CV CHECKER METHODOLOGY
Understand your CV score.
Last updated October 26, 2026
Two tools, two different questions
The ATS Health Check reviews how readable and clearly structured your CV is. The CV–Job Keyword Match compares its language with a specific job description. Both use fixed rules in your browser rather than AI to calculate their results.
How the ATS readiness score works
The readiness score adds the points earned across these six checks, up to a maximum of 100. Partial points reflect specific findings; a high total is not a guarantee that an employer will accept or shortlist your CV.
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| Check | Maximum points | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Text extraction | 25 | Checks whether readable text can be extracted. A file with readable text on every page earns full points; partially readable files receive fewer points. |
| Recognisable structure | 20 | Looks for Experience, Skills and Education section groups using familiar headings on their own lines. All three groups earn full points; fewer groups earn partial points. |
| Formatting risks | 20 | Starts at 20 points and deducts 8 for each detected risk category (columns, tables and text boxes), plus 4 for header or footer content, down to a minimum of zero. |
| Contact details | 10 | Awards 5 points for a readable email address, 3 for a phone number and 2 for a professional profile or web link. It checks their presence, not whether they are valid or current. |
| Focused length | 10 | Awards 10 points for 250–1,200 words, 6 for 180–1,500 words outside that range, and 2 otherwise. This is a general guide, not a rule for every profession. |
| Evidence and outcomes | 15 | Counts numerical references as a rough signal of scope or results: 4 or more earn 15 points, 2–3 earn 10, one earns 5 and none earn zero. Dates and contact numbers can also match; the check does not verify achievements. |
File checks have limits. For PDFs, we inspect selectable text and possible column patterns; we do not detect every table, text box, header or footer. For Word documents, we also inspect those layout signals. Neither check recreates an employer's parser or judges the visual quality of your design. An image-only PDF may need text recognition before it can be checked.
How the keyword-match percentage works
The matcher standardises case, accents, punctuation and spacing, then selects up to 18 terms from the job description. It recognises a fixed list of skill phrases, filters common words and gives more weight to recognised phrases, repeated terms and selected short skill names.
It looks for each selected word or phrase in your standardised CV text. The percentage is the matched keyword weight divided by the total selected keyword weight, multiplied by 100 and rounded to a whole number. If no usable terms are found, the result is zero.
This comparison does not understand synonyms or meaning, verify proficiency, or separate essential requirements from preferences. Use the visible matched and missing terms to review your CV. Add language only when it accurately describes your experience.
Your input and the result
The free checkers read and score your input in your browser. The scoring process does not upload or save your CV file, pasted CV text or job description. Website analytics and other CVExpert features are described in our privacy policy.
Start with readability and clear structure, then review the language for the role you want. Keep every change truthful and read the final CV as a person would.