Glossary
OCR
A plain-English explanation of OCR, why it matters in hiring, a concrete example, common misuse, related terms, and next steps.
Definition
Optical Character Recognition, a technology used to extract text from images and scanned documents.
Detailed Explanation
If a resume is uploaded as a scan or image-only PDF, the ATS may attempt to run OCR to rebuild a selectable text layer.
Why It Matters in Hiring
OCR is error-prone, slow, and often misinterprets characters (e.g. 'l' as '1' or 'O' as '0'), corrupting skills profiles.
Concrete Example
An ATS OCR scans a flat JPG resume and extracts 'Pyth0n' instead of 'Python'.
Common Misconception
Do not rely on ATS OCR systems to read your resume; always upload native text documents.
When It Does Not Apply
Only triggered for image files; standard PDFs bypass OCR.
Related Glossary Terms
Export a native text PDF in the Builder.
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Method and scope
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