# iCIMS ATS Resume Format & Limits > iCIMS extracts text from PDF, Word, RTF, plain text, HTML and OpenDocument resumes by default and fills profile fields from the file you upload. It does not publish a resume size limit. | | | | --- | --- | | System | iCIMS | | Vendor | iCIMS | | Also known as | iCIMS Talent Cloud, iCIMS Applicant Tracking | | Rendered page | https://atsprep.com/ats/icims | | This document | https://atsprep.com/ats/icims.md | iCIMS publishes a candidate guide to its career portals, and it is frank that every company's portal looks and behaves a little differently. What stays the same is the order of things. You create a login and a profile, upload a resume, and iCIMS fills what it can from the file before you check the rest. iCIMS does not publish a resume size limit. ## Taking the file in | | | | --- | --- | | Accepted file types | PDF, DOC, DOCX, RTF, TXT, ODT, WPD, WRI, HTM, HTML | Source: [iCIMS developer documentation, binary files and text extraction](https://developer-community.icims.com/applications/applicant-tracking/binary-files) (checked Oct 19, 2026) ## Autofill When you upload a resume, iCIMS may fill some profile fields with information from it. Its candidate guide says to upload the resume before completing other fields to get the most from this resume parsing, and to review the parsed information before filling in the required fields. iCIMS says the system may populate some fields, not all of them. Whatever the parse misses has to be typed in. Source: [iCIMS Community, candidate guide to iCIMS career portals](https://community.icims.com/s/article/Candidate-Guide-to-the-iCIMS-Talent-Platform) (checked Oct 19, 2026) ## What iCIMS does differently ### Upload the resume first iCIMS's candidate guide says that to take full advantage of resume parsing, you should upload your resume before completing other fields. Typing your details first and uploading at the end means doing work the parser would have done for you. Source: [iCIMS Community, candidate guide to iCIMS career portals](https://community.icims.com/s/article/Candidate-Guide-to-the-iCIMS-Talent-Platform) (checked Oct 19, 2026) ### No size limit is published Neither the candidate guide nor the developer documentation gives a maximum resume file size. iCIMS does not publish one, so we do not quote a number. A text-based resume of a page or two is a small file and is unlikely to be the problem. Source: [iCIMS Community, candidate guide to iCIMS career portals](https://community.icims.com/s/article/Candidate-Guide-to-the-iCIMS-Talent-Platform) (checked Oct 19, 2026) ### The text extraction list is long iCIMS's developer documentation lists the files available for text extraction by default: PDF, Word, RTF, plain text, HTML, OpenDocument, WordPerfect and Write files, along with spreadsheets, slides, archives and several image types. It adds that client configurations may vary, so an employer can narrow the list. Source: [iCIMS developer documentation, binary files and text extraction](https://developer-community.icims.com/applications/applicant-tracking/binary-files) (checked Oct 19, 2026) ### Text extraction can time out The same documentation says iCIMS gives up on a text extraction call after 1 minute and 30 seconds and makes two attempts. A plain, text-based file keeps that step simple. Source: [iCIMS developer documentation, binary files and text extraction](https://developer-community.icims.com/applications/applicant-tracking/binary-files) (checked Oct 19, 2026) ### Accented email addresses are not supported iCIMS warns that email addresses with accented characters, such as josé@email.com, are not supported within the iCIMS system. If your address has one, use another address for the application. Source: [iCIMS Community, candidate guide to iCIMS career portals](https://community.icims.com/s/article/Candidate-Guide-to-the-iCIMS-Talent-Platform) (checked Oct 19, 2026) ### You need a login and a profile Where an employer uses iCIMS Applicant Tracking, candidates need a login to reach the candidate portal and a profile to apply. Searching jobs does not need one. If you have applied to that company before, iCIMS says to log in to your existing profile rather than create a new one. Source: [iCIMS Community, getting started with iCIMS career sites](https://community.icims.com/s/article/Getting-Started-with-iCIMS-Career-Sites) (checked Oct 19, 2026) ### Your resume feeds job matching iCIMS career sites can recommend jobs based on your profile, including your resume and location, and