RECRUITING
From first interest to the academy, in one system.
Capture interest before anyone applies, run a pipeline built for public safety hiring, keep candidates engaged with automated follow-up and see which campaigns produce hires. Part of the MAX Recruitment Suite.
AT A GLANCE
Built for public safety hiring.
One record per person, from the first question on your website to the first day at the academy.
Capture interest
An AI recruiting assistant, interest forms, QR codes and bulk uploads bring prospects in before they apply.
A real hiring pipeline
Stage templates for police, sheriff, corrections, fire and EMS, with gates, tasks and cohort moves.
Stay in touch
Email sequences and a private candidate portal keep people engaged through a long process.
Measure what works
Funnel reports, campaign costs and source tracking all the way to hire.
CAPTURE AND ATTRACT
Reach people before they apply, then make applying easy.
Interest tools and job postings feed one list, with each person placed in the right pipeline from the start.
- AI recruiting assistantAvailable around the clock on your website. It answers questions from your own recruiting content and guides people to apply.
- Interest forms and QR codesPlace interest forms anywhere on your site. QR codes on flyers and event tables send people to the right form, tagged by campaign.
- Bulk upload and applicant importAdd career fair contacts and sign-up sheets from a spreadsheet, each tagged by source. Import an existing applicant spreadsheet to get started.
- A short questionnaire that sorts peopleEach person lands in the right pipeline (career, volunteer, junior, EMS or lateral) and the right stage automatically.
- One record per personProspects and applicants are segmented by track and by source. Each segment gets its own follow-up, and you can see how prospects convert to hires.
- Job postings and a job boardEach job has its own page and requirements. Put a job board on any page of your site, and start new postings from position templates.
- Found where candidates lookEvery job is marked up for Google for Jobs, with an automatic feed for aggregators like Indeed and one-tap social sharing.
- Mobile-friendly applicationsEach job has its own application with custom questions, and guardian consent for applicants under 18.
- Talent poolKeep interested people who have not yet applied in a talent pool, and follow up with them until they apply.
THE PIPELINE
Stages that match how public safety agencies hire.
Start from a ready-made template and change it to fit your process.
- Stage templatesReady-made stages for police, sheriff and corrections, fire and EMS, from application through academy. Customize them however you like.
- Stage gatesSet what must be complete before someone advances, such as documents received, a test passed or consent signed.
- Tasks at each stageGive tasks to candidates and to staff, so everyone knows what is next.
- Board or list viewFilter by position, stage and source, and move a whole test cohort forward in bulk the day results arrive.
- A full candidate recordThe application, files, private staff notes, tasks, messages and a complete activity history in one place. Every change has an audit trail.
- Recruiter assignmentsName an owner and collaborators, and track the next action, credential status and a hiring checklist.
- Notifications and team visibilityRecruiters are notified, and the whole team can see what is due, so nobody misses a follow-up.
- Background checks as a statusTrack a background check as a status only. Sensitive details are never stored.
GET STARTED FAST. CONTACT US TO LEARN MORE.
See how this works for your department.
Tell us about your department and we will show you the new platform built from your own content.
- Walk through the features that matter to you
- Plan what moves over from your current site
- Agree a practical next step
Request a Website Readiness Review
STAY ENGAGED
Keep candidates moving through a long process.
A hiring process can run six to twelve months. Automated follow-up, simple scheduling and a private portal keep people from drifting to another agency.
- Email sequencesSequences start when a candidate enters a stage. Send application confirmations, test reminders and academy welcome packets.
- Templates, waits and schedulingUse templates with personalized fields, timed waits and scheduled messages. Sequences pause automatically when a candidate replies.
- Tests and oral boards as sessionsSchedule written tests, physical ability tests and oral boards with a set capacity, and invite whole groups.
- Interview self-schedulingSet weekly availability and blackout dates. Candidates book, cancel or rebook their own time, with calendar invites and reminders. No double booking.
- Interview emailsApplicants get an automatic email when an interview is rescheduled or cancelled, and a reminder before it takes place.
- Optional notification emailsChoose which recruiting emails go out, such as an alert to staff when an applicant replies, uploads documents or books an interview slot.
