Last updated October 20, 2026 · Checked against how Workday, Greenhouse, Lever and iCIMS parse resumes · By the All Tools Max team
ATS Resume Checker
Most resumes are rejected by software before a person reads them. Paste or upload yours and see exactly what the applicant tracking system sees — an ATS score out of 100, the keywords you are missing for the job you want, every parse problem, and the fix for each one.
Scan your resume
Paste your resume text or open the actual file — Word and text-based PDF files are read right here in your browser, and nothing is uploaded anywhere. Add the job description you are applying to for a true keyword match, then fix, re-scan and watch your score climb.
Your resume
Scanned-image PDFs contain no selectable text — an ATS cannot read them either, which is itself a critical finding.
With a job description, keyword scoring is exact. Without one, we match against the standard keyword set for your target title.
Free and unlimited. Re-run the scan as many times as you like while you fix each issue.
Your ATS report
What the ATS extracted
Issues & fixes
Keyword match —
Found in your resume
Missing — add the ones you genuinely have
Missing keywords? Build the exact skills list for your title with the free Resume Skills Generator, and turn experience into proof-backed bullets with the Fresher Resume Builder.
How an ATS reads your resume — and how this checker copies it
An applicant tracking system never “reads” your resume like a person. It converts it into database fields, then ranks you on keyword overlap with the posting. This checker runs the same three stages locally, so what you see is what the recruiter's software sees.
Parse
The system splits your file into fields: name, email, phone, job titles, employers, dates, education and skills. Anything it cannot place — text trapped in headers, tables, columns or images — is effectively deleted. Our parser extracts the same fields and shows you exactly what survived.
Match
The posting's requirements become a keyword list. Your parsed resume is searched for those exact terms — “JavaScript” does not match “JS”, and “account management” does not match “client relations”. We extract the posting's keywords and measure your overlap, term by term.
Rank
Recruiters sort candidates by match and read from the top. A resume that parses cleanly, matches 75%+ of the keywords and proves impact with numbers surfaces first. Your score combines all three: parsing (20), keywords (35), bullet impact (25) and length & polish (20).
What the major systems actually check
Different employers use different software, but the parsing rules that decide whether your resume survives are remarkably similar across all of them.
Workday
Used by: large enterprises and universities
- Strict field-based parsing — job title, company and dates must sit on separate, plain lines.
- Struggles with two-column layouts and text boxes; content can land in the wrong field.
- Re-asks for information it failed to parse, which is why its application forms feel repetitive.
Greenhouse & Lever
Used by: tech companies and startups
- Clean, modern parsers — text-based PDFs and .docx both read well.
- Recruiters filter heavily on skills tags and current title, so exact keyword wording matters most here.
- LinkedIn profile data is merged with your resume, so headline and title consistency helps.
iCIMS & Taleo
Used by: retail, healthcare, government, legacy enterprise
- Older parsing engines — .docx is the safest format; avoid PDFs with complex design.
- Standard section headings (“Work Experience”, “Education”, “Skills”) are recognised far more reliably than creative ones.
- Dates in MM/YYYY format parse most consistently; season-only dates (“Summer 2024”) often fail.
Parsing-safe habits
- Single column, standard fonts, no tables, text boxes or graphics for key content.
- Contact details in the body of the document — never only in a header or footer.
- Standard headings: Summary, Experience, Education, Skills.
- Dates written consistently as MM/YYYY or Month YYYY.
- Skills written out in full, exactly as the posting words them.
What silently breaks parsing
- Scanned or image-based PDFs — the parser sees a blank page.
- Skill bars, star ratings and percentage graphics instead of words.
- Creative headings like “My journey” or “Where I've been”.
- Abbreviations the posting doesn't use (“JS” for JavaScript, “PM” for project manager).
- Important details placed in headers, footers or sidebars.
