Importing Data from Excel / Access 97 into PCRecruiter

The following procedure is used for importing data from Comma Separated Values (.csv) or Microsoft Access 97 Database (.mdb) files into the PCRecruiter Windows application. If your data is in Excel (.xls) format, open the file and use the "Save As" option from the File menu to save the data in CSV (Comma Delimited) format. Please note that the desktop version of PCRecruiter can only handle .mdb files from Access 97 - if you have an Access 2000 or later database, you will need to convert it back to Access 97 format.

Main Sequence Technologies recommends importing data into a blank database first, to be sure that the data can be imported reliably, before importing into your live database. As always, it's good to have a backup copy of the database handy in case something goes wrong. Please note that the PCRecruiter import tools DO NOT check for duplicate records.

If you are importing your data for use with the PCRecruiter ASP and do not have the desktop version of PCRecruiter on your machine, please see our PCRecruiter Web import instructions.

1) Once logged into PCRecruiter, go to the System tab

2) Select Import/Export

3) Select the type of import you need to perform. If you intend to import company and name data from the same source file, you will need to import the company records first, so that the names can be placed under those company records afterwards. For the purposes of this document, we will assume that you are importing company data first.

4) In the Company Import screen, click the “Open File” button and, browse to the data file that you wish to import.

5) Once you have opened your data file, a preview of the first 20 rows of data will appear in the "Import File Preview" area.

6) The next step is to match the data in your source file to the destination fields in PCRecruiter, which are listed in the "Import Field Definitions" area at the top of the screen. To match up the data, place the blinking cursor to the right of the appropriate field on the top half of the screen and then enter the number of the desired matching column in the source data. For example, if the Company Name appears in column 1 of your source data file, you would click once time beside the “company name” field in the top half of the screen to place the cursor in the box, and then enter a "1" in the box. Continue in this manner till you have all data assigned to the proper fields.

7) Once all fields are matched to your liking, you may want to use the "File" menu to save your import specs on your machine. This will save the time of matching up the fields again if you import future data in the same layout.

8) To begin the import, click on “Import Now”. This may take anywhere from a few seconds to a few hours, depending on the speed of the machine and the amount of data being imported.

9) After importing Company records, you may need to import names from the same data file. Approximately 1/3 of the way down the list of fields on the "Name Import" screen, you will find a field called “#Company name". This item should be numbered to match the field containing the Company name in your source data. Any candidate data that is not associated with a company record will be imported to the "default company" in the target database. If your name records include resumes, you'll want to match the resume field to the "*Resume Text" field in the import definitions.

10) Once all fields are mapped to the correct locations select “Import Now”. Once again the time will vary greatly from machine to machine.

>> View an animated example of the Name Import procedure now!**

11) After importing, go to the company or name tab, click on one of the field heading buttons at the left (Address for example) and perform a blank search. You should be able to use the arrow keys to scroll through the data and make sure it looks correct. If not, you can always create a fresh database and import again until you are comfortable with the data.

12) If you are sending your data to Main Sequence Technologies for use in an ASP account, you'll need to locate the actual database file. It should be found at C:\Program Files\PCrecruiter\Execbob.mdb. Zip this file if you can, to save upload time. Rename the file, giving it your name or your company name. Then visit our Support Upload page to send the file to our ASP administrators.

(** Free Macromedia Flash Player required - Download here.)

1) Import using Filename Identification Field - attaches resumes by matching the name of the resume file to the Identification field of the existing candidate record.

2) Import using Filename Lastname_Firstname - attaches resumes by matching the name of the resume document (i.e. "Joe_Smith.txt") to the first and last name fields of an existing candidate record.

3) Import using Lastname_Firstname_Phone - attaches resumes by matching the name of the resume document (i.e. "Joe_Smith_5551239876.txt") to the first name, last name and phone number fields of an existing candidate record.

Please note that these import options are designed to attach resumes from a folder to candidates that already exist in the database, based on the name of the resume file. Be aware that the matching process is very specific, meaning that if you choose to import a resume called "Flinstone_Fredd" by "Lastname_Firstname" and the candidate is listed as "Flintstone, Fredd", the resume will not be properly linked to the record because the names are not an exact match. This applies to all three import options.

The button for "Import New Resumes Using Lastname_Firstname_Phone" will create fresh candidate records using the information from the resume file name. Telephone number is optional. These new records will be created in the "Default Company" for the target database.

On all of the above imports you wil simply browse to the directory that contains the resumes and select the first file. Once you select a file and tell the program to begin, the ENTIRE directory will be imported. Once the import returns a “completed successfully” message you MUST click on the “index resume keywords” button. Until this is done (or until the entire database has been reindexed) you will not get an accurate return on searches.