Any recruitment agency or in-house talent team receiving CVs in volume needs CV parsing software. Recruiters who manually copy candidate details from CVs into a database lose hours each week to data entry. Parsing software removes that step, so agencies and in-house teams handling dozens or hundreds of applications a day rely on it to keep their candidate database current and searchable.
What is CV parsing?
CV parsing, or resume parsing, is the process by which a CV is automatically converted and imported into your ATS. Specific candidate information—name, email address, phone number—is imported from the CV file into fields within your ATS, allowing you to search easily, filter, and access that specific information about a candidate in just a few clicks.
How do CV parsers work?
Most CV parsers operate by the user uploading the CV file into the parsing tool (some even feature a drag-and-drop interface) and confirming which fields or data should be imported. Once these steps are complete, the candidate now exists as a record in the ATS.
Where are CV Parsers Used?
CV parsers sit inside applicant tracking systems (ATS), CV databases, job boards, and career sites. Recruitment agencies use them to pull candidates from job board applications, email attachments, and referrals straight into their ATS. Job boards and career portals also run parsing on the front end, so a candidate can upload a CV and have the application form fill in automatically instead of typing every field by hand.
What Formatting Can CV Parsers Read?
Most CV parsers read the file formats candidates commonly send: PDF, Microsoft Word (.doc and .docx), and plain text. Some also handle rich text format (.rtf) and CVs pasted in from a webpage as HTML. Accuracy usually drops for scanned or image-based CVs, since those need optical character recognition (OCR) rather than straightforward text extraction.
Frequently Asked Questions About CV Parsing
CV parsing software removes manual data entry, so recruiters spend less time retyping candidate details and more time on calls and interviews. It standardises how candidate information sits in the ATS, which makes searching, filtering, and matching CVs to open roles faster and more consistent. It also cuts down on the transcription errors that creep in when someone manually keys in a phone number or email address from a CV.
Look for CV parsing software built into your ATS rather than sold as a separate tool, since a native integration keeps candidate records in one place instead of syncing between systems. Check how accurately it reads the CV formats your candidates actually send, and how easily recruiters can review and correct parsed fields before they save. Bullhorn’s ATS and CRM includes CV parsing as a core feature, so candidate records build automatically as CVs come in, without a separate integration to manage.
Not exactly, though the terms are used interchangeably in recruitment technology. ‘CV’ is the standard term in the UK, Ireland, and most of Europe, while ‘resume’ is the US equivalent. Both describe a candidate’s document listing work history, skills, and education, so CV parsing and resume parsing refer to the same process: extracting that information into an ATS.
