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Behind the Scenes: The Research That Powers Our Vendor Comparisons

Behind the Scenes: The Research That Powers Our Vendor Comparisons

At IRD, we use a simple but powerful model to evaluate talent acquisition software:

Trust, AI Research, and Community Feedback.

  • Trust: No referral fees, no sponsorships, and no click-tracking. Our insights are independent and bias-free—built to serve practitioners, not vendors.

  • AI Research: We engineer tailored prompts to power ChatGPT’s Deep Research, dramatically reducing the time it takes to surface information from documentation, reviews, and public sources. It’s not perfect—but it gets us 95% of the way there.

  • Community Feedback: We invite vendors to clarify any inaccuracies, then publish a public version. A deeper version lives behind our SAI membership paywall, where system administrators explore, refine, and compare tools in real-world context.

We also offer custom analyses and full RFP advisory support for companies making high-stakes platform decisions.

Check Out the Research

👉 Browse the iCIMS vs. HCMs library

👉 Browse the iCIMS vs. other ATSs library

👉 Browse the ATS-Adjacent Tools library

Custom Reports

🧠 Want a custom analysis based on your company size, industry, and specific vendors you’re considering?

Click here to contact sales.

Want more insights like these?

💌 Sign up for the SAI Newsletter: Click here to subscribe.
👉🏼 Join the Conversation: RSVP for our Free Friday Calls for iCIMS customers by visiting our events page. Find the “Free Friday” event, click RSVP, and create your free profile.
🧠 Get Ongoing Expert Support: Join System Admin Insights for the best deal in iCIMS consulting—daily Office Hours with expert consultants, vendor selection support, and a consultant-moderated Quick Answers channel. Learn more here.

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Alex Marcus

HR tech strategist and founder of Integral Recruiting Design. I help companies optimize their applicant tracking systems for ROI and results.
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