Copying text from Microsoft Word into the position editor

Why does the text look different after pasting than it did in Word?

You may have noticed that when you copy text from Microsoft Word and paste it into the position editor in Recruitis, the formatting does not look exactly the same as in the original document. This is not a bug — it is a natural consequence of how the two tools work.

A simple analogy: think of it as translating between two languages. Word uses its own internal format, while web editors use HTML. Copying performs a "translation" between these formats, and just like translating from one language to another in an ordinary online translator, the meaning largely stays correct, but some nuances still have to be adjusted "by hand".

How does it work technically?

When you select text in a Word document and copy it (Ctrl+C), Word automatically converts the content into its own HTML format and stores it in the clipboard. However, this HTML code is very complex and contains many specific tags and styles intended for Word, not for a web environment.

When you then paste the text into the editor in Recruitis, the HTML editor tries to clean up this excessively complex code and convert it into a form usable on the web. It can preserve most of the formatting, but some Word-specific elements may not carry over perfectly.

Recommended practices

1. Use simple formatting

The simpler the formatting you use in Word, the better it transfers. These work reliably:

• bold and italic text
• bulleted and numbered lists
• basic text alignment

2. Avoid complex elements

The following elements often do not transfer correctly:

• tables with complex formatting
• text boxes and frames
• multi-column layouts
• special fonts (which may not be available on the web)
• images (we recommend inserting them separately, directly in the editor)

3. Check the text after pasting

Always go through the whole text after pasting and check that everything looks right. Any shortcomings are easy to fix directly in the editor.

At the same time, watch out for HTML tags – something that is bold is not necessarily a heading from the HTML point of view. Always keep in mind that the form of the HTML editor carries over to your career site, job boards and other places where correct display requires the text to have the right and expected HTML tags in the right places.

4. Alternative: pasting plain text

If you have trouble with formatting on the target HTML page, you can paste the text without formatting using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+V (instead of the usual Ctrl+V). The text is pasted as plain text and you can then add formatting directly in the editor as needed, guaranteeing that no "mess" from Word carries over to the web.