What is parsing, and how to make a parsable CV?

After receiving the raw, unstructured data in the parser, lexical analysis is the initial step. Here, the lexer is a scanner or tokenizer that converts the data stream into a sequence of tokens.

In this step, tokens are generated by setting up meaningful lexical units, like delimiters {one or more characters that separate text strings.; common delimiters are commas (,), semicolon (;), quotes ( ", ' ), braces ({}), pipes (|), or slashes ( / \ )} and keywords. Meanwhile, lexically irrelevant information, like parentheses, comments, and white spaces, are eliminated.

To better understand, Syntactic analysis, it is crucial to understand a vital concept from computer science - context-free grammar. A context-free grammar is a set of rules that defines the syntax of a language. In simple terms, it is a computer code to define the valid sequence of tokens.

The syntactic analysis examines tokens generated during lexical analysis to convert them to a meaningful sequence with pre-defined rules.

As a result, there will be a parse tree — a hierarchical structure — to define what elements of initial input are meaningful along with their role.

For instance, the received input is (X+4)*5. Let’s understand what the parsing tree will be like for this input.

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Additionally, there is also semantic analysis, which helps enrich the data — such as complete, incomplete, positive, negative, etc — parsed through syntactic analysis.

A top-down parser is a method that parses inputs from left to right using left-most derivation (LL). It starts processing from a string that validates the input by expanding from the leftmost element of the parse tree. For example, starting from the root and proceeding toward the leaves.

Top-down parsing, also known as recursive descent parsing, backtracks after each decision point to double-check accuracy.

A bottom-up parser is a method to parse input from left to right using the right-most derivation (LR). It starts processing a string by expanding the rightmost element of the parse tree. For example, starting from the leaves and proceeding towards the root.

Bottom-up parsing is also known as shift-reduce parsing, which reduces the word from a grammar rule at each stage in the string, and this approach reduces the string until it is completely checked.

If your CV contains images, watermarks, unselectable text, graphics, and illustrations, then your CV is not ideal for parsing. Additionally, there are chances that your file may get corrupted.

Solution: Make your CV parsing-friendly

To make it a parsing-friendly CV, use plain text and extensions like pdf and docx. You should avoid the usage of images, watermarks, unselectable text, graphics, and illustrations.

Another reason can be the large file size of your CV, which is greater than what the platform permits for parsing the documents.

Solution: Check the size of your CV

Usually, 2.5 MB is the maximum file size to parse any CV, or you can once check the website to know the maximum file size.

Your CV can’t be parsed if you are using a password-protected file for parsing, as the parser will not be able to access the document’s content.

Solution: Remove password protection before uploading

You need to make sure that your CV is free from password protection.

If your CV is free from the above-mentioned issues and still unable to get parsed, it might be a network or server issue.

Solution: Check your network connection

You can restart your network connection (or retry after some time). Sometimes, a temporary glitch in the browser can be a reason for failed data parsing. Perhaps, clearing the browser cache and refreshing the page can help.