This article details how to import your candidates' master data into Personio using our import file or using CV parsing. Alternatively, you can add candidates into the system manually.

Import candidate data using our import template

A bulk upload of existing candidate data allows you to import the data for any number of candidates into Personio via an Excel file. Personio automatically creates candidate profiles after import and assigns them to the relevant jobs. This saves you a great deal of time and effort, especially when working with large data sets. To ensure proper data synchronization, make sure you use the job name indicated in the job description section, and not the job title you use internally.

To do an import, follow these steps: 

Download and fill out the import template with the candidate's data

First, prepare the import file as described below. 

1. Go to Settings.
2. In the Organization section, click Imports.
3. Go to the Upload Type dropdown menu and select Recruiting applications.
4. Download the Excel template.

5. Open the Excel template and enter your candidate data into the appropriate columns.
   ▶︎ Mandatory columns: first name, last name, email, status, job name
   ▶︎ Recommended columns: recruiting channel, application date [format: YYYY-MM-DD], application tags
   ▶︎ Optional columns: disqualification date [format: YYYY-MM-DD], disqualification reason, disqualification note, comments, birthday.
   You can also add other custom candidate attributes such as salary expectations or the earliest possible start date to the Excel file.

   Note:
   For a successful upload, these candidate attributes need to be created in Personio first.

6. Check that your data is complete and free of errors. It is particularly important that your candidate data is formatted correctly and contains the same names as set up in Personio.

Import candidate data with the filled-out template

Import the candidate data once you have completed all preparatory steps. To do so, proceed as follows:

1. Go to Settings.
2. In the Organization section, click Imports.
3. Go to the Upload Type dropdown menu and select Recruiting applications.
4. Click Next 
5. Select the file to import. Personio supports imports using the file formats .csv, .xls or .xlsx.
6. In Configure columns, assign the columns of your Excel file manually to the corresponding attributes stored in Personio if needed. The terms Stage and Status are both used to indicate the stage a candidate is currently in within the recruiting process. However, during the upload of candidate data, you need to select the attribute Status in order for the upload to work correctly.
7. In Preview import, review your import data. If you notice any errors, you can simply cancel the import and correct them in the Excel sheet and start with step 1.
8. If the data is correct, click Import.

Import candidate data using CV parsing

You can also use CV parsing to simultaneously extract information from up to 25 candidate resumes and automatically enter it into Personio.

You can find a detailed guide to manually creating one or more candidate profiles using CV parsing in our Help center article CV Parsing: Manually Creating Candidate Profiles From Resumes.