Tips for creating awesome Electronic Resumes

How to Ensure that Our Resume Parser Can Read Your Resumes with Perfection?

customers1

1600+

Customers
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50+

Countries
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40+

Languages

You will agree that a resume is only readable if it is a perfect match for an electronic search. It will get good search ‘hits’ if it is in perfect shape.

 

RChilli is the Trusted Partner for Resume Parsing, Matching, and Data Enrichment.

 

Typically, our clients are ATS, job boards, and enterprises who need the ability to parse large amounts of resumes/jobs in a scalable manner. We are currently helping more than 1600+ customers in 50+ countries.

You may call it unfortunate, but many resume writers do not pay attention to the fact that the resumes need to be understood by a resume parser. There is no point in creating visually aesthetic resumes if they fail to comply with the benchmark of getting read through a resume parser.

A resume parser can easily understand a resume that follows all the set guidelines.

Let’s check out some tips for electronic resumes.

 

 

1. Fix the Conversion Issue

Make sure that your resume is not one of the following:

            • Scanned document – Scanned documents are difficult to parse as they depend on OCR conversion, and most of the time, OCR conversion may not be 100% accurate.
            • Password protected
            • Corrupted documents

 

 

2. Do Not Use PDF Formats

As there are more chances of error in PDF, it is advisable to create resumes in word format. A resume in a PDF format may have the following concerns:

      • Column/parallel information (Column parallel information.pdf)- There are chances of data getting jumbled up in conversion, so you must avoid writing resumes in
        fancy formats.
      • Formatting/images (Name in Image- check in text view or copy text. pdf)
      • Experience/Education Issue: Only for PDF files

electronic resume tips-1-1

In the above-mentioned case, the parser reads the content from the left-hand side first. This means that all the Employers with Job periods will be read first, and Employers will be picked up correctly with mentioned job periods. Now after reading the left-hand side content, the parser starts reading content from right-hand side, which contains the job profile and job description. So, Job profiles are separately read by the parser and are nowhere near to or matching with any of the employers after conversion.


In this case, all the job profiles will be skipped and cannot be picked up with any of the employers.

This is the limitation of the third-party tool used for PDF file conversion.

 

3. Do Not Use Header/Footer

Resume heading in header/footer is not considered for .doc/.docx as header/footer is considered for personal information only.

Headers and Footers were used in paper resumes but they are not a necessary part of electronic documents. As a resume parser cannot read information in headers, putting contact information in it is not a good idea because the parser will extract every data except the contact details.

 

4. Tables

We all believe that putting information in tables will make it look organized. However, a JD parser faces issues when it is put in the following way:

Parallel information appears

Example:

Job Profile

JobCode

Salary

Software Developer

J011102

USD 45000

 

This information will appear as below and cannot be parsed.

Job Profile

JobCode

Salary

Software Developer

J011102

USD 45000

 

5. Hidden Fields

Do not use the following in the job description:

              1. Document property fields 
              2. Any hidden data in document

 

6. Font Formatting

Do not mix uppercase and lowercase letters.


Capitalization formatting for small words


e.g. MAX EVAN but actually it is max evan (capitalization using formatting in word)

 

7. Write in the Same Style and Order

Each job that you list should be described in the same order. If one job is described as…


[Dates] [Position title] [Company][City], [State]
[Description]
… then all the other jobs should be written in the same style.

 

8. Do Not Combine Sections

Never combine several topics or sections into a single section. This is important!


WRONG:
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS, COMMUNITY SERVICE, AWARDS, TRAINING


RIGHT:
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
I was involved with….
COMMUNITY SERVICE
Chairman, United Way Campaign for Greater Okeechobee County
AWARDS
President’s Quarterly Salesmanship Award, 2014
TRAINING
YMCA CPR Training for Frogs and Small Reptiles, Level I, 2012

 

 

9. Contact Info Should Come First

If you want a job, put your contact information first. Contact info should never be
placed in one or two lines, nor placed into columns.

a. WRONG:
John Doe • 13003 Myrtlea Lane • Houston, Texas 77099 • 987.654.3210

RIGHT:
John Doe
13003 Myrtles Lane
Houston, Texas 77099
987-654-3210
johndoe@mail.com

b. WRONG:
John Doe Phone: 987.654.3210
13003 Myrtlea Lane Email: johndoe@mail.com
Houston, Texas 77099 Male, unmarried, no children

RIGHT:
John Doe
13003 Myrtlea Lane
Houston, Texas 77099
987-654-3210
johndoe@mail.com

c. WRONG:

electronic resume tips - 1

 

d. WRONG:
Marital Status: UK Resident, Married to a UK Citizen

Father name: Ramesh Kumar Occupation Teacher

RIGHT:
Marital Status: Married
Father name: Ramesh Kumar
Extra keyword not valid.

e. Address cannot be picked up without city and state

 

 

10. Case Sensitivity

Names, Job profile, employer name, degree, institutions should start with capital letters

e.g.

