How Hirers Use Your CV Data (And Why You Should Care)
Chris created his latest CV the way he had always done, by using a free
CV template.
He sent his CV to a consultant who worked for large recruitment company, answering
an advertisement for a position that seemed tailor-made for him. He never got called.
A few months later, he noticed another advertisement for a similar position at the same
company. Now he was in a quandary. Did the fact that he had never been called about the
first job mean he was unsuitable, or should he try again for this opportunity?
While thinking it over, he was pleasantly surprised to hear from the company, asking him
to interview
for the new job. They had stored his CV data and application from the first
position and contacted him about the new opening.
The New World of Managing CV Data
What Chris didn't know at the time was that large companies inundated by thousands of
CVs
for many different jobs now store CV data in a new way. They use recruitment software to scan,
extract, store and index CV data into appropriate database fields, so that profiles can be
searched, retrieved and printed in a matter of seconds when the agency or HR department needs
a qualified candidate for a job
opening.
Had Chris known that recruiters receive, sort through, and store CV data for future use in
this way, he would very likely have sent off the original application in compliant CV data
format. And of course, he might have been prepared for that call when it came.
How is CV Data Stored Today?
Ever wonder what happens to your thoughtfully-constructed and formatted CV in the hands of
most recruiters? Within moments of receiving the document, it's broken down into its
fundamental elements. After all the effort you put into carefully crafting your
perfect CV,
it becomes chunks of raw CV data entered into the agency's database, either manually or
with the help of special software. Ultimately, an agency's effectiveness is gauged by its
speed and accuracy in finding quality candidates, and the ability to quickly analyse and
compile CV data is necessary to keep their corporate clients satisfied.
Recruiting software and CV extracting technology help agencies 'read' CV data faster and create
a viable candidate shortlist in a matter of seconds. Extracting or parsing (analysing something
in a systematic manner) is the process of pulling apart the CV into its constituent data and
entering it into a searchable database.
Searchable CV data fields typically include these basic elements: name, address, phone number,
skills, experience, qualifications, and salary history and requirements. 'Intelligent' parsing
technology is even more nuanced and can make predictions about aptitude from combinations of
keywords. It can also look at secondary skills and other assorted CV data culled from the
original document. The most advanced parsing technology can even build an 'intelligent' list
of candidates most likely to fit the
job description.
Does the Shoe Fit?
Now that you know the basics of the new world of managing CV data, how can you present
your CV in the clearest and user-friendliest way to make sure you get the "hits" you're
looking for? Well, things would have gone much quicker if Cinderella's shoe size had been
parsed at the Palace, but Chris has it almost as easy - he can create an
online CV template when signing up for an iProfile.
Recruiters and agencies have long agreed that the one weakness in any CV data-searching
system is the original CV itself. Since CVs don't have a standardised
"CV format" and keep
changing with the trends, it's difficult to feed the information into the CV database.
Moreover, it's hard for the recruitment software to convert a highly formatted CV into
separate database fields, and therefore the candidate's CV data is often prone to errors
and incompleteness. Every time a candidate updates his CV, data automatically becomes
obsolete unless he or she resends the new CV to each agency.
iProfile: Prince of CV templates
iProfile found a way to solve this one weakness. iProfile converts the elements of the
job seeker's CV data into standardised definitions that are easily integrated into
recruiter and HR databases, eliminating the need for manual data entry and OCR-scanning
of faxed documents. CV data is entered, managed and updated automatically and available
within seconds to agencies running a job search. A list of some of the recruiters who
adopted iProfile are here
www.skillsmarket.com/about_clients.asp
It removes the guesswork of free text searches of CV data, ensures accuracy and speed,
and greatly improves placement rates. Recruiters are pleased with the vastly improved
quality of candidates CV data and the efficiency of retrieving and printing it. And
updates to iProfile CV data not only reach all recruiters at once, but are forwarded
to the right recruiter for the particular job opening. This is why the iProfile is dubbed
the dynamic profile.
As a job seeker, you still have to attend the ball, or the interview in this case,
but making your CV data searchable to the most recruiters will certainly increase the
odds of a 'happily-ever-after'!
If you haven't already optimised your CV data, why not
get a FREE iProfile right now?