ATS Resume Checker

ATS Resume Checker: Scan Your Resume Instantly

Get a resume score in seconds. Our resume checker grades your resume’s format, content, and ATS-friendliness, so you can quickly make improvements and earn more interviews.

Drop your resume here or choose a file. DOC, DOCX, PDF, HTML, RTF, TXT (Max 5MB)

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What our ATS resume checker scans & evaluates

ATS compatibility

Our resume checker automatically parses your resume and determines if Applicant Tracking System (ATS) software can read the file.

Work experience

Your experience section will make or break your resume. Our resume tool picks out formatting errors, and notes ways to write better bullet points.

Header & contact details

Proper punctuation and capitalization reflect your attention to detail. If there are any little mistakes in your header, our checker will identify them.

Resume summary

Your summary shapes an employer's first impression of you. Our resume scanner points out minor punctuation issues, and provides writing improvements.

Skills

A good skills section is concise and includes only the most relevant hard skills you have for the job. Our software helps ensure your skills section hits the mark.

Education

Make sure your education section reflects your academic standards. Our software addresses potential formatting, punctuation, and spacing errors.

How our ATS resume checker works

You upload your resume into our resume checker

Our checker accepts any common file format (Word DOC or DOCX, PDF, HTML, rich text, or plain text). Scanning starts automatically, and will complete in just a few seconds.

Your resume is evaluated for ATS compatibility and quality

Our software parses your file to see if your resume would pass the automated filters set by employers. The scan thoroughly evaluates your resume’s layout, formatting, and keyword usage for best practices, as well as checking for spelling and grammatical errors.

We give your resume a score & suggest improvements

The checker provides a clear report on what your resume did well and where it needs improvement. We score your resume against others in our database and explain exactly what you need to do to refine it, so you can write a better application and pass any ATS scan.

Drop your resume here or choose a file. DOC, DOCX, PDF, HTML, RTF, TXT (Max 5MB)

Uploading...

Frequently Asked Questions

How does an ATS reject resumes?

ATS can reject resumes in three ways:

1. Knockout questions

The main way that ATS software rejects resumes is through “knockout questions” — questions set up by employers to filter out ineligible applicants.

Many employers set up knockout questions asking where an applicant currently resides, whether or not they are legally authorized to work, or whether they have a specific license. Answering incorrectly will cause an application to be automatically rejected.

2. Bad formatting

ATS cannot read resumes that aren’t formatted correctly, which is why applicants are often asked to re-enter all of their resume information manually.

Having a properly formatted resume is necessary to ensure your application is read correctly by ATS software.

3. Filtering by keywords

Finally, employers use ATS software to filter and sort resumes that include certain keywords that they are looking for in a candidate. Resumes without these keywords rank low and may not be considered by hiring managers.

What percentage of resumes are rejected by ATS?

No concrete data exists that shows what percentage of resumes are rejected by ATS.

Many online articles claim that ATS software rejects 75% of resumes, but this stat is a myth. ATS are designed to help companies efficiently filter applicants, not automatically reject them.

Nonetheless, companies do use ATS to help find the most qualified candidates. According to a Harvard Business School study, 88% of employers said that because of ATS filtering, skilled candidates could be vetted out of the hiring process because they didn’t match the exact criteria in the job description.

Including skills from the job ad and using a resume template formatted to be easily read by ATS systems will help your application get seen by a real person.

How do I increase the ATS score of my resume?

Here’s how to improve the ATS score of your resume:

1. Use clear section headings

Include standard headings like Professional Summary, Work Experience, Education, and Skills so the system can easily understand your resume’s structure and map information accurately.

2. Mirror the language in the job description

Exact keyword matches with the job description help the algorithm understand your qualifications.

Use the exact same words as the job ad for required tools, skills, and abilities when you write about your achievements.

A good approach is to insert a skill keyword when you’re explaining how you did something:

Enhanced service quality by using Zendesk satisfaction surveys to gather feedback and refine support processes.

3. Include a skills list for technical jobs

List of any tools, software, or techniques under a descriptive heading like “Technical Skills”.

This approach is the safest way to prevent the ATS algorithm from missing key information, because presenting your core skills in the simplest format possible makes them easy to pick up in a scan.

Technical Skills

SQL
Data visualization
Tableau
Excel

4. Switch your resume to a single-column format

If your resume uses sidebars or tables, paste your content into a single-column resume template.

Some ATS systems are only able to read documents left-to-right, top to bottom. Information can be scrambled on resumes that use tables or multi-column layouts. Using a simple layout will help you achieve a higher ATS score.

Can I tell if a company uses ATS?

Yes, you can usually tell if a company uses ATS.

If you’re asked to fill out an online form with your skills and experience, upload your resume through a portal, or answer screening questions to apply for a job, the company likely uses ATS to screen candidates. Other clues include resume file format requirements (like .docx or .pdf only), URLs that redirect to platforms like greenhouse.com or workday.com, and generic contact information like careers@company.com instead of a recruiter’s name.

ATS systems are extremely common, especially at larger companies — somewhere between 98 and 99% of all Fortune 500 companies use them. For large organizations overall, about 80-90% rely on ATS software. Small businesses have lower adoption rates, typically falling under 50% depending on their industry and size.

If you’re applying to a mid-sized or large company, it’s safe to assume they’re using an ATS. When in doubt, format your resume and cover letter to be ATS-friendly.

Which resume format is ATS-friendly?

The most ATS-friendly resume format is a single-column reverse chronological resume, which lists your work history starting with the most recent first.

Common resume file formats that are ATS-friendly include PDF, DOCX (Microsoft Word), and ODF (LibreOffice/OpenOffice). These file types preserve your formatting while allowing ATS software to scan your resume text accurately.

Once you’ve chosen a resume template that meets these format requirements, avoid adding the following elements that can confuse ATS software and prevent it from reading your resume correctly: