In the world of contingent hiring, speed and candidate experience are critical drivers of business growth. According to SHRM, 60% of job seekers say they have quit an application due to its complexity or length. With competition for contingent talent at an all time high, a system that enables hiring speed is paramount.

Recent research indicates the average time to fill a contingent job opening is 39 days as compared to a lengthier 40-50 days to for a permanent role. Further, according to the MRI Network Recruiter & Employer Sentiment Survey, more than half (56%) of recruiters say their ability to make good hires is impeded by lengthy hiring processes. Thus, laborious application processes can cost recruiters valuable talent. Manual data entry into an ATS is typically time consuming and also susceptible to human error. Resume parsing accelerates the application process for candidates and improves the hiring experience.

What is resume parsing?

Resume parsing is the process whereby software is used to automatically convert free form resume documents into organized, analyzed and stored data. Essentially, it enables candidates to upload their resumes into your ATS. It extracts key candidate data, including name and contact details into the corresponding fields in your ATS, allowing you to easily access, sort and filter data.

How does resume parsing work?

Typically, resume parsers function by the user uploading the resume document into the parsing tool. This could include a drag and drop interface and users can select which data is imported. Resume parsers analyze the information on a resume, extract relevant information, and insert that information into a database with a unique entry for every candidate. Once this data is uploaded the candidate is automatically a new record in your ATS.

What are the benefits of resume parsers?

1. Improved candidate experience: Resume parsing saves a significant amount of time for candidates, particularly when leveraging a sophisticated parsing system that provides accurate data outputs. According to Glassdoor, corporate job openings attract an average of 250 resumes, while the national average for open requisitions across all industries per recruiter fluctuates between 30-40 at any one time. Thus, recruiters can be juggling hundreds of applications at any given time. By reducing human error during the application process, recruiters are able to more accurately identify the best candidates. Furthermore modern resume parsing systems offer a seamless user experience that saves time, making a strong first impression among candidates.
2. Reducing time to hire: Any advantage here is a game changer in the world of contingent recruiting. The time recruiters spend screening resumes and cover letters is considerable, and the majority of this time is spent filtering out unsuitable candidates. Let’s consider for a moment that a job opening attracts 250 resumes on average, yet generally 75% – 88% of these are unsuitable. Resume parsing, in combination with powerful AI-matching, accelerates the recruiting cycle by processing the most complex resumes into structured data fields that can be analyzed to deliver rapid outcomes.
3. Better fit hiring: In spite of the fact that on average corporate job posts receive around 250 resumes, 45% of employers still report they are struggling to find candidates with the right skill sets. With heightened mobility and remote working, particularly among the rising gig workforce, improving your candidate selection process is vital.
   Modern resume parsing software enables candidates to update their details in real time, ensuring that the information in your ATS stays relevant. Further, resume parsing automation analyzes candidate data enabling effective skill set matching. By identifying and organizing applications in accordance with relevant skills and experience, resume parsing can save recruiters hours that would ordinarily be spent reading through each resume and cover letter that lands in your inbox. Paired with AI matching capability through LiveHire, it can fine tune selection of applications that fit the role and in some cases even rank them accordingly.
4. Eliminating human error: Manual administrative tasks are susceptible to human error, particularly when it comes to data entry. Resume parsing overcomes this with smart matching capabilities. Additionally, when deciding whether a candidate is suitable for a role based on their resume, recruiters often rely on schemas which enable fast judgements to be made. A recent study using eye tracking software found recruiters typically scan over job title, company and job dates before flicking to the bottom of the resume to review education and training. From start to finish this, on average takes recruiters just 7.4 seconds to make a judgement on whether a candidate is suitable to progress. The problem is, snap judgements are not always correct, and as a growing body of contemporary research tells us, can be highly susceptible to subconscious bias. This brings us nicely to the next point…
5. Reducing bias: Resume parser settings can be set to omit specific data that isn’t relevant to the open requisition such as age, gender, nationality, and university name. This allows you to reduce unintentional biases when reviewing candidate resumes. A Deloitte report has found that cognitively and demographically diverse teams can enhance innovation by 20%, while research by Gartner indicates that 75% of organizations that have achieved a diverse and inclusive culture will exceed their financial targets. As this relates to the contingent workforce, recruiting from a diverse pool of candidates also boosts the likelihood of finding the best-fit worker for the contract role. Thus, this system offers a key solution for clients looking to cast their net wider and boost their DE&I.
6. Social media parsing: With technology advancements, many resume parsers and ATS software can also parse key candidate information from a candidate’s social media pages, such as LinkedIn. This information is then converted into a usable format in your ATS. This feature allows recruits to mine more information about a candidate’s background, experience and skills without the time consuming burden of searching manually and re-entering information.
7. Ensuring large volumes are parsed consistently: Lastly, resume parsing software ensures that candidate information is accurately analyzed every time. This allows staffing agencies to scale with the peace of mind that regardless of the volume of resumes received, they will always be parsed consistently and correctly.

4 key features to look for in a resume parser

Is it user friendly?

Typically modern parsers accept resumes in a range of formats, including PDF, TXT, DOC, and DOCX. This is important as you don’t want to be missing out on top talent due to incompatible formatting. You should also ensure the resume parser integrates into your existing ATS. The LiveHire platform for example, has an inbuilt parser for candidates, meaning anyone coming into your system can experience the benefits of a resume parser. Additionally, it delivers rich structured data output, to enable powerful recruitment workflow applications. Further some resume parsers such as LiveHires offer not just resume parsing but also candidate and vacancy information extraction.

Does it input and translate accurate details in the ATS?

While resume parsers offer a level of error and bias reduction that humans simply cannot, a resume parser will only be as effective as its ability to accurately interpret information presented in a variety of ways. For example, dates can be written in a host of different ways, names can have numerous spellings and some words can have different or ambiguous meanings depending on the context. Thus, it is vital that you choose a pioneering resume parser that is able to overcome the challenge of accurate text interpretation. LiveHire’s resume parser includes flexible, extendable, bespoke schemas and unique skills taxonomies to boost accuracy.

Does it have a candidate centric design?

World class resume parsers enable candidates to review their uploaded information and edit accordingly after the candidate’s resume is parsed into a profile. This puts the control back in the hands of the candidates, creating a user friendly and superior candidate experience.

Is it AI optimized?

The most sophisticated parsers on the market are powered by artificial intelligence, which drives improved data extraction and more intelligent sorting and retrieval of relevant data to optimize the search for best fit candidates. The LiveHire platform also includes AI powered, strategically enhancing data searching, analytics and reporting.

Want to find out more about LiveHire’s best-of-breed candidate experience features? Book a demo with us today.