Importing candidates from a spreadsheet (CSV)

Bulk-import candidates from a CSV or XLSX spreadsheet via the Add candidates modal.

When to use CSV import

  • Migrating from another ATS that exports CSV/XLSX.
  • Bulk-loading a sourcing list from a third-party tool.
  • Adding referred candidates collected on a spreadsheet.

For raw resume folders, use Upload resume instead — that path parses CV files directly. CSV import is for structured contact data without resume files.

Where to find it

Click Add Candidates from /discover or any job's candidates tab. In the modal, open the Add candidates tab (subtitle: "Drag & drop, CSV, or form").

Inside, the CSV section is titled Import from CSV with the subtitle "Bulk add contacts from a spreadsheet".

Supported file formats

  • .csv
  • .xlsx (Excel)

Column headers

The expected columns (the order is flexible — you map them in the UI):

  • First Name
  • Last Name
  • Contact Number
  • Email
  • Qualification
  • Years of Experience
  • Current Company
  • Job Title
  • LinkedIn
  • Github
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Behance

You don't have to fill every column — Email is the most important for dedup, but more data means a richer candidate profile.

Running the import

  1. Open Add candidates.
  2. Drop the CSV/XLSX onto the upload zone or click to pick.
  3. CVViZ converts the file to JSON and shows a preview table where you map your spreadsheet columns to CVViZ fields.
  4. Tick the relevant options:
    • Consider 1st row as a contact — leave unticked if your file has a header row (typical); tick if there's no header.
    • Update existing contacts — if a candidate with the same email already exists, update their record instead of creating a duplicate.
  5. Click Import contacts.

Choosing the target job

The job selector at the top of the Add Candidates modal applies to CSV import too. Pick:

  • Candidate Database — imports go into the general database without a specific job.
  • A specific job — imported candidates are added to the job's pipeline.

Dedup behavior

Email is the primary dedup key. With Update existing contacts ticked, the import:

  • Updates fields on the existing record where there's a match.
  • Creates new candidates only for emails not already in your database.

Without that checkbox, every row creates a new record — which can cause duplicates. Only leave it off if you intentionally want fresh records.

Tips

  • Test small first. Import 5–10 rows before the full file to verify column mapping.
  • Save Excel as CSV (UTF-8) if you have non-ASCII characters in names — keeps accents intact.
  • Email is the dedup key. If you're worried about duplicates, make sure every row has an email.
  • Tag the imported batch. Apply a tag like "Imported 2025-Q2 Sourcing List" via bulk actions after import — makes it easy to find or undo later.