Yes, recruiting is tedious—sometimes tumultuous, other times pretty straight-forward, but always rewarding.
The endless barrage of resumes, the countless hours of interviews, the multitude of emotions, taking the right call, picking the right candidate—at some point, it all becomes a stoic process for recruiters.
That being said, Applicant Tracking Systems have been a boon for them, almost since the inception of the internet.
Where once the only support an applicant tracking system provided was streamlining the application process with a set of questions, today, with advanced algorithms and developed technology, it can do more.
But are they getting one of the most demanding tasks of resume parser, right? No.
Yes, we understand that Applicant Tracking Systems have made recruiting a breeze.
But has it? Let’s think this way: have you ever failed at finding the right candidate even after receiving a shower of applicants from job boards?
Or stumbled upon an applicant from your database who should have been chosen to interview but was left out by your Applicant tracking system?
We can undoubtedly conclude that a great ATS tool is a poor resume parser. How? Let’s put that under the microscope.
Trends:
- 97% of Fortune 500 companies employ ATS tools for recruitment.
- Only 35% Small Organisations Rely on Them (but this data is projected to grow significantly over the years). source
What is a Resume Parser?
While a mouse to an elephant, that is, a resume parser to the recruiting process, it is, in more than one way, an extremely necessary tool whose influence compounds as we move along the talent acquisition funnel and finally onboard a candidate from a pool of many.
A resume parser uses predefined criteria to categorise resumes based on several job-specific metrics like candidate experience, education, contact details, skills, etc.
Today, the resume parsing service is adapted by almost every ATS.
However, as we will learn further in this blog, the applicant tracking systems fail quite often at carrying out a streamlined resume scanning, parsing and candidate matching process.
Whether it’s standardisation, keyword extraction, or identifying relevant candidates, your ATS might be lying to you.
How Your ATS Fails at Resume Parsing & Ways To Deal With It?
The growing stock of technology has paid a notable bonus to the human resources industry, more specifically with a variety of recruiting tools and software.
ATSs are among the most widely used talent acquisition programmes by SMEs and MNCs alike to execute their day-to-day recruiting activities.
From scheduling interviews to conversational chatbots, the tracking systems incorporate everything a recruiter would require to make better, more refined hiring decisions.
With such large-scale effects, studies indicate a more exacerbating situation where recruiters more than often miss out on shortlisting qualified candidates under the influence of ATS tool for recruitment.
In fact, a report by Bersin concluded that when testing an ideal candidate resume for a clinical science role across several ATS tools, the average relevancy was 43%.
1. Categorised Based on Only a Few Metrics
These systems, while efficient in handling large volumes of resumes, often rely on only a handful of metrics to categorise candidates.
Consequently, the output they provide is unrefined, missing the nuances and intricacies that are vital for making informed hiring decisions.
Additionally, there is no way for the recruiters to tailor these metrics in accordance with the job requirements (during or after the parsing process).
The end result is a pool of semi-rotten apples that made it through while the ripe ones were left in oblivion.
Solution:
Skima uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to not only parse resumes accurately but match candidates to jobs perfectly.
The ai recruiting tool accommodates thousands of resumes, delivering clear and accurate relevance scores to each candidate but also allows the recruiters to tailor their preference between skill, experience, and education at any point in the recruiting process.
2. Jack of All, Master of None
In an effort to centralise the recruitment process, ATS tools give a little bit of everything but fail to comprehend the intricacies that some processes within the system demand.
Ex- The level of complexity varies from hosting a career page to reviewing a resume to scheduling an interview.
While your ATS might be exceptional at hosting your company’s career page, it might lack the detail to filter through a diverse crowd of qualified candidates.
Solution:
Integrate your ATS tool for recruitment with Skima AI. It’s easy and extremely cost-effective.
Once integrated, you can let Skima’s resume parser and screening handle the most laborious tasks while your ATS does the rest.
3. Hidden Talents Still Missing
More studies are being produced that confirm that Applicant Tracking Systems today, most often than not, filter candidates who, although qualified, have some issue in their resume (that a human may negate), which ATSs consider a major metric contributing to automated CV rejections.
Let’s take this with an example.
Applicant tracking systems, in the majority of cases, disregard resumes that show some kind of gap in applicant’s work experience.
While this could be a considerable ground for dismissal in many cases, we cannot say the same for veterans, pregnant women, and individuals with medical conditions.
Next, what about a role like junior UI/UX designer where, although the candidate carries appropriate skills, their resume is disqualified by the ATS based on a lack of degree?
ATS fails to help you find hidden talents.
The hidden talents you are desperately looking for.
Solution:
Skima uses its AI and ML, including features like Propensity to Join and Relevancy, to help hiring managers and recruiters uncover hidden talent that an ATS would miss out on.
As opposed to disqualifying the resumes before they even reach the talent acquisition specialists, Skima’s parsing tool gives the command to humans, who have the option to pick from the least to the most applicable applications.
TRY SKIMA’S AI POWERED, HIGHLY ACCURATE RESUME PARSING TOOL FOR FREE!
4. ROI is Incalculable
During the recruiting process with ATS, it’s no news for recruiters that ROI (return on investment) can be somewhat elusive.
While ATS systems offer efficiency, they often struggle to weigh in the true value of a prospective employee.
A resume is more than just keywords and metrics; it's a glimpse into a candidate's potential.
Evaluating a person's cultural fit, creativity, and adaptability is beyond the reach of an ATS.
Thus, ROI, in the context of hiring, extends far beyond the initial numbers, making it a somewhat enigmatic factor that requires a human touch for a more accurate assessment.
Solution:
With a clear job description, you can get closer to discovering an applicant’s ROI when you employ Skima to judge a candidate's skills and Propensity To Join, accurately.
5. Flawed JDs = Compromised Hiring
Not a direct contributor to the final output of your hiring decisions, but something you can’t miss: having a clear, concise, and precise job description.
A flawed Job description can put the Applicant tracking systems in a compromised state.
From adding an endless list of requirements for an executive position to a few skills that fall beyond the scope of the job role, when preparing job descriptions, going off track is easy.
Solution:
Use Skima’s ai job description maker that produces accurate and job specific resumes for every category of job.
End Note
Recruiting is an emotional rollercoaster, from uncovering endless resumes to finding that perfect candidate.
Modern Applicant tracking systems promise ease, but do they truly deliver?
The answer isn't always clear. ATSs don’t always excel as a resume parser which is an integral part of the initial hiring process.
Fortunately, solutions like Skima offer streamlined resume parsing and the ability to uncover hidden talent.
The key is to strike a balance between the benefits of an ATS, the human touch and an independent resume parsing tool.
FAQs
Q1. Which is the best tool to use for resume parsing?
Ans. While choosing a resume parser consider factors like accuracy and relevance.
For optimised results you can rely on Skima’s resume parsing tool which offers relevancy score and insights into candidates propensity to join.
Q2. What is the main purpose of ATS?
Ans. The primary purpose of an ATS (Applicant Tracking System) is to streamline and manage the recruitment process.
It helps HR professionals and recruiters post job listings, collect and track applicant data, and facilitate the entire hiring workflow efficiently.
Q3. What are the uses of resume parsing?
Ans. Resume parsing is a technology used to extract, and organise data from resumes or CVs.
Its main uses include automating candidate screening, and ensuring a structured and consistent database of candidate information for easy retrieval and analysis.
