Resume parsers are one of the unsung heroes of recruiting technology. They do the dirty work of extracting resume data and putting into a coherent format inside your ATS.
According to Rchilli, one of the vendors in this space, this is the definition of resume parsing;
“Resume parsing technology converts an unstructured form of resume data into a structured format. CV/Resume parser analyses resume data and extracts it into machine-readable output such as XML, JSON. Resume parsing software helps store, organize, and analyze resume data automatically to find the best candidate.”
Many applicant tracking systems in use today use the software below in order to parse resumes from your applicants. That resume data could be in the form of PDF, doc, docx, HTML, RTF file types. So let’s take a look at the major players that do the heavy lifting of extracting unstructured resume data.
RChilli
RChilli does Parsing, Matching, and Data enrichment for global recruiting platforms. Their clients are ATS vendors, job boards, and enterprises who need the ability to parse large amounts of resumes or jobs in a scalable manner. RChilli says they can connect to any module, language, and format to give them the best in class streamlined processes. They also have a search/matching engine, enrichment capabilities and a vast collection of taxonomies that capture alias job titles and skills.
Sovren
In business for 25 years, Sovren is another well known name in the parsing industry. They “boast the most accurate job order, resume and CV parsing by far.“ Speed is one of their key benefits. They say to expect average parsing times of about 500 ms per transaction (claims 5–20x faster than competitors). They also offer AI matching and sourcing functionality.
Daxtra
Daxtra promises to remove duplication, eliminate manual data entry and streamline your candidate selection process. Their product suite automates different parts of the recruiting process – and integrates with your existing recruitment or resume management software.
They also feature an Apply & Match widget, which enables jobseekers a fast and friendly way to register or apply online, “eliminating the need to manually complete tedious forms, while at the same time giving you rich structured data about the jobseekers, to load on your ATS database.”
HireAbility
This company has two parsers, one for jobs and one for resumes. Dubbed “Alex”, the resume portion supports any resume, CV and job posting layouts including social media profiles. ALEX can parse resumes in over 40 languages and dialects including multiple languages and multiple locations in one resume or CV. HireAbility’s ALEX Job Parser converts Job Orders, Postings and Vacancies into XML or JSON output accurately, quickly and efficiently.
TextKernel
Available in 23 languages, Textkernels parser captures candidate data and transforms it into structured data. Their “highly accurate” CV/resume parser, Extract!, supports global recruiting organizations to effectively and efficiently process large volumes of candidate documents. According to their site the two main benefits are speed and increased candidate conversions.
So which one should you choose?
RChilli and Sovren seem to be the best known names in the space. Shally Steckerl, a recruiting and sourcing expert, commented recently on a Facebook post about resume parsers which offers some additional insights;
“Daxtra does more formats, and 40 languages, but the most formats and languages is HireAbility (ALEX), which I used for a project in Saudi Arabia and it integrated seamlessly with their existing ATS. If you want speed Rchill has the fastest throughput. Also look at BurningGlass, TextKernel and RapidParser.
Sovren is very good, but only 17 languages so if languages don't matter then go that route. Sovren is in CareerBuilder and Monster, Daxtra is in Bullhorn, HireAbility is in lots of independent apps, TextKernel is used by Adecco, Manpower, Randstad.
As for APIs and integrations, Sovren is probably the easiest and widest but they all have integrations so that may not be a bid differentiator for you. Interestingly, I think Sovren will license their source code if you want to build it natively. I think most of them charge per resume but Sovren has a license so it's all included which is nice.”