Recruitment has changed more in the last 5 years than in the previous 20. The tools have changed, candidate behaviour has changed, and companies' expectations of their HR and recruiter teams have changed significantly. If you are still manually tracking candidates in Excel and only using Naukri — you are behind, and it shows in interviews.
This guide covers every major recruitment tool used in Indian companies in 2025 — categorised by how urgently you need to learn it and what kind of company uses it.
🎯 You do not need to master all of these. Read this guide and pick the 2–3 tools that match the companies you want to work for. Then go deep on those. Shallow knowledge of 10 tools is worth far less than strong proficiency in 3.
Category 1: Job Portals — The Foundation
Naukri is the largest job portal in India with over 70 million registered job seekers. Every recruiter in India — from a 10-person startup to a 50,000-person company — uses Naukri. It is non-negotiable. If you do not know how to source on Naukri, write effective job postings, use Resdex (their resume database) and interpret candidate quality, you are not ready to recruit in India.
What to learn: Writing effective job descriptions, Resdex Boolean search, filtering by current company / location / salary / notice period, managing job responses, shortlisting and communicating with candidates, understanding Naukri's ranking algorithm so your job posts get seen.
LinkedIn is essential for mid-to-senior level hiring, passive candidate outreach, and all professional and technical roles. Unlike Naukri where candidates are actively searching, LinkedIn lets you reach candidates who are not looking — which is exactly the skill companies pay for in senior recruiters.
What to learn: Boolean search operators on LinkedIn (AND, OR, NOT, quotes, parentheses), writing effective InMail messages that get responses, LinkedIn Recruiter Lite vs free search, building talent pipelines, and using LinkedIn to build your own professional brand as an HR person.
Indeed has grown significantly in India, particularly for blue-collar, semi-skilled, and volume hiring. Manufacturing companies, logistics firms, and BPOs in Pune increasingly use Indeed alongside Naukri. Good to know but not the primary platform for most white-collar HR roles.
Category 2: ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems)
An ATS manages the entire hiring process digitally — from job posting to offer letter. Any company with 100+ employees and a structured HR team is likely using one. Knowing at least one ATS is now a baseline expectation for recruiter roles.
Keka's built-in ATS is one of the most widely used in Indian startups and mid-size companies. Since many companies are already on Keka for payroll and HRMS, their recruitment teams naturally use Keka ATS. Strong Keka knowledge covers both the recruiter and the HR generalist — making it doubly valuable.
What to learn: Creating job openings, managing pipeline stages (Applied → Screening → Interview → Offer), interview scheduling, collaborative hiring (involving hiring managers), offer letter generation, and reporting on time-to-fill and source of hire.
Zoho Recruit is popular with staffing agencies, smaller companies, and businesses already in the Zoho ecosystem. It is feature-rich, affordable, and widely used across Pune's SME sector. If you are targeting staffing/consulting firm roles, Zoho Recruit knowledge is particularly valuable.
Greenhouse is the ATS of choice for many global companies and GCCs operating in India — think US-headquartered tech companies, consulting firms, and financial services businesses. If you want to work in a GCC or MNC HR team in Bangalore or Pune, Greenhouse familiarity is a meaningful differentiator. It is significantly more structured than Indian ATS products, with strong interview scorecards and diversity hiring features.
Category 3: Sourcing & Screening Tools
Boolean search is not a software — it is a technique that works across Naukri, LinkedIn, Google, and any ATS. Recruiters who can write a precise Boolean search string find better candidates in less time than those who cannot. It is a 2-hour skill to learn and immediately makes you a better recruiter.
Example: To find a PHP developer in Pune on Google: site:linkedin.com/in "PHP developer" "Pune" "5 years". This surfaces LinkedIn profiles Google has indexed, bypassing LinkedIn's search limits.
Technical assessment platforms are used by IT companies and high-volume hirers to screen candidates before interviews. HR teams manage these platforms — setting up test links, monitoring completions, interpreting scores. Basic familiarity with HackerRank (for tech hiring) or Mettl (for aptitude/behavioural assessments) is a useful add-on skill for IT sector recruitment roles.
Which Tools to Learn Based on Your Target Company
| Target Company Type | Must Know | Good to Know |
|---|---|---|
| IT / Software Companies | LinkedIn, Naukri Resdex, Keka ATS | HackerRank, Greenhouse |
| Manufacturing / MIDC | Naukri, Indeed, Excel tracking | Zoho Recruit |
| Startups | LinkedIn, Keka ATS, Naukri | Greenhouse, Boolean |
| GCC / MNC | LinkedIn Recruiter, Greenhouse | Workday, SAP SuccessFactors |
| Staffing / Consulting | Naukri, Zoho Recruit, Boolean | LinkedIn, Indeed |
| BFSI | LinkedIn, Naukri, internal ATS | Keka, Mettl assessments |
The One Skill That Beats All Tools
Every experienced recruiter will tell you the same thing: the tool is not the skill. The skill is understanding people — what motivates a passive candidate to consider a move, how to write a job description that attracts the right applicants, how to run a structured interview that actually predicts performance.
Tools change. A recruiter who deeply understands the craft will adapt to any new platform in a week. Build the craft first — then layer the tools on top. This is the philosophy behind Aapvex's Talent Acquisition course — we teach the thinking, then we put you in front of the tools.
Get Hands-On With Recruitment Tools at Aapvex
Our Talent Acquisition course covers Naukri, LinkedIn sourcing, ATS tools, Boolean search and structured interviewing — with live exercises on real job portals. Join the next batch in Pune.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which job portal is best for recruitment in India?
Naukri.com has the largest database of active Indian job seekers and is the dominant portal for most sectors. LinkedIn is essential for mid-senior and professional roles. For freshers and volume hiring, Indeed and Shine are also commonly used. Most corporate HR teams use Naukri and LinkedIn together.
What is an ATS and do Indian companies use it?
An ATS (Applicant Tracking System) manages the end-to-end hiring process — job postings, applications, screening, interview scheduling, and offer management. Mid-size and large Indian companies actively use ATS systems. Keka, Zoho Recruit, Darwinbox Recruit and Greenhouse are the most common in Pune and Bangalore.
Is LinkedIn Recruiter worth learning for India HR jobs?
Yes. LinkedIn Recruiter Lite is used by most corporate HR teams in India for sourcing mid-senior candidates, especially in IT, BFSI, and consulting. Knowing Boolean search on LinkedIn and how to write effective InMail messages is a highly valued recruiter skill that sets experienced candidates apart.