An ATS resume checker that shows what the parser reads
This free ATS resume checker opens your resume the way an applicant tracking system does — as extracted text — and shows you what comes out. Upload a PDF, a Word .docx or a .txt file, or paste the text, add the job description, and you get the text in reading order, layout warnings, the contact details and sections it found, a keyword match against the job ad and a score with every weight shown.
The score is honest about itself: applicant tracking systems don’t publish one, and each ranks candidates its own way (Greenhouse sorts them into Strong to Limited match, Workday’s HiredScore grades A to D). This is a checklist built from what vendors document as breaking parsing. Your resume never leaves your browser; fix the layout in the resume builder and write the matching cover letter.
How to check your resume against a job description
- Choose Upload file and drop your resume (PDF, .docx or .txt), or keep Paste text and paste it.
- Paste the Job description. Add the Job title if the ad doesn’t start with it.
- Press Check resume and read the score table — each line says why it got its points.
- Open What an ATS would likely read. For a two-column PDF, compare the line-by-line reading with the column-by-column one.
- Add the missing keywords you genuinely have, fix flagged headings and dates, improve weak lines with Rewrite a bullet, then download the report as PDF or text.
ATS Resume Checker features
Real file checks
Image-only pages, a second column and edge text in PDFs; tables, text boxes, columns and header or footer text in .docx files.
Three levels of keyword match
Exact words, another ending (dashboard, dashboards), or a synonym from a list of about 230 skills, tools and credentials (JS = JavaScript).
A transparent score
Seven parts with fixed weights and the reason for every point.
Sections and dates
Standard headings, unusual ones with a suggested name, and mixed date formats.
Bullet rewrites
A rule-based fix for openers such as “Responsible for”, plus an optional on-device AI suggestion that lists any number it added.
What breaks resume parsing, from the vendors’ own help pages
Checked on 14 October 2026. These are the problems the checker looks for:
- Greenhouse, “Unsuccessful resume parse” (updated 2 March 2026): resumes larger than 2.5 MB are not parsed; problems include graphics and photos, resumes uploaded as an image, tables, headers and footers, contact details in a header, footer or text box, columned layouts and no clear sections.
- Workday admin guide, “Resume parsing” (last updated 23 June 2023): results “can vary based on resume format and order of words”, and are best without images or image-based styles.
- Lever help centre: image files such as JPG or PNG can’t be parsed — if you can’t highlight the text in your file, it probably can’t be read.
- Textkernel, a parsing vendor: scans need OCR first, and parsing “can only be as accurate as the text extracted from the source document”.
- Career services agree: one column, standard headings such as Experience, Education and Skills, nothing important in headers or footers, and .docx or a text PDF (MIT CAPD; Penn Career Services, October 2024). To see the raw text of any PDF yourself, use PDF to text.
How the score is worked out
| Part | Points | Full marks when… |
|---|---|---|
| Keywords from the job ad | 35 | every keyword is found; a synonym counts ¾ and a soft skill has half the weight |
| Job title | 10 | the ad’s title appears as written (8 without the seniority word, 5 if its words are scattered) |
| Readable by an ATS | 20 | no scan, image-only page, columns, tables, text boxes or header and footer text |
| Standard sections | 10 | Experience (4), Education (3) and Skills (3) headings |
| Contact details | 5 | email (2), phone (2), LinkedIn or location (1) |
| Action verbs and numbers | 10 | 60% of bullets start with an action verb and 40% contain a number |
| Length, dates and keyword use | 10 | 400–1,000 words (4), one date format (3), no keyword stuffing (3) |
Worked example
The example on this page scores 74. Keywords give 19 of 35: 7 of 13 found, A/B testing only as “AB testing”, six missing (Tableau, Snowflake, Google Analytics among them). The title appears as written (10); pasted text skips layout checks (20); skills sit under “TOOLBOX”, which won’t map to Skills (7 of 10); contact details are complete (5); four of six bullets start with a verb and five have a number (10). At 132 words, with “Jan 2022” next to “06/2019”, length and dates earn 3 of 10.
Do ATSs reject most resumes automatically?
The claim that 75% of resumes are rejected by software has no published study behind it; HR consultant Christine Assaf traced it to Preptel, a company that closed in 2013. What is documented is narrower: in Harvard Business School and Accenture’s Hidden Workers report (September 2021), 88% of employers using automated screening agreed that qualified high-skills candidates are vetted out for not matching the job description’s exact criteria. Greenhouse says its Talent Matching does not reject anyone by itself, though employers can set knock-out questions. So aim for a resume that parses cleanly and uses the job ad’s words where they are true.
ATS Resume Checker FAQ
Is this ATS resume checker free and private?
Yes. The resume and the job description are read in your browser — the PDF with pdf.js, the Word file with JSZip — and nothing is uploaded or stored.
What is a good ATS score?
There is no standard: real applicant tracking systems don’t publish scores. On this checklist, aim for 80 or more with no “Problem” warnings, and treat missing keywords as a to-do list only for skills you really have.
Should I send a PDF or a Word file?
Either, as long as the PDF has a text layer — Greenhouse, for example, accepts .doc, .docx, .pdf, .rtf and .txt. Follow the job post if it names a format, and never send a scan or a picture.
Why does my two-column resume come out scrambled?
A parser that reads straight across the page joins the left and right columns line by line. The checker shows both readings; a single column avoids the problem.
Can I hide extra keywords in white text?
Don’t. Hidden words show up in the extracted text that recruiters read. Add keywords only where they describe real experience.
Does it work for CVs from India and the UK?
Yes. It knows CV headings such as Profile, Employment History and Academic Qualifications.