The Best AI Recruiting Tools for Camps in 2025
How camps can use practical, affordable AI to source smarter, move faster, and stay ahead
AI is rewriting the playbook on hiring. You don’t need to be a tech company to benefit from it. At CampHire, we’ve made a commitment to stay curious, experiment, and not get left behind. Between free trials, paid subscriptions, and plenty of trial and error, we’ve tested dozens of tools to see what actually saves time and improves results.
What follows isn’t theory. These are tools we use every day to help camps recruit seasonal staff and executive leaders. Some are simple time-savers. Others have reshaped how we source, communicate, and collaborate. Whether you’re running one camp or overseeing several, these tools will help you hire smarter and faster.
The quick summary:
AI tools can make small teams more efficient and strategic.
Start with one or two easy wins (Otter, Calendly, or ChatGPT) before layering in advanced tools.
Use ChatGPT for early-stage search planning and Apollo for outreach.
Invest in a lightweight ATS like JazzHR to organize hiring and reduce admin time.
The camps that adapt fastest will attract the strongest talent in 2025 and beyond.
Smarter Tools for a Simpler Recruiting Workflow
1. Otter.ai for Interview Transcription and Collaboration
Otter.ai automatically records and transcribes interviews, creating searchable notes your entire team can access. It captures both audio and video, so you can watch or listen later to hear tone, pacing, and nuance—things that traditional notes miss.
We use Otter to:
Review interviews on our own time instead of joining every call.
Train interviewers by reviewing real examples together.
Give boards firsthand context before making key hiring decisions.
At around $20/month, Otter is one of the best investments you can make. It creates transparency, saves time, and ensures everyone has equal access to information.
2. Calendly for Scheduling and Reducing Ghosting
Calendly is more than a meeting tool—it’s a candidate experience booster. You set your availability and Calendly handles time zones, Zoom links, and reminders automatically.
It’s especially useful for seasonal or high-volume hiring, where ghosting can derail progress. Custom workflows send reminders and follow-ups automatically, while round-robin scheduling lets multiple interviewers share availability. Candidates get booked with whoever’s open, keeping your process moving smoothly.
Calendly is also investing heavily in recruiting technology. Its acquisition of Prelude adds powerful features for hiring coordination and automation, giving teams new ways to run structured interviews without extra tools.
The free version covers the basics. For about $12/month, you can unlock the automation features that make a noticeable difference.
3. Grammarly or ChatGPT for Writing and Editing
Clear, inclusive writing attracts stronger candidates. Grammarly helps polish job posts and emails for tone, grammar, and clarity. ChatGPT takes it further, helping camps write or rewrite content faster—from job descriptions to offer letters.
A bonus: both tools help you remove bias from your language. You can ask them to “rewrite this job description using neutral, inclusive language.” The result is communication that appeals to a broader pool of applicants and reflects your camp’s values.
Used together, Grammarly and ChatGPT can cut writing time in half and help you present a more professional, approachable brand voice.
4. JazzHR for Applicant Tracking and Workflow Management
If you’re still managing applications through email or spreadsheets, JazzHR is the upgrade you need. It’s the best applicant tracking system we’ve found for camps—easy to learn, cleanly designed, and built for collaboration.
We’ve tested many ATS platforms, and JazzHR consistently stands out for its unlimited users, flexible workflows, strong integrations, and affordable pricing. It scales beautifully for both seasonal and year-round hiring.
We’ve helped several camps migrate to JazzHR, and the feedback is consistent—it’s a game-changer. Hiring becomes more organized, transparent, and manageable for both directors and boards. Plans start around $75/month.
5. SimpleTexting or Built-In ATS Texting
If you’re still relying on email to reach staff, you’re missing them. Tools like SimpleTexting or JazzHR’s built-in SMS feature let you connect with candidates directly by text—the platform they actually check.
Texting improves open rates, response time, and candidate engagement. Whether you’re reminding staff about paperwork or following up on an interview, it keeps communication fast and personal.
6. LinkedIn Recruiter Light for Sourcing
When you’re hiring a year-round leader, LinkedIn Recruiter Light is worth every penny. It’s the lighter, more affordable version of LinkedIn Recruiter, perfect for short-term searches or DIY recruiting.
Its new AI-powered search lets you type plain language prompts like:
“Find me a camp director on the East Coast with at least five years of leadership experience.”
LinkedIn then interprets the query and surfaces profiles that match—no complicated Boolean searches required.
This tool is particularly helpful for boards or directors running their own searches. A one-month subscription gives you immediate access to a larger pool of qualified candidates and a faster path to outreach.
7. Apollo for Candidate Research and Outreach
Finding the right person is only half the battle—contacting them is the other. Apollo automates that step. It searches for verified email addresses, location data, and professional details, helping you connect with potential hires quickly and accurately.
We use Apollo to:
Build outreach lists of passive candidates.
Find contact info for directors and nonprofit executives who aren’t listed publicly.
Avoid the “info@camp…” black hole that rarely leads anywhere.
It’s one of the fastest ways to move from research to real relationships.
8. ChatGPT for Competitive Research and Search Strategy
Before we start any leadership search, we want to understand the talent landscape. ChatGPT is the perfect partner for that early research. We use it to analyze who else is hiring, identify peer and competitor camps, and map out the broader ecosystem—youth programs, outdoor education organizations, and nonprofit networks that overlap with our client’s mission.
Typical prompts we use:
“List camps similar to [Camp X] in [region], including program type, size, and governance model.”
“Summarize current job openings for camp directors or executives in [state], noting posted salaries and requirements.”
“Generate a list of organizations or communities where potential candidates might come from.”
The output becomes our market analysis—a snapshot of who’s hiring, what they’re offering, and where we can recruit talent. It also produces early-stage lead lists of people, places, and organizations worth networking with.
For hiring leaders, this data helps define the search strategy, refine compensation benchmarks, and align messaging before outreach begins. A good search starts with analysis, and ChatGPT helps get there faster.
9. Keep Experimenting
The tools listed above are what we’re using right now—but this space evolves fast. What’s most important isn’t the specific software; it’s the mindset. The best hiring leaders stay curious, try new tools, and keep adapting their workflows.
These technologies don’t replace human judgment or relationships. They remove the repetitive, manual tasks so you can focus on what matters most: connecting with people, assessing fit, and building great teams.
