# Personio ATS Resume Format & Limits > 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. | | | | --- | --- | | System | Personio | | Vendor | Personio | | Also known as | Personio Recruiting, jobs.personio.de, jobs.personio.com | | Rendered page | https://atsprep.com/ats/personio | | This document | https://atsprep.com/ats/personio.md | Personio names Textkernel as its parser, the same engine behind SmartRecruiters, and like Greenhouse it publishes its own list of what makes a parse fail. The list is specific enough to check a CV against line by line. The catch is that parsing is something the employer opts in to, so on some Personio career pages nothing is parsed at all. ## Taking the file in | | | | --- | --- | | Accepted file types | PDF, DOCX | Source: [Personio Help Center, CV parsing for candidate profiles](https://support.personio.de/hc/en-us/articles/360010193018-CV-parsing-for-candidate-profiles) ## Parsing engine Personio uses **Textkernel**. Personio says its CV parsing uses software from the subcontractor Textkernel, and the employer has to enable that subcontractor before anything is parsed. What holds for Textkernel elsewhere holds here, once it is switched on. Source: [Personio Help Center, CV parsing for candidate profiles](https://support.personio.de/hc/en-us/articles/360010193018-CV-parsing-for-candidate-profiles) Other systems in this guide running the same engine: [SmartRecruiters](https://atsprep.com/ats/smartrecruiters), [SAP SuccessFactors](https://atsprep.com/ats/successfactors). Formatting fixed for one of them holds for the rest. ## Autofill When the employer has opted in, every incoming application with a CV is parsed, from all sources. Personio fills first name, last name, location, phone number, email address, gender, current employer, current title, years of experience and public profile. Recruiters are told to check the parsed information against the original CV and may have to enter details by hand. Personio does not document a step where the applicant reviews the parse. Source: [Personio Help Center, CV parsing for candidate profiles](https://support.personio.de/hc/en-us/articles/360010193018-CV-parsing-for-candidate-profiles) ## What Personio does differently ### Parsing only happens if the employer opted in Personio's parsing runs on Textkernel, and the employer has to enable the Textkernel B.V. subcontractor in its data protection settings. If they have, all incoming applications with a CV are parsed. If they haven't, a recruiter reads your file as you sent it. Source: [Personio Help Center, CV parsing for candidate profiles](https://support.personio.de/hc/en-us/articles/360010193018-CV-parsing-for-candidate-profiles) ### PDF or DOCX, nothing else parses The first reason Personio gives for parsing not working is that the CV is not in PDF or DOCX format. Its upload steps say the same: ensure the file format is PDF or DOCX. Source: [Personio Help Center, CV parsing for candidate profiles](https://support.personio.de/hc/en-us/articles/360010193018-CV-parsing-for-candidate-profiles) ### Headers, tables and columns Personio names key details in the document header or footer, and candidate details presented in a table or multi-column format, as reasons a parse fails. It says parsing converts the CV into plain text first, which is why reading order matters. Source: [Personio Help Center, CV parsing for candidate profiles](https://support.personio.de/hc/en-us/articles/360010193018-CV-parsing-for-candidate-profiles) ### Small type and decorative fonts A font size of 8 pt or smaller fails, and so do uncommon font styles such as expanded spacing or small caps. These are rare to see written down by a vendor, and easy to fix. Source: [Personio Help Center, CV parsing for candidate profiles](https://support.personio.de/hc/en-us/articles/360010193018-CV-parsing-for-candidate-profiles) ### Ready-made templates are on the failure list Personio lists a ready-made template, for example one from Microsoft Word, as a reason parsing may not work. So are logos used instead of company or university names, and skills drawn as bar charts instead of written as text. Source: [Personio Help Center, CV parsing for candidate profiles](https://support.personio.de/hc/en-us/articles/360010193018-CV-parsing-for-candidate-profiles) ### Images and scans A CV that is a scan rather than an original PDF fails. So does one where the name or email sits in an image, or where the whole application is a PNG or JPEG. Source: [Personio Help Center, CV parsing for candidate profiles](https://support.personio.de/hc/en-us/articles/360010193018-CV-parsing-for-candidate-profiles) ### 10 MB per document Personio states a maximum of 10 MB per document when CVs are uploaded for parsing. It does not publish a separate number for the candidate application form, so this guide does not quote one. Source: [Personio Help Center, CV parsing for candidate profiles](https://support.personio.de/hc/en-us/articles/360010193018-CV-parsing-for-candidate-profiles) ### The apply link gives it away Personio career pages live at company.jobs.personio.de or company.jobs.personio.com, depending on the domain extension the employer chose. Source: [Personio Help Center, set up the Personio career page](https://support.personio.de/hc/en-us/articles/8758636857629-Set-up-the-Personio-career-page) ## What to do about it ### Send a PDF or a DOCX They are the only formats Personio parses. Export the PDF from your editor rather than scanning a printout. ### Put contact details in the body Name, email and phone belong in the first lines of the page, not in a header or footer, and not inside an image. ### One column, no tables Personio turns the CV into plain text before it reads it. A single column survives that; a table or two columns may not. ### Keep body text above 8 pt 8 pt or smaller is on the failure list. 10 to 12 pt body text is safe and easier for the recruiter too. ### Write skills as words Skip bar charts, rating dots and logos. A parser can't read a picture of a skill, and Personio names this one directly. ## Questions ### What is Personio? Personio is an HR platform with a recruiting module that employers use to publish jobs and collect applications. If the application page sits on a company.jobs.personio.de or company.jobs.personio.com address, the employer uses Personio. ### Does Personio read PDF resumes? Yes, when the employer has opted in to CV parsing. PDF and DOCX are the formats Personio parses. A scanned PDF is listed as a reason parsing fails, so the PDF needs real text. ### What file types does Personio accept for a CV? For parsing, PDF and DOCX. Personio lists a CV that is not in PDF or DOCX format as the first reason parsing does not work. ### What is the Personio resume size limit? Personio states a maximum of 10 MB per document when CVs are uploaded for parsing. It does not publish a separate limit for the candidate application form. ### Which parser does Personio use? Textkernel. Personio says its CV parsing feature uses software from the subcontractor Textkernel, which the employer has to enable before parsing runs. ### Why did my resume fail to parse in Personio? Personio lists the causes: the CV is not a PDF or DOCX; key details are in an image or the whole application is a PNG or JPEG; a ready-made template was used; the CV is a scan; details are in the header or footer; details are in a table or multiple columns; the font is 8 pt or smaller; uncommon font styles such as expanded spacing or small caps; logos instead of text; and skills shown as graphics such as bar charts. ### Does a failed parse mean Personio rejected my application? No. Personio says that when parsing struggles, details may have to be entered manually in the candidate profile. A failed parse makes your record less complete and harder to filter, but it is not a rejection. ### How can I tell if an employer uses Personio? Look at the application URL. Personio career pages use company.jobs.personio.de or company.jobs.personio.com. ## Exporting from ATSPrep to Personio ATSPrep exports a linear, single-column, parser-safe document. Against Personio's published list of accepted types: - **PDF** — on Personio's accepted list - **DOCX** — on Personio'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. - [iCIMS](https://atsprep.com/ats/icims) — 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. - [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. - [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