WRONG:
broadgate consultants, associate, New York                            September 2013-Present


RIGHT:
Broadgate Consultants, Associate, New York                           September 2013-Present

 

 

11. Resume Section Headings/Blocks

a. Missing headings (e.g. for experience or education block, we cannot define their
boundaries)

b. For Doc and Docx resume files only: If the Section Heading does not have sufficient
space after it e.g. Tab, Colon, New line, etc., the parser will not pick up the whole block
and everything will be skipped related to that block.
Even if there is a single space given, it will not pick up the block. As mentioned above,
sufficient space should be there after heading.

c. Combine heading (e.g. Education/Skill/training etc.)

d. Unusual heading

e. Do not use other headers within a section: -

e.g.

WRONG:
EDUCATION
Master of Commerce (Information Systems and Management) 2008 - 2009
University of New South Wales

Achievements:
• Distinction average in all IT subjects. Results attached
• Certificate of Distinction, Australian Mathematics Competition (2008)
Bachelor of Engineering (Computer Software Engineering) 1996 - 2000
University of Beijing


RIGHT:
EDUCATION
Master of Commerce (Information Systems and Management) 2008 - 2009
University of New South Wales
• Distinction average in all IT subjects. Results attached
• Certificate of Distinction, Australian Mathematics Competition (2008)
Bachelor of Engineering (Computer Software Engineering) 1996 - 2000
University of Beijing

 

 

12. Concerns with the Employment Section 

When mentioning about the employment, take care of the following:


a. Missing date (if job period is not defined among various employment, then it is not
able to parse all the information)

 

b. Improper or incomplete date formatted
e.g. Dec 2011
2011
01$01$2001 etc.
In Experience, the Job period should be written in a proper format. Single year like ‘1998’
will not be considered as a Job period. Also, Job period like ‘1998-1999’ should be
written in the same line. 1998 written in one line and 1999 written in the next line, will not
be considered as correct job period and hence, in that case, none of the employers will be
picked up.

 

c. Data in tables/in parallel format

 

d. Other heading in experience/project block like (related skills, achievement etc.)

 

e. If the format is in two lines (like ‘August-2017’ in one line and ‘to March-2018’ in the
next line), the parser will not pick up anything for that employer.

 

f. If in the first line, Employer, job profile and job period, period like ‘June 2008 - Aug 2010’
is mentioned and in the next line, if Employer is not mentioned and Job profile with job
period is mentioned but Job period is not of between ‘June 2008 - Aug 2010’, this means
it can be of ‘July 2007 - June 2008’. In this case, it will pick the Employer from anywhere
mentioned in the description further.

For example: -
Scientist, Optimization Team Jun 2008 to Jul 2009
a Played a key role in implementing Oracle Retail solutions for various clients like
Walmart, Sam’s Club, Gap, Lojas Riachuelo, Banana Republic, JC Penny, Sears, American
Eagle Outfitters, etc.
Led a team of analysts, technical consultants and project manager along with playing the
role of a scientist to drive the implementations.
Implemented Price Mark-Down Optimization solution for various retail clients like Sams
Club (USA), Gap Outlet (USA), Lojas Riachuelo (Brazil), Sears (Canada), etc.
Implemented Size Profile Optimization for American Eagles Outfitters (USA) and
estimated Demand Drivers for JC Penny (USA)

 

g. Do not put employer street addresses, or supervisor or reference information, into
your work history.
For Example: -
September 2014 - Present
Clinical Pharmacist
Alexandria VA Health System
Supervisor: Corey Guedry
Address: -123 Street, Boston, MA

 

h. Mentor at “Integration Program for American Students from Vassar-Wesleyan
Universities in
Madrid”. Carlos III of Madrid University 2004-2005
Lecturer and Sales Representative for Promotion of Carlos III of Madrid University in
Secondary Schools & Higher Education Fairs 2003-2004

These kinds of experiences where job profile is mentioned in the first line and then
employer with job period is written in the next line, the employer will be picking up the
job profile written in the next line even though that job profile is related to another
employer. So, in short, things will get overlapped.

 

i. Job Profile/Employer Overlapped:
2008-2008
El Corte Inglés, San Juan de Aznalfarache, Sevilla.
Saleswoman
. Costumer services, sales activities and aftersales support.
. Cashier responsibilities.
2008-2008
Café Bar “El Bosque”
Waitress
. Sales Services, waitress activities and cashier.
Here, the last employer’s job profile will be picked from last job descriptions, as this
employer finds the Cashier Keyword near to Job period and Waitress will be skipped.

