Why CV Processing Takes So Much Time — And How to Handle It Smarter

In today’s job market, every minute counts. Recruitment must be faster, smarter, and more efficient, yet behind the scenes, a slow, manual process still eats up a lot of time: CV processing.

Whether it’s for a tender, client presentation, or internal vacancy: CVs are edited, styled, translated, and reformatted daily — often manually. Research shows recruiters spend an average of 20 minutes per CV on this back-office work, with peaks up to 40 minutes or more in complex environments such as staffing, consultancy, or government contracts.

Time that isn’t spent on conversations with candidates, but on copying, pasting, fixing formatting, and translating. That has to change. And luckily: it can.

Why CV Processing Takes So Much Time

While the content of a CV may be central, its presentation carries significant weight in many organizations. Different clients have different preferences: custom branding, specific section order, required translation, a procurement-ready template — or even a project-specific format.

In practice, that means:

• CVs are copied into Word templates




• Layout needs to be adjusted manually




• Language has to be translated




• New info (like a recent intake) is added




• The final document must be exported neatly in PDF or another agreed format

And all of this is done by recruiters or back-office staff who could spend their time more effectively. In a market where talent is scarce and speed is crucial, this is unsustainable.

Pressure Increases, Tools Lag Behind

While many organizations invest in sourcing tools, recruitment marketing, and automation of the selection process, CV processing remains surprisingly manual.

Common ATS systems offer little support when it comes to formatting and styling. Often, it ends up back in Word templates, copy-paste work, and exports via email. There’s no uniform structure, no scalability, and no centralized control over how CVs are presented to clients or candidates.

Especially in larger teams or project-heavy organizations (like agencies or consultancies), this leads to noise, errors, and delays.

Simply Automates What You’re Doing Manually

This is exactly where Simply makes a difference. With our smart CV processing tool, you can automate all those manual steps — without compromising on style, quality, or control.

What you can do with Simply:

• 
  

  Convert a CV into your branding, automatically
  
  Whether you use your own style, a client template, or a tender format: Simply converts CVs into the correct format, preserving content and consistency.

  
  


• 
  

  Enrich CVs with data from intake conversations
  
  Did the candidate share additional experience verbally? Add it during the interview and Simply will process it directly into the CV.

  
  


• 
  

  Translate CVs into 5 languages
  
  Working internationally or with multilingual clients? Instantly translate and export in Dutch, English, German, French, or Spanish.

  
  


• 
  

  Process up to 10 CVs at once
  
  No more waiting. Upload a batch, choose the desired style, and within seconds all CVs are ready to use.

  
  


• 
  

  Integrate with your ATS or CRM
  
  Using Salesforce, Carerix, Byner, Hubspot, or Mysolution? Simply integrates directly. Upload a new CV to the candidate profile and a new version is automatically generated in your style.

  
  

From Manual to Scalable: What That Looks Like in Practice

Before:

• 1 recruiter spends 30 minutes manually formatting a CV




• 20 candidates per week = 10 hours per week spent on formatting




• That time isn't spent on candidates, but on copying, pasting, and formatting

With Simply:

• Upload 10 CVs at once




• Select the desired format or template




• Within 15 seconds, everything is ready in your style, language, and export type

That means: less workload, fewer errors, faster delivery, and a consistent outward appearance.

CV Processing Should No Longer Be a Bottleneck

Recruitment is changing rapidly. But in many organizations, CV processing is still the slowest part of the process. While clients expect speed. While candidates don’t want to wait for days. And while your team would rather spend time on interviews, relationship building, and selection — not Word templates.

With Simply, you bring structure, speed, and scalability to your CV flow. So you can focus on what really matters: people work.

👉 Curious how your team can save 80% of the time on CV processing?

Try Simply for free and experience the difference