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Why isn't there a universal data format for résumés?

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Re: Why isn't there a universal data format for résumés?

#121

Post by pjbeam »

ipaddr wrote: post #114
xwdv wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a hiring manager you’d be inclined to disagree. If resumes could be standardized and easily searchable for information it would help find candidates much more accurately and quickly without having to read. Even better would be if there was a verification standard where you could get a blue checkmark on your resume meaning all the information is accurate and not made up bullshit, then you could limit searches only…

Who puts this blue checkmark and verifies?

This. Outsourcing judgment is far better in theory than practice. Hiring is and will remain messy.

Re: Why isn't there a universal data format for résumés?

#123

Post by bsder »

jfengel wrote: post #63

I used to work in ontologies, and what I learned is that people would rather get an 80% heuristic solution for dirty data rather than a 100% correct solution for data they have to clean. The big job sites have resume parsers that work well enough from a PDF or Word doc, and then they don't have to worry about you forgetting a close tag or a mandatory field. Sure, stuff gets lost, but they get 80% of a billion resumes…

> Those are far more important to be correct and exchangeable

In the US, those are far more important to be billable.

And that's the problem. Encoding the patient's medical state is simply an afterthought.

Re: Why isn't there a universal data format for résumés?

#125

Post by bradknowles »

There is a universal format. It’s called Microsoft Word, and the primary purpose is so that recruiters can take whatever you put in there and change it however they want, so that they can present this to all of their clients for the entire future of the world. If you didn’t want this, then you shouldn’t have a résumé.

Re: Why isn't there a universal data format for résumés?

#126

Post by cpach »

moralestapia wrote: post #91
jeroenhd wrote: post #42

In my opinion, there shouldn't be. Documents like these shouldn't be automatically processed, they should be reviewed by humans. Reducing someone's life history to a list of educational institutions and employers feels robotic even for a software developer's mindset. I understand that there are real life problems because companies do use automated processing on applications, but that kind of behaviour shouldn't be en…

>Documents like these shouldn't be automatically processed, they should be reviewed by humans. That's very nice to think about but in the real world if people don't match some exact keywords they get thrown away. HR is looking for "node.js" but you wrote it like "nodejs"? Though luck pal, bye. HR wants a "computer scientist" but you have a degree in "computer science"? Same, automatically discarded. If anything, a st…

I believe I understand your point – therefore I would like to take this opportunity to channel something that 'patio11 wrote on Twitter many years ago:

“Do not send in a job application before you have an actual human being who has expressed enthusiasm for reading or forwarding it.”[0]

I believe this is sound advice, and the pitfalls you mentioned was probably the reasons that he gave this advice.

[0] https://twitter.com/patio11/status/770807498802540544

Re: Why isn't there a universal data format for résumés?

#127

Post by lemoncookiechip »

I've been told in the past by people who's jobs were to review résumés, that the less your résumé stands out visually from others, the more likely were you passed up. This makes sense if you stop and think about it. These people spend hours looking at résumés that all look the same, with the same qualification a lot of time.

Things like the font choice, the paper itself (recycled paper for example), the length (big isn't always better), the formatting choice, having subtle paper decorations... all of these small things can work in your favor if done in moderation. Obviously you need the qualification to go along with it, but if you're competing with someone who has the same qualification and you don't use platforms like Europass and edit everything yourself to stand from the crowd, well, your odds might just increase.

Obviously take this with a grain of salt. I've heard it from two people, but that's not a large enough sample and not everyone is the same.

Re: Why isn't there a universal data format for résumés?

#128

Post by bufordtwain »

Also would be nice to have some sort of international standard/repository for a person's medical history, allergies, etc. I'm sure I'm not the only one who gets tired of filling in that several pages long list of the same information that every single doctor's office asks for when you go for medical care as a new patient in the USA.

Re: Why isn't there a universal data format for résumés?

#129

Post by laumars »

jeroenhd wrote: post #42

In my opinion, there shouldn't be. Documents like these shouldn't be automatically processed, they should be reviewed by humans. Reducing someone's life history to a list of educational institutions and employers feels robotic even for a software developer's mindset. I understand that there are real life problems because companies do use automated processing on applications, but that kind of behaviour shouldn't be en…

Unfortunately the lack of a standardised format hasn’t stopped technology from being developed which automatically reviews CVs before they hit a human. The tech is already out there.

The problem we have currently is that some CVs fail that review because they’re in a format that the tools cannot parse. If you’re CV is strong but you’re seeing fewer responses despite having a prettier CV compared to your peers, then that might be the reason. So from your stance standardisation might actually help the industry rather than harm it.

Re: Why isn't there a universal data format for résumés?

#130

Post by dan-robertson »

moralestapia wrote: post #91
jeroenhd wrote: post #42

In my opinion, there shouldn't be. Documents like these shouldn't be automatically processed, they should be reviewed by humans. Reducing someone's life history to a list of educational institutions and employers feels robotic even for a software developer's mindset. I understand that there are real life problems because companies do use automated processing on applications, but that kind of behaviour shouldn't be en…

>Documents like these shouldn't be automatically processed, they should be reviewed by humans. That's very nice to think about but in the real world if people don't match some exact keywords they get thrown away. HR is looking for "node.js" but you wrote it like "nodejs"? Though luck pal, bye. HR wants a "computer scientist" but you have a degree in "computer science"? Same, automatically discarded. If anything, a st…

I’m curious if you have much evidence that this is common? I suspect it’s mostly a myth that is easy to believe (it can feel good to believe it because it means you were removed from the applicant pipeline because of stupid computer reasons rather than because you don’t appear to meet some bar to a human, even if that bar is a stupid thing like prestige) and oft repeated.

I definitely think it’s likely that most people on hn don’t work for companies that do this, but maybe hn just skews toward certain kinds of tech jobs.

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