Harvesting CVs using RDS and MS Word - Recruitment Diary System Website

There are two sides to the recruitment administration coin that constantly need addressing:

Recruitment Administration: The tracking of Clients, Candidates, Vacancies, CVs distributed, Interviews Attended, Placements Made, Fees Charged, Productivity Analysis, etc.

CV Management: Linking the data system to the Candidate CV

Assuming that the standard for Candidate CVs is an MS Word document and that there are seldom the resources available to transfer the detail from the CV into a database management system, a satisfying compromise is to link the database records to the actual Word document that is stored in a dedicated folder for CVs

This introduces a set of circumstances that can easily get out of hand. The principle issues are:
1) how to get the name, address, phones, email address etc. from the CV into the database without manually typing the details
2) what file name is used to store the word document and
3) how to link your database record to that document so that it can be recalled while using the database management system.

RDS simplifies these issues by using the versitility of MS Word and linking directly to the Candidate Harvesting module. The Harvesting module is a small panel that is invoked while viewing the CV within MS Word:
Selecting the RDS ADD (new) menu option within Word, causes the Harvester Panel to display and “float” above the Word document so that both the database record and the CV details can be viewed side by side:


It is then a simple process to block copy relevant details straight from the text within the CV and paste it directly into the new candidate record that the Harvester creates. With RDS there is no need to manually paste the data into the relevant cells as the simple action of clicking on the cell will paste the copied data instantly.

The candidates' record is stored by the Harvester and assigned a unique Candidate Number. This creates a link to a filename constructed from this number and passes this information back to MS Word. The simple action of selecting the RDS SAVE (new) icon within Word now saves the current document automatically in the dedicated server folder for CVs.This allows the storage of as many CV documents that a folder (or hard disc) is capable of storing, automatically creating an unambiguous link between RDS and the Word documents for instant recall while viewing the Candidate details within RDS.

A number of points to note when using the RDS Harvester:

· If you are in the habit of downloading CVs across the Internet directly into Word then the displayed document can be processed directly and incorporated into RDS in this automated manner. It does not need to be saved locally for the cycle to be completed.

· Existing CVs already stored can be linked directly to the Candidate record within RDS simply by selecting the file while viewing the candidate details - RDS will create the same file naming procedure and rename the file where necessary.

· No manual typing of the candidate’s details is required - simply block copy the various details and transfer them to RDS.

· It takes less than a minute to generate a new Candidate record within RDS with full name, address, phone, email and skill set as well as linking it to the viewed CV which is automatically stored with a simple icon click.

· There are no ambiguous filenames to be concerned with nor is there any need to scroll through thousands of CV files on the hard disk in order to recall a particular Candidate’s CV - simply locate the Candidate within RDS and a simple click launches MS Word and automatically displays the correct CV for that candidate.

· If you wish, the comments cell within the Harvester can store up to two A4 pages of text (which you can again block copy directly from the CV) and these comments can be searched for specific text within RDS

· Conversely, using the CV Hunter feature within RDS, you can scan through thousands of CVs for specific text matches and RDS will list the Candidate Names that match your search - you then select the resultant matches to view and process as you wish.

· Sending CVs to potential clients is a snap within RDS as the Word file name is already known and RDS will automatically attach this to the email that is generated for the client within the system.

The CV Harvester is a separate, self-contained executable program that is part of the Recruitment Diary System which has been specifically developed for use in conjunction with MS Word to make the information of candidate details that much easier to manage.

RDS Harvester in action: (click the image to view original size)



Go to the Recruitment Diary System Website (if this is the only page you see)