Technology companies, startups, and global enterprises frequently host their application forms on boards.greenhouse.io, job-boards.greenhouse.io, or jobs.lever.co (or embed those forms inside their own careers page with a ?gh_jid= URL parameter). Both platforms parse your uploaded resume to populate candidate profile fields while attaching your original document for human reviewers. Knowing their documented file constraints and checking what the form extracts helps you submit a clean application.
| Check item | boards.greenhouse.io / job-boards.greenhouse.io | jobs.lever.co |
|---|---|---|
| URL signature | boards.greenhouse.io/, job-boards.greenhouse.io/, or ?gh_jid= parameter | jobs.lever.co/* or jobs.eu.lever.co/* |
| Documented formatting risks | Files over 2.5 MB, columns, tables, headers/footers, text boxes, scanned images | Scanned image PDFs, split header banners, non-standard section labels |
| What you see autofill on screen | First/Last Name, Email, Phone, plus Education/Employment fields when enabled | Full name, Email, Phone, Current company, and LinkedIn/GitHub/Portfolio URLs |
| Pre-submit verification | Check populated fields and answer custom screening questions accurately | Wait for 'Analyzing resume...' to finish and verify every contact and link box |
Greenhouse upload rules: 2.5 MB limit and layout warnings
When you upload a resume on boards.greenhouse.io or job-boards.greenhouse.io, Greenhouse parses the document to fill candidate profile fields while keeping your file attached. Greenhouse's support documentation notes a 2.5 MB file size limit for resume parsing and explicitly lists multi-column layouts, complex tables, scanned image PDFs, and contact details placed inside document headers, footers, or text boxes as common causes of unsuccessful parsing.
Keep your exported PDF or Word (.docx) file well under 2.5 MB, place your name, email, and phone number in the main body of page one, and use a single-column layout so your job titles and dates remain in linear order.
Lever upload rules: immediate header autofill and profile links
On jobs.lever.co, uploading your resume at the top of the application form immediately triggers a live parse that attempts to autofill your Full name, Email, Phone, Current company, and social/portfolio URLs (LinkedIn, GitHub, Portfolio). If your resume hides contact details inside a graphical header banner or splits your current employer and job title across separate sidebars, you will see those top-of-form fields stay blank or fill with neighboring text.
Wait a few seconds after selecting your file on jobs.lever.co until the 'Analyzing resume...' indicator finishes, then inspect and correct every autofilled contact and link box before scrolling down to the custom questions.
Run a local PDF text check and answer knockout questions carefully
Before uploading to either boards.greenhouse.io or jobs.lever.co, run your PDF through a browser PDF text check to confirm that words, dates, and URLs extract in top-to-bottom order without missing spaces. Then read the custom application questions at the bottom of the form carefully: Greenhouse supports employer-configured auto-reject rules on specific question answers (such as work authorization or required licenses), so accurate answers on the form matter just as much as a clean resume file.