The 8 fixes that raise almost every score
These come up in scan after scan. Work through them in order — the first three are worth more than everything else combined.
| Fix | Why the ATS cares | Do this |
|---|---|---|
| Mirror the posting's keywords | Matching is literal. Synonyms and abbreviations score zero. | Copy the posting's exact skill and tool names into your skills section and bullets — only where you genuinely have them. |
| Add a real skills section | Many parsers build your skills profile primarily from this section. | List 10–20 skills as plain text, separated by commas or bullets — never as bars or ratings. |
| Use standard section headings | Parsers locate content by heading names. | Rename creative headings to Summary, Experience, Education and Skills. |
| Quantify every bullet you can | Numbers prove scope, and recruiters scanning the ranked list stop at them. | Add %, $, counts, time saved or team size to at least half your bullets. |
| Start bullets with strong verbs | “Responsible for” hides ownership; parsers and humans both skim past it. | Lead with Led, Built, Reduced, Launched, Negotiated, Automated — and delete “responsible for” entirely. |
| Fix date formats | Unparseable dates can erase a whole role from your timeline. | Use Month YYYY – Month YYYY (or MM/YYYY) for every role, consistently. |
| Move contact details into the body | Some parsers skip headers and footers entirely. | Put email, phone and LinkedIn on the first lines of the document itself. |
| Match the file format to the system | Older systems mangle designed PDFs. | .docx for Taleo/iCIMS-era portals; a clean text-based PDF is fine for Workday, Greenhouse and Lever. |
ATS resume questions, answered
What is an ATS resume checker?
An ATS resume checker scans your resume the way an applicant tracking system (ATS) does before a human ever sees it. It parses your contact details, work history, education and skills into fields, then compares the keywords in your resume with the keywords in the job description. This checker reproduces that process in your browser and scores your resume out of 100 across parsing, keywords, bullet impact and length.
What ATS score do I need to pass?
There is no universal pass mark, because every company configures its ATS differently, but a keyword match of 75% or higher against the specific job description puts you in the range recruiters typically see when they sort by relevance. Treat anything under 60% as a warning: tailor the resume to that exact posting before you apply.
Which file format is best for ATS — PDF or Word?
Both work when the resume is built cleanly. Modern systems (Workday, Greenhouse, Lever, iCIMS) parse text-based PDFs accurately. Word (.docx) is the safest choice for older systems such as Taleo. Whichever you choose, avoid scanned-image PDFs, text boxes, headers and footers with key details, and multi-column layouts, because those are what actually break parsing.
Why do ATS systems reject qualified candidates?
Usually for mechanical reasons, not ability: the resume uses a synonym the posting does not (for example “customer success” when the posting says “account management”), key contact details sit in a header the parser skips, dates are written in a format the system cannot read, or the file is an image-based PDF with no selectable text at all. Every one of those is fixable, and this checker flags them.
Should I copy keywords from the job description into my resume?
Use the job description's exact wording for skills and tools you genuinely have — ATS matching is literal, so “JavaScript” in the posting will not match “JS” on your resume. Never paste in keywords for skills you cannot demonstrate: recruiters spot keyword stuffing quickly, and you will be asked about every line in the interview.
Is my resume uploaded or stored when I use this checker?
No. The scan runs entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Your resume text and any file you open are never sent to a server, stored, or shared — you can verify this by loading the page and disconnecting from the internet before running a scan.
How many pages should my resume be for ATS?
ATS software does not penalise length directly, but recruiters do. One page (roughly 400 to 700 words) suits most candidates with under 10 years of experience; two pages are fine for senior specialists. What matters more is density: every bullet should carry a skill, a result or a number.
Is the ATS Resume Checker really free?
Yes — the full scan, the keyword match, the issue list and the downloadable report are all free with no sign-up, no usage limit and no premium tier. Most competing checkers show you a score for free and then paywall the actual problems; here the problems and fixes are the free part.
Complete the job application — free
The checker tells you what to fix. These All Tools Max tools do the fixing with you — every one free, unlimited and without sign-up.
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