Everything you need to know about ATS resume scoring, formatting, and optimization.
An ATS is software that employers use to collect, filter, and rank job applications. Companies like Workday, Greenhouse, Lever, iCIMS, and Taleo use ATS platforms to manage their hiring pipelines. When you apply for a job online, your resume is parsed by the ATS before a human recruiter ever sees it. Roughly 75% of resumes are filtered out at this stage.
Your Resume Readiness Score is a 0-100 rating based on three factors: keyword relevance (how well your resume matches common ATS requirements), formatting compatibility (whether your resume can be parsed cleanly by ATS software), and content quality (quantified achievements, action verbs, section completeness). A score above 80 means your resume should pass most ATS filters.
Yes, the free score is genuinely free with no signup required. Paste your resume text on our score page and get an instant score. We do not ask for your email or credit card. Paid plans add features like JD-specific tailoring, ATS-friendly templates, and PDF/DOCX export.
Use a single-column layout with standard section headings (Summary, Experience, Education, Skills). Avoid tables, multi-column designs, images, headers/footers, and creative section names. Submit as .docx when possible, or a text-based PDF. Stick to standard fonts like Arial or Calibri.
Read the job description and identify the most important skills, tools, and phrases. Use those exact terms in your resume rather than synonyms or abbreviations. For example, if the posting says 'project management,' use that phrase instead of 'PM.' Our JD Tailor feature automates this by comparing your resume against any job description and highlighting gaps.
DOCX is the safest format for ATS compatibility since every major system supports it reliably. Most modern ATS platforms also handle text-based PDFs well. Avoid image-based PDFs (scanned documents), .pages, .odt, or image files. If you are unsure, try selecting text in your PDF. If you cannot highlight individual words, the ATS cannot read it either.
Resume ATS offers similar core features (ATS scoring, keyword analysis, resume formatting) at a significantly lower price: $14.99/month vs Jobscan's $49.95/month. We also include AI-powered reformatting into ATS-friendly templates, JD tailoring with specific edit suggestions, and both PDF and DOCX export. See our detailed comparison at /vs-jobscan.
Check your score every time you apply to a new job, especially if you are tailoring your resume for different roles. A resume that scores 85 for a marketing role might score 60 for a product management role because the keyword expectations differ. Also re-score after any significant resume updates.
Resume data is automatically deleted after 30 days. We do not sell or share your personal information. Free score checks are processed without storing any data. Paid accounts retain resumes for your convenience but you can delete them at any time from your dashboard.
Yes. Our Starter plan includes 5 resume formats per month, which is enough for most active job seekers. The Pro plan offers 20 formats per month for heavy users, and the Agency plan provides unlimited formats for career coaches and resume writers managing multiple clients.
Try checking your resume score for free. No signup needed.