Why am I getting "Last Used" value of a skill as empty?

If you're seeing an empty "Last Used" value for a skill in the parsed resume output from RChilli, here are the most common reasons why this happens:

🔍 Why "Last Used" Might Be Empty

1. Missing Context in Resume

The "Last Used" value for a skill is only extracted if explicit temporal context is provided in the resume. This typically means the skill must be:

• Mentioned in a specific job role within the Experience section.

• Linked to a date range (e.g., "Used Python from Jan 2021 to Dec 2023").

If the skill appears only in a summary, skills section, or education block without dates, the parser cannot determine when it was last used.

2. Skill Mentioned Without Temporal Indicators

If a resume says:

"Proficient in Java, C#, and React."

This provides no timeline, so the parser can’t infer when the skills were last used. In contrast, if the resume says:

"Worked as a Java Developer at XYZ Corp from March 2020 to August 2023."

RChilli can assign "Java" a Last Used value of August 2023, if the skill is correctly linked to this job profile.

3. Inconsistent Resume Formatting

If the resume is poorly structured, or the skill is not clearly tied to a job experience block, the parser may not be able to link the skill to any date. This is common in:

• PDF resumes with complex layouts (e.g., tables, columns).

• Resumes where skills and roles are not clearly demarcated.

You may consider enabling the parsethroughpdflayout flag in the API settings to improve parsing for these formats.

4. API Settings Not Optimized

To ensure skills are sorted and returned with a "Last Used" value, consider using this setting in your API request:

This tells the API to sort and include the LastUsed field based on temporal context found in the resume.

✅ Recommendations

• Ensure resumes have time-stamped work experience entries where skills are mentioned.

• Enable sortskillbylastused in your Resume Parser API settings.

• For PDF files with layout issues, consider enabling parsethroughpdflayout if the resume format is columnar.

📘 Need More Help?

If you continue to see this issue despite meeting the criteria above, please share:

• A sample parsed resume (JSON).

• The resume file itself.

• Your API version and request payload.

You can email this to support@rchilli.com for further analysis.