The 8 Best Resume Parsing Software – 2023

What is Resume Parsing Software and Why is It Important?

Resume parsing software extracts data from resumes and stores it in a database. This information can then be used to search for candidates with needed job qualifications, or to create reports about the pool of applicants.

Resume parsers are important because they allow companies to quickly and easily identify the best candidates for a position. By automating data extraction from resumes at rapid processing times with near-human accuracy, the software can provide information about an applicant's skills, experience, and education more efficiently compared to manual methods. The information gathered can then be used to compare candidates against each other or to find candidates who meet specific criteria.

Resume and CV parsing software enables HR and recruiters to quickly find the best candidates for job positions without sifting through mountains of resumes, saving time and resources for the company. Below are some of the main use cases and benefits of resume parsing software:

• High volumes: Given large and overwhelming volumes of job applicants, recruiters only have time to skim each resume for a mere 7.4 seconds. This brings about issues in accurately assessing resumes to find the best candidates. Parsing software can help speed up this process by extracting and organizing relevant data points. Many parsers today are built to have fast processing times – down to a fraction of a second. This way, recruiters can spend more time properly evaluating their qualifications. 
• Diversity hiring: Manual assessment of resumes can reveal biases in gender, race/ethnicity, or other demographics. For instance, applicants with Caucasian names have been shown to receive 50% more callbacks than those with African-American names and Middle Eastern ethnicities. In addition, male and gender-neutral names have also been shown to get better responses than female ones. Automated resume parsing can help to remove these biases and make the selection process more equitable.
• Avoid errors: Manual extraction and data entry from resumes can get repetitive and be prone to errors. Modern resume parsers use AI to increase accuracy, avoiding this problem.
• Save time: Evaluating resumes isn’t the only job of HR. Using resume parsers lets your team focus on more important work matters.
• Create resume databases: A resume parsing software can be used to automatically create a database from a collection of resumes. This can be useful in organizations that receive a large number of resumes and want to store them in case they are ever needed again.‍
• Compare candidates: With tools like smart search capabilities and tagging, resume parsers can quickly identify candidates with adequate qualifications and eliminate those without. This saves time and resources and lets the recruiter focus on assessing only the best applicants for the position.

Purchasing the wrong parsing software can lead to consequences like wasted time, money, and resources for your company. In addition, software with outdated features may not have the advanced capabilities recruiters need today, such as support for multiple languages and resume formats. When this happens, a number of potential applications can slip through the cracks. Your parser may not be able to find the best candidate for your job opening, which is what it's meant to do in the first place.

These mistakes are common because job seekers and employers are not always familiar with the different features and best practices for implementing resume parsing software. To make sure you're getting the most out of your investment, HR practitioners should be mindful of the following pitfalls:

• Getting outdated software: It can be easy for any vendor to claim that their software has the best features on the market, but potential buyers can overlook certain capabilities that are a must for parsing software today. Examples of these are natural language processing, which can better recognize keywords and phrases in resumes, and duplicate management, which can check, delete, or merge duplicate candidate records in your database. These capabilities can make the difference in your software's ability to accurately process resumes to find the best candidates efficiently. Make sure to ask the vendor about the research and development they conduct to keep their software up-to-date.
• Not checking compatibility: Parsers should integrate with your existing HR tech stack, applicant tracking software, and other recruiting tools. If you have a parser that doesn't integrate well or at all, it can lead to inefficiencies in your workflow.
• Not considering candidate experience: This refers to the job seeker's perception of your company during the recruitment process. Candidate experience is important because it can influence how applicants view your company. If your resume parser makes errors resulting in thousands of rejected applicants, this will likely result in a poor experience and may discourage qualified candidates from applying in the future.
• HR training: Some parsers require a bit of technical knowledge before implementation and troubleshooting. Your HR team should have regular training and feedback to get the most out of the software.‍
• Costs of plans: Resume parsing software can be expensive, and prices may not be commensurate with the features offered. Ask vendors for a feature list and pricing breakdown and make sure your company has enough budget for the appropriate plan for the size of your business.

