Recruiting in French in Québec: what your ATS should offer

In Québec, your recruiters, your managers and most of your candidates work in French. Applicant tracking software (ATS) therefore needs to offer French everywhere hiring happens, not just in the menus: the interface, the messages to candidates, the career site, the job postings and the support. And if you also hire in English, in Montréal or elsewhere in Canada, it needs to handle both languages side by side.

Here is what an ATS should offer in French, the pitfalls to avoid and the questions to ask before you choose.

Why language matters in hiring

For your candidates. Their first contact with your company is often the career site, then the acknowledgement email and the interview invitation. A candidate who applied in French and gets an email in English wonders whether they’re in the right place. Every message in their own language shows that someone actually read their application.

For your managers. Store managers and department managers only use the ATS now and then, to look at a resume or give feedback. If they have to do it in a language that isn’t theirs, they put it off, and hiring slows down.

For your recruiters. They spend their days in the tool. Writing a job posting, emailing a candidate or taking interview notes goes faster in your own language.

What an ATS should offer in French

1. The interface, for everyone

Recruiters, but also the managers who log in once a week. Check that every screen is in French, not just the main ones.

2. Messages to candidates

Acknowledgement, interview invitation, rejection, survey: every email and text-message template should exist in French and in English. Above all, the right version has to go out, based on the candidate’s language, without the recruiter having to think about it.

3. The career site and application form

The career site should be available in French and in English, and candidates should be able to switch between them. The language they choose when they apply should be saved on their file, so the rest of the conversation happens in that language.

4. Job postings in both languages

If you also hire in English, every posting needs a French version and an English version, without retyping everything by hand.

5. Support in French

When a recruiter has a question, they should be able to ask it in French, to a team that works the same hours they do.

6. AI that works in French

If the ATS offers writing help, candidate summaries or proofreading, those features should be as good in French as in English.

Bilingual teams and candidates

In Montréal, in the Outaouais, or in a company with locations elsewhere in Canada, hiring often happens in both languages. One tool should be enough: each candidate’s language on their file, templates in each language, a bilingual career site and postings published in French and in English. Each candidate goes through the process in their own language, and your team doesn’t have to juggle two systems.

Pitfalls to avoid

A half-translated interface. The menus are in French, but some screens, reports or automatic emails are still in English.
Email templates that default to English. The recruiter has to remember to switch templates for every French-speaking candidate, and one day they forget.
Support offered only in English, or in another time zone.
Job postings machine-translated and published without proofreading. A word-for-word translation shows quickly, and it reflects poorly on your company.

How Nextal does it

Nextal is recruiting software built in Montréal since 2017, French first.

The interface, the email and text-message templates, the career site and the support are available in French and in English.
Each candidate receives your messages in their language. Your templates have a French and an English version, and the candidate receives the one in their preferred language: acknowledgement, interview invitation, rejection, survey or personal email. When their language isn’t known, the text message includes both versions.
The career site opens in the candidate’s language, if it’s one you offer, and they can switch languages at any time. The language chosen when applying is saved on their file.
Your postings in both languages, in seconds. The writing assistant translates the title, the summary and the full description of your posting, formatting included, into each language you choose. You proofread each version before publishing it.
Spelling and grammar correction in French, on your postings, emails and text messages. You see the list of corrections, and nothing changes until you accept them.
Messages to your clients in their language. For agencies, the writing assistant writes by default in your contact’s preferred language.
Bilingual support from our Montréal-based team, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time, on Québec business days.

To see every feature, visit our Features page and our guide to ATS software in Canada.

Questions to ask the vendor

Before you choose an ATS, ask:

Is the whole interface in French, including for managers?
Do emails and text messages go out in the candidate’s language, without the recruiter stepping in?
Is the career site available in French and in English?
How are job postings translated, and can you proofread them before publishing?
Is support available in French, and during which hours?

And to compare prices, read How much does an ATS cost in Canada?.

Frequently asked questions

Is an English-only ATS enough if my team is bilingual? Your team may manage, but your candidates and your managers are the ones living the process. The messages they receive and the screens they use should be in their language.

Can I publish the same job in French and in English? Yes. In Nextal, each job has one version per language. The writing assistant translates the title, the summary and the description, and you proofread each version before publishing it.

Is Nextal’s support available in French? Yes. Our Montréal-based team provides support in French and in English, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time, on Québec business days.

Is Nextal a fit for companies outside Québec? Yes. The interface and the support are bilingual, and Nextal serves organizations across Canada.