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When uploading candidates to a job synced from your ATS, you may occasionally see errors that prevent a resume from being processed. This guide walks you through what those errors look like, what causes them, and how to fix them.
⚠️ Note: This guide is specific to organizations using CLARA with an ATS integration. If you're using CLARA as a standalone solution and uploading resumes manually, please visit: Troubleshooting Candidate Upload and Processing Errors (CLARA Standalone).
What errors look like
When uploading candidates to a job synced from your ATS, you might see errors like:
"Document appears to contain no usable text"
"0 KB file"
General processing failures
These errors mean CLARA couldn't process the candidate's file, usually due to issues with file content, formatting, or corruption.
Why this happens
CLARA relies on readable, structured data from resumes to evaluate candidates. When CLARA is connected to your ATS (like Greenhouse, Lever, Teamtailor, etc.), candidate files are imported automatically. If a resume file:
Contains only images (e.g., scanned or photographed)
Is empty (0 KB)
Is password-protected or corrupted
Is in an unsupported or invalid format
…it will fail to upload or process correctly.
Where you'll see these errors
If there is an error, you will see an Errors Processing warning appear on the Job Details page.
From the error view, you'll have the option to:
Open in ATS — view the candidate profile in your ATS
Re-Process — retry after you've fixed the file
Remove Candidate — dismiss the error from your view
You'll also see a red banner if multiple files failed at once.
How to resolve upload errors (ATS-connected roles only)
Because the role was imported from your ATS, all file edits must be made there first. Here's what to do:
Open the candidate's profile in your ATS.
Fix the issue based on the error message:
Replace scanned or image-only resumes with a machine-readable file (PDF or DOCX)
Re-upload missing or empty files
Remove any password protection
Reformat or re-save the file as needed
Return to CLARA and click Re-Process next to the candidate.
Best Practices
💡 Always use PDF or DOCX — these are the most reliably parsed formats in CLARA. Avoid image files and unsupported formats.
💡 Check for empty files — avoid submitting resumes with a 0 KB file size. These will always fail to process.
💡 Remove password protection before uploading — protected files cannot be read by CLARA.
💡 Ensure resumes are text-based — scanned or image-only resumes won't parse correctly. Use text-searchable PDFs wherever possible.
Need Help?
If you've made the fix in your ATS and the error still appears in CLARA, our Partner Success team is here to help. When you reach out, it helps to include:
The candidate name and job title affected
A screenshot of the error message
A brief note on what you've already tried
📬 Email: success@getclara.io