An ATS score that tells you what to change
Around sixty rules across six categories, run locally on every keystroke. Free on every plan, because you should never hesitate to check your own document.
Almost every "ATS checker" on the internet is a lead magnet: it gives you a number, hides the reasons behind an email gate, and the number itself is a heuristic on word count. Ours is the opposite arrangement. The score is free, permanently, and every point you lost is itemised with the section it came from and the sentence you should write instead.
It is also deterministic. No model call is involved, so the same document always produces the same number, and the report never contradicts itself between two runs. That matters more than it sounds: a score you cannot reproduce is a score you cannot act on.
In short
- Free on every plan, including the free one
- Runs locally, no model call, no waiting, no credit
- Deterministic: the same document always scores the same
- Every deduction links to the field that caused it
Interview ready
the sample document, scored by the live engine
How it works
- 01
It reads the document, not the file
Because the document is structured data rather than a PDF we are guessing at, the rules can see exactly what a parser would see: which fields are populated, which dates are ambiguous, which bullet has no verb.
- 02
Six categories, weighted
Content, format, impact, keywords, sections and style. Each carries its own maximum, so a formatting problem cannot mask a content problem or the other way round.
- 03
Every deduction is actionable
A critical issue names the section, quotes the problem and describes the fix. Clicking it takes you to the field. Fix it and the number moves before you have finished typing.
What the rules actually check
Format rules look for the things that break parsers and readers: missing contact fields, dates a machine cannot order, headings that do not match any known section, a document that will run to three pages, text that relies on layout to make sense.
Impact rules read your bullets. Do they open with a verb? Is there a number anywhere? Are you describing a duty ("responsible for managing") rather than a result? Is the same verb used six times? These are the rules that move the score most, because they are the ones recruiters respond to.
Keyword rules compare your document against the target title and, if you have pasted one, the actual posting. A headline that does not contain the title you are applying for is one of the most common and most expensive mistakes in the entire process.
Why the number is not the point
A score is a compression of a list of problems, and the compression loses the only useful part. We show the number because people want it, and then we spend the rest of the panel on the list.
There is also a ceiling worth being honest about: no document scores 100 for every job. Tailoring for one posting can cost you a point against another. The score is a tool for finding what is broken, not a target to optimise until it is meaningless.
Questions
ATS score questions
Is this the same score the employer sees?
No, and neither is anybody else's. Employers do not run a scoring product on your resume. Their tracking system parses it, indexes it and ranks it against the requisition, and recruiters filter that list. Our score models the parsing and ranking behaviour those systems document publicly. It is an estimate of how well you will survive that process, not a number anyone at the company will ever see.
What is a good score?
Above 88 the document is doing its job. Between 72 and 88 there are usually two or three fixable bullets holding it back. Below 55 there is normally something structural: a missing section, no metrics anywhere, or a headline that does not match the role.
Does the score change per job?
The keyword portion does, as soon as you paste a posting. The other five categories are properties of the document itself.
Related
One resume for forty jobs is why you are not hearing back
Paste the posting. See the terms that requisition is indexed on, which ones you already carry, and which of your bullets is the right home for the rest.
Read moreBullets written from what you actually did
Describe what you actually did in your own words, even if it is rough or unfinished. AI turns it into clear, compelling resume bullet points while keeping your achievements accurate and never inventing experience.
Read more