- Candidate portalApplicants get secure passwordless login. The portal shows application updates, a live progress tracker, the next step and a task checklist.
- Documents, signatures and messagesCandidates upload requested documents, sign forms electronically, complete guardian consent, manage interview times and message your team.
- Mobile firstCandidates check their own status on a phone instead of calling your recruiters.
- Two-way texting with candidatesText messages between your recruiters and candidates, kept on the candidate record next to email and portal messages.
MEASURE AND HAND OFF
Know which campaigns produce hires.
Reports follow the money and the people from first click to hire.
- Ad and campaign performanceCompare your recruiting channels (social, search and job ads) by spend, clicks, leads, cost per lead, cost per applicant and cost per hire.
- Source through to hireSee which campaigns, events, QR codes, job boards and website forms actually produce applicants and hires.
- Tracked campaign linksBuild tracked campaign links with branded short links, so each flyer, post and event is tied to the people it brings in.
- Recruiting dashboard and saved viewsFunnel conversion and drop-off between every stage, median time in each stage and time to hire. Save the report views you use most.
- AI visibility checkSee how AI answer engines describe your department when people ask about joining, so you can fill gaps in your own recruiting content.
- Recruiting calculatorsEstimate the cost of a vacancy, cost per hire, retention loss and the pipeline volume you need.
- Hand off to HRPass hired candidates to your HR or existing applicant tracking system, or run the whole process here.
- Works on any deviceRecruiters manage candidates and receive real-time notifications from a phone.
- Private by designThe system refuses Social Security numbers and medical information. Candidate data is encrypted in transit and at rest.
QUESTIONS
Common questions
What does recruiting software for a fire, EMS or police agency need to do?
It should capture interest early, run a multi-stage hiring process with tests, boards and background steps, keep candidates informed over many months, and show which campaigns produce hires. Responder MAX Recruiting does each of these in one system.
Can prospects ask questions before they apply?
Yes. An AI recruiting assistant on your website answers questions around the clock using your own recruiting content, such as requirements, process, pay, benefits and timeline, and guides people to apply or sign up.
Does the AI recruiting assistant publish anything on its own?
No. People review AI drafts before anything is published, and your agency can turn AI off at any time.
What is the difference between a prospect and an applicant?
A prospect has shown interest but has not applied. An applicant has applied for a position. Each person has one record, segmented by track and source, with its own follow-up for each group.
Can we use our own hiring stages?
Yes. Start from ready-made templates for police, sheriff and corrections, fire and EMS, then add, remove or reorder stages. You can require documents, a passed test or signed consent before a candidate advances.
How do candidates schedule tests and interviews?
You schedule written tests, physical ability tests and oral boards as sessions with a set capacity. For interviews you set weekly availability and blackout dates, and candidates book, cancel or rebook their own time. Double booking is not possible.
Do candidates need a password to see their status?
No. Applicants use secure passwordless login, with no password to create. They see application updates, a progress tracker, their next step and a task checklist, upload documents, sign forms and message your team.
Do applicants get emails about their interview?
Yes. Applicants get an automatic email when an interview is rescheduled or cancelled, and a reminder before it takes place.
Does the system score applicants?
No. Follow-up goes out by email, and messages happen in the candidate portal. Responder MAX does not score or rate applicants. Your recruiters make those judgments.
What is the AI visibility check?
It checks how AI answer engines describe your department when people ask about joining. You can use the results to improve the recruiting content on your own site.
Can we track which campaign brought someone in?
Yes. Build tracked campaign links with branded short links for flyers, posts and events, and see the applicants and hires each one produces.
Will our jobs show up in Google for Jobs and on Indeed?
Every job is marked up for Google for Jobs and published to an automatic feed that aggregators like Indeed can read. Responder MAX does not buy or place paid job-board listings for you.
What applicant information do you collect, and how is it protected?
The system refuses Social Security numbers and medical information, and tracks background checks as a status only. Candidate personal data is encrypted in transit and at rest, applicant messages are individually encrypted, and each agency’s candidates are kept separate from every other agency’s.
See the whole platform.
Every feature on this page is part of the new Responder MAX CMS for public safety.
Explore the platform