one feature uses AI to recommend jobs based on the resume. Skills-based job search, where an employer turns it on, is supported in English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. Source: [iCIMS Community, getting started with iCIMS career sites](https://community.icims.com/s/article/Getting-Started-with-iCIMS-Career-Sites) (checked Oct 19, 2026) ## What to do about it ### Upload before you type Add the resume at the start of the application so the fields it can fill are filled, then work through the rest. ### Send a text-based PDF or DOCX Both are on iCIMS's default extraction list. A file whose text you can highlight gives the extractor something to read. ### Keep the file light iCIMS publishes no size limit, but extraction gives up after a minute and a half. Leave out photos and graphics that add weight without adding text. ### Use a plain email address iCIMS does not support accented characters in email addresses. Use an address with plain letters only. ### Review every parsed field iCIMS fills some fields, not all. Check what came through, correct anything wrong and fill in everything marked as required. ## Questions ### What is iCIMS? iCIMS is an applicant tracking system that employers use to run their career portals and manage applications. Each company sets up its own portal, so the steps and fields differ from one employer to the next. ### How do I know if an employer uses iCIMS? Look at the address of the application page. An application on an icims.com address, with the job under a /jobs/ path, is an iCIMS portal. iCIMS's own careers portal uses this pattern. Being asked to create a login and profile before you apply is another sign. ### Does iCIMS read PDF resumes? Yes. PDF is on iCIMS's default list of files available for text extraction, and uploading a resume can fill profile fields from it. Export the PDF from your document so it holds real, selectable text. ### What file types does iCIMS accept for a resume? iCIMS's developer documentation lists the files available for text extraction by default. For resumes the relevant ones are PDF, DOC, DOCX, RTF, TXT, ODT, WPD, WRI, HTM and HTML. iCIMS adds that client configurations may vary, so an employer can accept fewer. ### What is the iCIMS resume size limit? iCIMS does not publish one. Neither its candidate guide nor its developer documentation gives a maximum resume file size. If a portal sets a limit, it will show it at the upload step. ### Why did my resume fail to parse in iCIMS? iCIMS does not publish a list of parsing failures. What it does say is that parsing may populate only some fields, that it works best when the resume is uploaded before other fields are filled, and that text extraction gives up after 1 minute and 30 seconds and two attempts. Check that the file holds text you can highlight, and fill in whatever the parse missed. ### Does a failed parse mean iCIMS rejected my application? No. Parsing only fills in profile fields. iCIMS's candidate guide has you review the parsed information and fill in the required fields yourself, so an empty field is something you can fix before you submit. ## Exporting from ATSPrep to iCIMS ATSPrep exports a linear, single-column, parser-safe document. Against iCIMS's published list of accepted types: - **PDF** — on iCIMS's accepted list - **DOCX** — on iCIMS's accepted list ## The other guides - [Greenhouse](https://atsprep.com/ats/greenhouse) — Greenhouse takes PDF, DOC, DOCX, RTF and TXT, and will not parse a resume larger than 2.5 MB. Its own support docs name what makes a parse fail: columns, contact details in a header, abbreviated job titles and more. - [Oracle Taleo](https://atsprep.com/ats/taleo) — Oracle ships Taleo with a 1 MB default attachment limit and no resume parser of its own. Parsing only works if the employer has enabled a third-party partner integration, so behaviour differs from one Taleo site to the next. - [SmartRecruiters](https://atsprep.com/ats/smartrecruiters) — SmartRecruiters accepts PDF, DOC, DOCX, RTF, JPG and PNG at 2 MB per file, and its CEO named Textkernel as the parsing engine, whose own documentation warns about PDFs more bluntly than any resume blog does. - [Ashby](https://atsprep.com/ats/ashby) — Ashby accepts PDF, DOC and DOCX up to 50 MB but does not support Markdown. Its docs name the two reasons a resume fails to parse, and its better parser is an opt-in feature some employers never switch on. - [Workable](https://atsprep.com/ats/workable) — Workable accepts PDF, DOC, DOCX, RTF, HTML and ODT