Glossary
What is resume parsing?
Updated:
In short
Resume parsing is the process by which a program extracts text from a file and splits it into structured fields: name, contact, experience, education, skills. Parsing quality depends on the file format and the structure of the resume.
What breaks parsing?
Multiple columns, tables, text boxes, headers holding contact details and PDFs made from images. In all of these the order of the text in the file differs from the visual order.
How do I check parsing?
Paste the text from the PDF into a plain editor and check the order. For an automatic check, use the free Joben scan.
Frequently asked questions
Does parsing use AI?
Some systems use language models, others use rules. The result still depends on how clean the file is.
Are DOCX files parsed too?
Yes. Most systems accept text PDFs and DOCX.
See how an ATS reads your resume
Upload your resume and get a free score from 0 to 100 and the points to fix. No account needed.