What is resume parsing?

Resume parsing is the practice of using a specialized software platform to automate the process of collecting, storing and analyzing applicant resumes. This software helps make it easy to accept and organize resumes and application content. Once the resume parsing software captures this data, you can use it to screen applications and identify candidates who closely match your criteria.

You can parse resumes to determine which applicants have the specific skills, certifications and experience your organization wants. For example, if you’re seeking candidates who’ve completed a PMP certification, resume parsing technology can screen hundreds of applications in just minutes to identify which applicants meet this criterion.

How does resume parsing work?

The first steps of the resume parsing process are collecting and uploading resume information. In many cases, applicants can instantly upload their documents directly into the resume parsing platform. Many resume parsing programs can accept various document formats, includingPDFs and Word docs. However, employers can also choose to upload each resume manually. While this process can take longer, some employers prefer to quickly scan resumes before uploading them to the software.

Once uploaded into the resume parsing platform, the software can sort, organize and store applications according to your desired criteria. You can then extract the information you want when you need it. You can set the specific criteria for each role in your company you want the software to screen for. For instance, you might have it screen applicants by searching for candidates with specific skill sets, professional credentials, degree completion and past work experience.

One of the important aspects of resume parsing technology is that you can continuously modify the chosen criteria to narrow down your talent search or screen for multiple positions.

Related: The Candidate Persona Toolkit: Getting to Know Your Talent Audience

Types of resume parsing

There are three primary types of resume parsing, including:

• Keyword parsing: Keyword-based parsing is the more common type used, but it’s also the least accurate. It scans resumes, cover letters and other information for specific keywords, such as skills, certifications and degrees.
• Grammar parsing: Rather than solely searching for specific keywords, grammar-based parsing searches for phrases and word strings to understand the meaning behind these words. This allows the software to better screen and identify the closest-matching candidates. Grammar parsing requires a more complex setup process, but it can offer very accurate results.
• Statistical parsing: Statistical resume parsing uses numerical values and statistical models to determine the context in which certain words are used. For example, statistical parsing can help distinguish the difference between workplace communication as a skill or previous work experience. While this method can be accurate, it requires scanning and tracking a large volume of resumes.

Related: What AI Can Do for Your Recruitment — And What It Can’t

Benefits of resume parsing technology

There are a number of ways your company might benefit from investing in resume parsing technology, including:

Improved hiring outcomes

Resume parsing can help filter out candidates who don’t meet the requirements of a role. It can also help identify applicants who closely match your set criteria. While you still make the final decision about which candidates to hire, having this information can help you make fact-based hiring decisions.

Faster hiring process

Being able to reduce the time it takes to screen applications from hours to just minutes can help speed up the hiring process. This might allow you to extend job offers to your prime candidates before your competitors, which may significantly improve your job acceptance rates. Improved hiring outcomes could also lead to higher retention rates.

Reduced recruitment costs

While investing in resume parsing technology may have a higher initial cost, the ability to save time and resources when screening applications could help reduce your long-term recruitment costs.

Reduced level of bias

Unconscious bias in the hiring process can be difficult to avoid, especially since hiring managers often don’t even realize they hold any biases. Resume parsing can help prevent some level of bias in the recruitment process by using software to initially screen and filter candidates. This technology can also help your team make hiring decisions based on facts, not gut instincts.

Organized candidate data

When you receive dozens of applications at a time, it can be difficult to manage and keep candidate resumes organized. Parsing resume software not only stores data from applications, but it can also make it easy for you to instantly sort and filter dozens or even hundreds of resumes.

Drawbacks of parse resume technology

Before you take the plunge and invest in resume parsing technology, it’s important to also understand some of the challenges you might face when using this type of software. Here’s a look at the major drawbacks of using parse resume technology.

Potentially overlooking candidates

One of the biggest challenges of resume parsing technology is the risk of filtering out candidates who do not meet certain criteria, but could otherwise be suited for the role. Since this technology scans applications based on set criteria, it may filter out applicants who don’t use the right wording in their resumes. For example, if you’re looking for candidates with time-management skills, the software may remove all applicants who don’t specifically list this skill on their resume, even if the candidate’s experience has time-management abilities.

Keyword stuffing

Today’s candidates are savvy, and many of them understand how resume parsing technology works. Therefore, some applicants may use a keyword stuffing technique to ensure their resume passes the software’s screening process, despite lacking qualifications for the job. This practice can skew the results and let some candidates through who may not be a good fit for the position.

Wording ambiguity

Another challenge of using resume parsing technology is that some words have different meanings to different people. For example, while one candidate may use the term teamwork, other applicants may use collaboration. If your criteria only includes the term teamwork, those candidates using collaboration may not identify as a good fit, even if these two words are similar. To avoid this issue, it’s important to be as comprehensive as possible and include all keywords that could be a good fit.

Resume parsing can help your organization filter through large volumes of resumes in just a matter of minutes. While you still make the final decision on who to hire, this technology could help you narrow down your search and find candidates who are a good match for your company.

Resume parsing FAQs

What is a parsable resume?

A parsable resume is one that’s digitally submitted or manually downloaded into specialized software that can organize, scan and filter applicants based on set criteria. Employers use this technology to quickly identify candidates who closely fit their job descriptions and other set standards. This type of software is extremely popular today, even among small to medium employers.

How accurate is resume parsing?

Resume parsing technology can be quite accurate, depending on the type of parsing used and the level of criteria you set. Grammar parsing is one of the more accurate options, but the setup process can be extensive. No matter what type of resume parsing you use, the final hiring decisions can remain with your hiring managers, HR staff or executives.