for a resume, with a 5 MB ceiling, while other attachments on the same form are allowed four times that size. - [Manatal](https://atsprep.com/ats/manatal) — Manatal takes PDF, DOC, DOCX and RTF, parses every resume the moment it lands with a parser it built rather than licensed, and keeps the original file where recruiters can open it. - [SAP SuccessFactors](https://atsprep.com/ats/successfactors) — SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting parses resumes with Textkernel in 15 languages, takes resumes up to 5 MB, and says plainly that parsing is not always accurate. What SAP's own documentation says, with links. - [BambooHR](https://atsprep.com/ats/bamboohr) — BambooHR takes uploads up to 20 MB in common formats including PDF, DOC and DOCX. Its help center does not describe resume parsing: recruiters open your resume as a document, and the application form is filled in by you. - [Jobvite](https://atsprep.com/ats/jobvite) — Jobvite accepts twelve file types for a resume, from PDF and DOCX to images and spreadsheets, but its own help centre says scanned or locked PDFs cannot be added and image files are not parsed. - [Recruitee](https://atsprep.com/ats/recruitee) — Recruitee takes PDF, DOC, DOCX, ODT, RTF and TXT, plus JPG and PNG images of a CV. Its help centre says the parser needs a readable email address, which is usually missed in a header or footer, and that highly visual CVs are the most common reason a file cannot be read. - [Workday](https://atsprep.com/ats/workday) — Workday's own careers site takes DOC, DOCX, HTML, PDF or TXT resumes up to 5 MB. Its documentation says parsing results vary with format and word order, and that images and image-based styles get in the way. - [Lever](https://atsprep.com/ats/lever) — Lever takes resume files up to 10 MB and parses Word, PDF, RTF, WordPerfect, HTML and OpenDocument files, but not images. Its help centre is specific about when a parse fails, and most of the reasons are about how the file arrived rather than how it looks. - [JazzHR](https://atsprep.com/ats/jazzhr) — JazzHR takes PDF, DOC, DOCX, RTF, ODT and TXT resumes up to 5 MB. Its own support docs say a scanned resume is treated as an image: no name, no email, nothing searchable. - [Breezy HR](https://atsprep.com/ats/breezy-hr) — Breezy HR takes DOC, DOCX, Pages, PDF, RTF and TXT resumes. Its docs say a scanned resume, or one in an unsupported language, is not parsed, and its AI review tools skip any resume that wasn't. - [Personio](https://atsprep.com/ats/personio) — Personio parses PDF and DOCX CVs with Textkernel, if the employer has opted in. Its own help centre lists ten reasons a parse fails, from headers and tables to 8 pt text and skill bar charts. - [Dayforce](https://atsprep.com/ats/dayforce) — Dayforce takes DOC, DOCX, PDF and RTF resumes up to 5 MB. Import Resume parses the file into your candidate profile, and uploading again overwrites what the last one filled in. - [Pinpoint](https://atsprep.com/ats/pinpoint) — Pinpoint takes a CV as PDF or DOCX, and nothing else. Its software reads the CV on upload to write the candidate summary recruiters see first. - [Comeet](https://atsprep.com/ats/comeet) — Comeet, now Spark Hire Recruit, takes PDF, DOC and DOCX resumes and parses them in 39 listed languages. Arabic and Korean are not among them, and a file that is not a true PDF may not even open. ## About ATSPrep ATSPrep (https://atsprep.com) is a free resume and application workspace. Match experience to a posting, strengthen claims with evidence, and track the next action. Its PDF check shows text recovered by ATSPrep's extractor, not an employer's proprietary ATS or hiring decision. - **Price:** free. Checking, importing, editing and downloading cost nothing, and downloads carry no watermark. Everything listed here is free. - **Account:** none needed to check, import or edit a resume. A free sign-in is needed to download after the first file, to sync, and for more checks or more than 5 AI edits. - **Your file:** parsed and exported inside the browser. The resume file itself is never uploaded. - **Optional:** text leaves the browser only when you press a button: semantic match and AI edits (the lines involved), a job link (the link) and Pip voice calls (your speech). Never your contact details, and none of it is stored. - **Connection:** some tools load on first use and need a connection to download. Local storage is not a cloud backup. - **Accepts:** PDF, DOCX, TXT, Markdown, or pasted plain text. Start here: https://atsprep.com/studio