Overview

New customers can bulk import/upload resumes into iCIMS Applicant Tracking (ATS) during the migration process. In order to streamline implementation, clients can bulk upload hundreds or even thousands of resumes via Secure File Transfer (SFTP). The bulk upload functionality is especially useful to new iCIMS customers who may have a large number of candidate resumes from a previous applicant tracking system.

Once uploaded, resumes are then parsed and used to create new candidates or associated with existing candidates, if applicable. The file transfer method requires an SFTP connection client, such as FileZilla, and may necessitate involvement from your company’s IT resources. Resumes submitted by SFTP will take at least several minutes to parse and populate in iCIMS ATS; the amount of time will vary depending on the number of resumes submitted at one time. If resumes are submitted in bulk, resumes will be parsed in batches and will be subject to additional processing time.
 
iCIMS can support resumes in other languages, such as German, Spanish, French, Italian, Chinese, and Russian. Please contact your iCIMS Implementation Manager before beginning to upload non-English resumes to assure that your system is properly configured.

For information regarding Email Import, a method for importing up to 10 resumes at once that is primarily used after implementation, please refer to the Creating a New Candidate Manually or via Email Import in the iCIMS Applicant Tracking article.

Creating New Candidates via Bulk File Transfer: Migrating Legacy Resumes During Implementation

File Transfer allows clients to bulk upload as many resumes as necessary, and is typically used during implementation and migration projects. The example in this article will reference the free SFTP connect client FileZilla. This software is freely available to download and frequently used by iCIMS clients. Other SFTP connect clients may be available and may support a similar process. If you are using an alternative SFTP connect client, please contact your iCIMS Implementation Manager or relevant iCIMS POC (e.g., iCIMS Technical Support) for assistance.

Note that resumes will be gradually imported into iCIMS ATS in order to ensure optimal performance and availability. 

1. Contact your iCIMS POC and request that a bulk iResume SFTP site be setup for your company. iCIMS will provide a private username and password for use by your company.
2. Open FileZilla and enter the SFTP credentials provided to you by your iCIMS POC in the Host, Username, Password, and Port fields.
3. Once you are connected, the main screen will display your local site (your computer) on the left and the remote site on the right with the folders _could-not-process and _processed. Drag and drop resumes from your local site/computer to the empty space below the folders as indicated below.

• Users may also drag files directly from their local Desktop or Documents into FileZilla as indicated below.

• It is a best practice to start with a batch of 10 resumes or fewer to test the connection. If you experience difficulty, check your iCIMS-provided credentials, contact your company’s IT team, then contact your iCIMS POC.

4. The resumes will gradually populate in the FileZilla client. These resumes will then move into either the _processed or _could-not-process folder, indicating whether the resume successfully created a profile (or was attached to an existing profile) in iCIMS ATS or not.

Note: New Candidate Profiles cannot be associated to jobs via bulk file transfer. However, they can be associated to jobs when emailed into iCIMS ATS as described in Creating a New Candidate Manually or via Email Import in the iCIMS Applicant Tracking.

Best Practice: Recommended File Types for Resume Import

iCIMS ATS can accept a number of file formats for resumes, including .html/.htm files. However, the following file formats are the most commonly used and the most recommended:

Note:

• .zip (compressed) files are not acceptable.
• Document formatting can affect resume parsing accuracy. For example, if the candidate’s name is included in the header of the document, iCIMS ATS will not be able to parse the information. Without a candidate name, iCIMS ATS will not create a Candidate Profile, and the resume will be rejected.
• iCIMS leverages a best-in-class third-party technology to parse resumes; this technology has been proven to have a high rate of accuracy, but occasional mistakes and omissions are expected (such as not recognizing and pulling information into the appropriate profile fields). This happens most commonly with non-traditionally formatted resumes, such as those that include text within text boxes, images, annotations, and/or tables.
• For assistance troubleshooting Resume Imports, please contact your iCIMS POC (e.g., Implementation Manager or Technical Support). iCIMS staff will provide assistance to the fullest extent possible, however, iCIMS cannot change the limitations of the resume parsing technology (as described in the bullet above).