 

j. Job profiles missing if the company name is mentioned multiple times.

WRONG:
TATA CONSULTANCYSERVICES INDIA, Mumbai since 12th Nov 2015 to 07th June 2016
Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) is an Indian multinational information
technology (IT) service, consulting and business solutions company headquartered in
Mumbai, Maharashtra. TCS operates in 46 countries.[6] It is a subsidiary of the Tata
Group and is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of
India.
Profile: VMware System administrator for ABN AMBRO Bank.

RIGHT:
TATA CONSULTANCYSERVICES INDIA, Mumbai since 12th Nov 2015 to 07th June 2016
Profile: VMware System administrator
Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) is an Indian multinational information
technology (IT) service, consulting and business solutions company headquartered in
Mumbai, Maharashtra. TCS operates in 46 countries.[6] It is a subsidiary of the Tata
Group and is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of
India.

k. If job period with any company name and job title is written in the job description, it
will be picked as separate employer.

WRONG:
TAP/Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Specialty Sales (in Gastroenterology, Rheumatology, ENT,
Nephrology, Internal Medicine, Family Practice, Pediatrics, Pediatric Gastroenterology).
Jan ‘01—Aug ‘12
Washington D.C., Maryland.
• Successfully promoted and launched multiple products to multiple specialties.
• 2011 Cresset Award.
• G-Force Top Gun award 2004/2006. District Clinical Trainer 2004-2006.

RIGHT:
TAP/Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Specialty Sales (in Gastroenterology, Rheumatology, ENT,
Nephrology, Internal Medicine, Family Practice, Pediatrics, Pediatric Gastroenterology).
Jan ‘01—Aug ‘12
Washington D.C., Maryland.
• Successfully promoted and launched multiple products to multiple specialties.
• 2011 Cresset Award.
• G-Force Top Gun award 2004/2006. District Clinical Trainer 2004, 2006.

l. Job location:

WRONG:
[JAN 2012 - PRESENT] WIPRO BPO BANGALOR
ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT

RIGHT:
[JAN 2012 - PRESENT] WIPRO BPO, BANGALOR
ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT

WRONG:
BLOOMINGDALE’S / NEW YORK, NY
BLOOMINGDALE’S 59th STREET FLAGSHIP / NEW YORK, NY

RIGHT:
BLOOMINGDALE’S, NEW YORK, NY
BLOOMINGDALE’S 59th STREET FLAGSHIP, NEW YORK, NY

 

13. Education Limitation

a. If the first degree mentioned in the resume file is not a valid one (like High school,
Senior Secondary etc.), or degree is not mentioned, then that degree will be skipped
and second degree will be picked up with first School or university or institute name and
other information mentioned with it. Further, the third degree will be picked with second
school or university or institute name and so on.

For example: -Below content mentioned in the resume.
High School
Sri Krishnan Talent School
State Board
Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Intermediate, MPC
Sasi Junior College
State Board
Velivennu, Andhra Pradesh


RChilli output result:
“Institution” : “Name” : “State Board”
“Type” : “Board”,
“City” : “Visakhapatnam”,
“State” : “Andhra Pradesh”

“SubInstitution” : “Name” : “Sri Krishnan Talent School”,
“Type” : “School”,
“Degree” : “Intermediate MPC”,

b. Complete Degree name should be written in the same line. It should not be like half of
the degree is written in the first line and half in the next line. If the Degree name is there
in two lines, then only the part mentioned in the first line of Degree will be picked.

WRONG:
Bachelor of Interior of
Architecture
University of Oregon
2013 - 2018


RIGHT:
Bachelor of Interior of Architecture
University of Oregon
2013 – 2018

 

c. Degree in qualification overlapped

In the first case, everything will be picked up. But in the second case, a degree MBA is
mentioned before university name ‘UCEMA’ and this will merge as mentioned in the
screenshot. Same way, other degrees also get overlapped as per the screenshot.

electronic resume tips 2


d. Education should not be written in a single line. For getting segregation of different

Universities and degrees, it should be mentioned in a new line, so that the parser can
detect those as different one. If 2-3 degrees are written in one line, even if there is comma, full stop etc. in between the degrees, it will be considered as one degree.


WRONG:
Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Engineering Technology, and Associate Degree
in Management at Southern Institute of Technology, Marietta, Georgia (Southern
Polytechnic State). Masters of Art in Organizational Management from University of
Phoenix.


RIGHT:
Education:
Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Engineering Technology
Associate Degree in Management at Southern Institute of Technology, Marietta, Georgia
(Southern Polytechnic State).
Masters of Art in Organizational Management from University of Phoenix.

 

14. Always End Company Names With Common Company Name Words

If you end the company names with words like Inc. or Co., there are better chances that the system can recognize them as companies.

 

Thanks for reading! Trust it helps.