Free ATS-style layout check
Is your CV easy for software to read?
Many employers use applicant tracking systems to collect CVs. Check your CV for the layout features that commonly cause trouble, such as tables, columns and text in headers.
- Checks common layout problems
- Free and instant
- Your CV stays in your browser
We could not read enough text
The file gave us almost no text to check, so we have not given it a score. This usually means it is a scan or photo of a paper CV, or a design export where the text is stored as an image.
Save the CV again from Word or Google Docs as a PDF or .docx, or use the "paste your CV text" option above.
Your score
A guide to readability and quality, not a prediction of any employer's system.
Where you gained and lost points
See your top three issues
Enter your email to unlock the three biggest things holding your score back, the exact lines in your CV that caused them, and a free rewrite of your weakest line. We will also send occasional job-search tips. Unsubscribe any time.
Your top three issues
Full report
Every issue with how to fix it, rewrites for weak bullet points, and the keywords your CV is missing for a specific job.
What an ATS check can and cannot tell you
Applicant tracking systems differ from one employer to the next, and nobody outside a system can promise how it will treat your file. What employers publish is consistent, though: avoid tables, text boxes, columns and graphics, keep your details in the main body and use standard headings.
Our check looks for exactly those features and for the rest of what makes a CV clear to read. It is a guide to readability, not a copy of any particular system and not a pass or fail from an employer.
How it works
Three steps, one minute.
Add your CV
Upload a Word or PDF file, or paste the text. Add a job advert if you want a keyword match.
See your score
Scores for readability, structure and content, plus the biggest issues in plain English.
Fix and apply
Get the full report, or a tailored cover letter and email for the job you want. Coming soon.
What we check
The things that make a CV easy to read.
Clean layout
Tables, columns, text boxes and images that can hide your details from software.
Contact details
An email and phone number in a place they can be found.
Clear sections
Standard headings, sensible length and no unexplained gaps in dates.
Strong wording
Action verbs and bullet points, without filler phrases and clichés.
Evidence and results
Numbers, scale and outcomes that show what you achieved.
Match to the job
Paste an advert to see which key terms your CV is missing.
Free guides
Five complete guides to a better CV.
Pricing
Start free. Pay only if you want more.
Full report
£9
- Every issue, with how to fix it
- Missing keywords for a job advert
- Before-you-send checklist
Application bundle
£19
- Everything in the full report
- Tailored cover letter
- Cover email, ready to send
Your CV is private.
The free check runs in your browser, so your CV is not uploaded. We only keep your email address and score if you ask for the top issues. Do not just take our word for it: after each check we show you every network request your browser made, and Word files and pasted text still work with your wifi switched off once the page has loaded.