback from candidates to make things better. Balance AI with a human touch so every candidate feels important.

You can use smart recruitment tech to find a purple squirrel who matches your job. AI ATS tools help you find top workers and do boring tasks for you. They also help you make choices using facts, not just guesses. Many hiring teams spend less money and get better workers with more skills.

Hire people faster and make the process nicer for them
Cut down on bias and look at what people can really do
Build a team with people from many backgrounds and skill levels

Are you ready to make your hiring better? Use AI and your own thinking to find the best person for your job!

FAQ

What does the term purple squirrel mean in recruiting?

The term purple squirrel means a perfect candidate who checks every box in your job description. This person has rare skill sets, top talent, and fits your team’s needs. Hiring teams use recruitment tech to find a purple squirrel who perfectly fits the role.

How can recruitment tech help you find a purple squirrel?

Recruitment tech uses AI to scan resumes and profiles. It matches skills and experience to your job requirements. You can find hidden top performers, even those with different experience levels. This tech speeds up your recruiting process and helps you spot the ideal candidate.

Why do hiring teams struggle to find a perfect candidate?

You may struggle because the perfect candidate is rare. Many top talent workers are passive and not looking for jobs. Sometimes, job requirements are too strict. If you focus on must-have skills and experience, you can find a purple squirrel who fits your needs.

How do you write a job description that attracts top talent?

Keep your job description clear and simple. List the most important skills and experience. Show how your company supports growth. When you do this, you attract top performers who want to join your team and grow with you.

Can an AI ATS help with different skill sets and experience levels?

Yes! An AI ATS looks at many skill sets and experience levels. It finds candidates who may not look perfect at first but have what you need. You get a shortlist of people who could become your next top performer.