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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?

#151

Post by arwhatever »

FledNanders wrote: post #120
moralestapia wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>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…

> 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. Wouldn't those issues be more likely to occur as a result of automated processing? I imagine that most humans who deal with technical hiring would guess that "node.js" and "nodejs" are probably the same thing.

This sounds like an issue of syntax vs semantics, both of which would be relevant to building any sort of fair (as possible) data format.

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

#152

Post by LAC-Tech »

lemoncookiechip wrote: post #127

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 i…

Noted. Next resume will have a black background with neon green monospace text.

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

#153

Post by throwanem »

democracy wrote: post #132
cpach wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

That's a good advice but probably for the top X percent in their industry who have a luxury to choose their employer - not everyone is in this position.

It's not about picking your employer so much as it is about getting past the outer layer and in touch with an interested human who can champion you through the rest of the process. In the absence of a pre-existing relationship, a good recruiter is invaluable for this.

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

#154

Post by redisman »

cpach wrote: post #126
moralestapia wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>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…

I’ve gotten many good jobs with a “cold” application. If you have a fairly solid background the hearing back rate is easily over 50% for those

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

#155

Post by stjohnswarts »

csmcg wrote: post #70
zxcvbn4038 wrote: post #49

HR people don’t like changing their procedures. I’ve done numerous interviews large corporations where the first part of the interview process involved copying my printed resume by hand onto sheets of paper so that someone could then type in what I had written into a web browser. Why they couldn’t just copy from my printed resume or accept soft copy in word or ascii I have no answers for. When I joined at Chase Manha…

That sounds like an incredibly unsettling experience.

Not sure why it would be. Huge companies are bureaucracies and bureaucracies have procedures. The HR person was just following the procedure so she didn't get fired. You really can't blame her for that. I could see finding it frustrating but I don't think of it as strange or frightening.

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

#158

Post by redisman »

dpeck wrote: post #96
ravenstine wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if there's any advantage in using fonts and layout that are adversarial to automated resume processing, as in if something fails to scan then perhaps a human is more likely to actually look at it. But perhaps HR just throws those out.

Quaint to think so, but no. If a system is using automated scanning and the document doesn’t scan correctly the recruiter is not going through the ones that didn’t work. I’d wager in many cases they aren’t even aware of an failure to process a resume occurring.

Also in the eventual human review if you have made yours illegible on purpose, you probably lose any advantage you gained with passing te very low bar of automatic filtering

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

#159

Post by dataspun »

I used to write and maintain the code for resume and job parsing on an industry specific job board. A few thoughts: 1) the word resume can be spelled with zero, one or two accents, most commonly zero, and this fact alone seems apropos for the ridiculousness of submitting a document to a computer and hoping to get hired by a human 2) a resume is not the same as a CV 3) resume data interchange format is standardized once raw documents are parsed by sophisticated software — the problem is that most job boards and companies don’t reveal the parsed version or derived data including categorizations and ranking 4) most people assume, to their detriment, that they only need one resume 5) if you’re relying on resume submission to get you considered for a job, then you’re rolling the dice anyway and have nothing to complain about this ridiculous process 6) the most successful job searches will include networking prior to resume submission, or at least an understanding of how your resume parses in the target system 6) often the problem is with the job parse leading to junk matching of candidates — few if any recruiters/HR people would have any way of knowing this

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

#160

Post by Jenk »

I actually use the resume as yet another insight into the candidate. Did they send me a bland shopping receipt of skills and experiences or put some thought into the layout and visuals? Have they created a firehose of information that I will need to fight against to get the relevant information, or have they drafted some easy to read, but not too short, notes, etc?
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