The grossest application mistakes - from a computer's point of view
In today's application processes, a resume is hardly ever read by a human without the file first being processed by a computer system. A current study by the job search engine Adzuna shows what applicants should pay attention to when creating their resume in order to optimize it for computer-based application processes.
A March survey conducted by Adzuna, the operator of a free Resume Analysis Platformwhich examined a sample of 2,000 resumes, found that 47 percent of the resumes had a gap in the CV of more than six months. Further examination of the affected resumes revealed that in numerous cases, the type of formatting interfered with the process of CV parsing, i.e., reading in the information provided. CV parsing involves screening the experience, knowledge, and skills contained in the resume and converting them into a structured format that can be read by a software system. Formatting and coloring of the file are removed during this process. Adzuna's research found that resumes with an elaborate design in particular can lead to problems with CV parsing.
Top 5 mistakes applicants should avoid in computerized application processes:
- Resume contains tables: Many document conversion software methods cannot handle tables correctly, whereby the text they contain may not be extracted correctly, or additional blank lines may be inserted, messing up the outline.
- Use of graphics to represent textual content: The use of graphic formats such as .gif, .jpg or .png to represent the career within the CV is discouraged, as these are ignored during the CV parsing process and therefore the information contained cannot be extracted.
- Start or end date of the professional stations are not included: Periods of different stations in the career should always be listed with start as well as end dates, otherwise they will be shown as gaps. The correct listing is the month written out and a four-digit year, for example: January 2015 - May 2016
- Resume is in PDF format: The challenges of processing PDF files lies in text extraction, which may cause problems with some CV parsing systems. Using Word files, on the other hand, can make it easier to read the information.
- Sections in the resume are not clearly named: When naming individual sections, common headings such as "Education" or "Work Experience" should be used, and they should also be clearly listed separately.
"From an applicant's point of view, it is understandable to design your own resume as creatively as possible in order to stand out from the crowd as much as possible. However, many applicants are unaware that in numerous application processes, your resume is primarily read by a computer system that takes no notice of an elaborate design of form and color," comments Inja Schneider, Country Manager Germany at Adzuna. James Neave, developer of the ValueMyCV resume analysis platform and Head of Data Science at Adzuna adds: "Applicants can test for themselves whether their resume is optimized for computerized application systems by copying the content into a word processing system such as Word. If the layout gets distorted in the process, it's likely that their resume won't parse correctly."
CV parsing is a common HR software method. It involves first converting the CV into a structured format that can be read by a software system and thus does not require manual data entry. Once parsed, the imported information forms a candidate profile that recruiters can call upon when looking for individuals with specific skills or expertise, thus building a talent pool, i.e. a database of suitable candidates. Adzuna's resume analysis platform is based on this principle and can thus serve as a free check for candidates by allowing them to see how their resume would be received by professional HR software. Resumes can be edited and uploaded as many times as needed to ensure a flawless reading of the given information and to increase the chances of success in application processes.
Source: www.adzuna.de