In addition to saving time, avoiding human error, and processing bulk volumes of resumes, resume parsers also give recruiters higher chances of getting more talented and diverse employees, leading to a productive and inclusive company. Parsing software can also save you money by reducing turnover rate, since you’re ensured you have the best candidate qualified to do the job from the start.

Many platforms also guarantee a good candidate experience during the recruitment process, so you can be assured that you’re getting happy hires with a positive impression of your business.

It can be hard to compute actual ROI, but feature-rich products generally have a pricier entry point than other tools yet generate higher potential returns. Interestingly, Hiretual has a ROI calculator that lets you compute returns for using their software in terms of time saved and productivity gains. It is worth noting that companies can save up to 23 hours per hire and up to 500 hours per year with these tools, which definitely compound the bigger your company is.

Resume parsing software can be charged by the number of documents to be parsed or by the number of recruiters/users. Different plans can also cater to different sizes of businesses.

Based on our research, below are estimated annual costs for resume parsing software:

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Keep in mind that these are rough estimates, and some companies don’t publish their pricing plans publicly on their website. Therefore, it’s best to get a quote to get the right price and plan for your needs.

Some features can spell out the difference between a good resume parsing software and a not-so-good one (or one that’s just not suitable for your company). The most important thing to consider is that your parser must be able to help you achieve your company's goals for implementing the software. Do you just want to save time? Do you want to screen a large pool of candidates, potentially across multiple platforms? Do you want to increase diversity in your company?

Here are certain key features you should look for when choosing your resume parsing software:

• Accurate data extraction: Some parsing software use AI to increase their accuracy. This could be a great feature to reduce errors in your recruiting process.
• Multilingual support: If your company has potential hires from different countries, you should choose a software vendor that offers multilingual support to avoid unnecessary language barriers.
• Bulk import from several sources: Resumes can come from emails, job boards, and even social media. A bulk import feature is crucial to get your thousands of resumes into one place.
• Configurability: Each recruitment process is unique. Recruiters should be able to configure parsers, for instance, in customizing skill taxonomies and disabling certain fields to remove bias.‍
• Candidate summaries: Some parsing software tools merely extract data, while others can produce insightful summaries containing relevant information about your candidate.

You know your company best, so it’s important to remember and bring up your business needs when you go into a demo with a resume parsing software company. Here are some good questions to ask:

• Will this software easily integrate with the applications our company already uses?
• Is this software capable of scaling with our company?
• How long does it take to implement the software and integrate with our existing systems?
• Do you provide training for onboarding?
• How can we reach out for technical support? Do you have 24/7 live customer support?
• Can I easily upgrade or downgrade plans?
• Are your key features good solutions for our company’s current issues?
  

Check out our Excel organizer so that you can come prepared for your software demos.

Resume parsing companies have different styles of implementing their software. Some have open source code that you can easily integrate into your HR systems with the help of programming knowledge. Others have their parsers integrated into applicant tracking systems.

It would be best to ask questions during product demos and know how to reach your chosen software company’s technical support in case of problems.

What does resume parsing mean?

Resume parsing is the automated extraction and analysis of data from resumes and CVs. It gathers information in one place where users can search and sort them quickly.

Who uses resume parsing software?

Resume parsing software is used by HR managers and recruiters to screen candidates. These are used mostly in enterprises, large companies, and a growing number of small to mid-sized businesses in practically any industry.

Do all companies use resume parsing software?

Almost all large enterprises use parsing software and applicant tracking systems to screen and manage high numbers of recruits. Small companies use it less, but this is growing as more software tools for startups are created.

The cost of resume parsing software may be steep, especially if your business is just starting out or beginning to scale. Assess your company’s needs to see if paying per recruiter or document is better for your budget and projected ROI.

There are tons of resume parsing tools on the market – we’ve just listed the best ones from our research. To ensure you’ll get the most out of the software you choose, we recommend getting demos from at least two to three companies. Remember to think of questions beforehand so that you can come prepared.

Looking for more recruitment software for your company? Check out our unbiased list of the best AI recruiting tools on the market today.