CV Creator
Free tool

Check Your CV's ATS ScoreInstantly & For Free

Upload your CV and get an ATS-readability indicator calculated by CV Creator. Paste the target job posting too: the analyzer checks formatting, structure and which keywords are present or missing.

Paste the job posting text to compare its vocabulary with your CV. This simulation highlights gaps but does not reproduce the ranking of any particular ATS.

Drop your CV here or click to browse

Accepted formats: PDF, DOCX, DOC, RTF, TXT (max 10 MB)

How does the ATS analysis work?

In 3 steps, get an indicator and recommendations

1

Upload your CV

Drag and drop or select your CV file in any common format (PDF, Word, etc.).

2

Automatic analysis

Our algorithm checks up to 19 essential criteria — formatting, keywords, structure, content — plus the match with the job posting if you paste it.

3

Personalized tips

Receive a CV Creator indicator out of 100 and actionable recommendations on structure, readability and keyword coverage.

What is an ATS and why does it matter?

An ATS (Applicant Tracking System) is software many employers use to centralize, search and sometimes rank job applications. Depending on the recruitment process and configuration, it can extract CV information and help recruiters filter applications. A document that is difficult to parse can therefore make important information less visible.

Our tool applies up to 19 document checks defined by CV Creator: essential information, structure, dates, content density and keyword overlap with the job posting. It does not connect to Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, Taleo, Greenhouse or Lever and does not claim to reproduce their ranking.

Improving your CV's ATS readability does not mean sacrificing design. Our templates combine a visual layout with a structured text layer intended to improve information extraction. No template can guarantee identical results in every ATS.

The 19 checks this test runs

The full grid, with each criterion’s weight in the score. Nothing is hidden: this is exactly what the analysis applies to your CV.

Document parsing

Before anything else, the ATS must be able to extract text. A CV exported as an image fails here, and no other check can pass.

  • Text extractable from document

    15 weight

    At least 30 words must be extracted from the file. This is the heaviest check in the grid: if it fails, the ATS sees nothing else.

  • Sufficient CV length (150+ words)

    5 weight

    Below 150 words, information a recruiter expects is almost always missing.

  • Reasonable CV length (1 to 2 pages)

    4 weight

    Beyond 1,200 words — roughly two full pages — the decisive information gets diluted.

  • No emojis or pictograms

    4 weight

    Icons and skill stars often become junk characters during extraction, right in the middle of your contact details.

Contact details

The ATS looks for your contact details in the first lines of the document. These are the fields it tries to auto-fill in its candidate record.

  • Name detected

    10 weight

    A first and last name must be identifiable at the top of the document, including when split across two lines.

  • Email detected

    10 weight

    An email address in plain text. Placed inside an image or a button, it is invisible to the ATS.

  • Phone number detected

    8 weight

    A run of 9 to 15 digits. Year ranges such as '2020 - 2023' are deliberately excluded to avoid false positives.

  • Location detected

    5 weight

    A postcode or a known city. Location is a common recruiter filter; 'remote' is recognised too.

  • LinkedIn profile detected

    3 weight

    A `linkedin.com/in/…` URL written out in full, rather than hidden behind a hyperlink or an icon.

Recognised sections

An ATS splits the CV by spotting standard headings. A creative title such as 'My journey' may not be mapped to the right section.

  • "Experience" section identifiable

    12 weight

    The heaviest check after extraction: without this heading, the ATS has nothing to attach your career history to.

  • "Education" section identifiable

    8 weight

    A heading such as 'Education' or 'Qualifications'. Many job posts filter on a level of study.

  • "Skills" section identifiable

    10 weight

    This is where the ATS looks first for the job posting's keywords. Its absence undermines every keyword match.

  • "Profile / Summary" section identifiable

    8 weight

    A heading such as 'Profile', 'About' or 'Summary' introducing your opening statement.

  • "Languages" section identifiable

    4 weight

    A clearly stated 'Languages' heading. Levels shown as stars or progress bars cannot be read.

Content depth

These checks cover what the recruiter reads after the ATS: usable dates and descriptions substantial enough to be assessed.

  • Date ranges detected (e.g., 2020 - 2023)

    8 weight

    At least two readable date ranges. This is what allows total experience to be computed and gaps to be spotted.

  • Detailed experience descriptions (80+ words)

    10 weight

    At least 80 words under the Experience section. A list of job titles with no description says nothing about what you did. Only assessed when the section was found.

  • Professional summary sufficient (30+ words)

    6 weight

    At least 30 words of opening statement, i.e. three or four sentences. Only assessed when the Profile section was found.

Wording

How you describe your achievements. These are not filtered by the ATS itself, but they are what makes the CV convincing once read.

  • Action verbs used (3+)

    6 weight

    At least three action verbs from a FR/EN list (developed, led, optimised, delivered…), replacing passive phrasing.

  • Quantified results detected (2+)

    7 weight

    At least two quantified results. This is the most frequently missed criterion, and the one that most clearly separates two otherwise equivalent CVs.

Two criteria — the depth of your experience descriptions and of your professional summary — are only assessed when the matching section was found. Depending on your CV, the score therefore covers 17 to 19 criteria.

Frequently asked questions about ATS

What is an ATS score?+
There is no universal ATS score shared by all recruitment platforms. The result shown here is a CV Creator indicator based on structure, content and keyword checks. It helps identify possible improvements but does not predict how a real ATS will rank an application.
What is a good ATS score?+
On the CV Creator scale, a result above 80 means most of our checks passed. Between 60 and 80, several areas can still be improved. This scale only prioritizes corrections; it is not a standard used by recruiters.
Is the ATS analysis free?+
Yes, our ATS analysis tool is 100% free and requires no sign-up. You can test as many CVs as you want. No data is stored — your CV is analyzed in real-time then deleted.
How can I improve my ATS score?+
Start with the failed checks and add only accurate information. A clear title, dated work experience, relevant skills and the genuine vocabulary of the job posting generally improve readability, without guaranteeing a recruitment decision.
Which file formats can I analyse?+
PDF, DOCX, DOC, RTF and TXT are accepted, up to 10 MB. If your CV is a PDF exported as an image (a scan or a screenshot), no text can be extracted from it — which is exactly what the first check in the grid detects.
Do I need to paste the job posting to analyse my CV?+
It is optional, but it is where most of the value is. Without a posting, the analysis covers structure and readability. With one pasted in, the tool extracts its most significant terms and shows you which ones do and do not appear in your CV — while discarding job-ad filler such as “role”, “team” and “candidate”.
Why does a heavily designed CV often score lower?+
It is not the design itself, but what it does to the text. Contact details inside an image, language levels shown as stars, creative section headings, columns that interleave during extraction: the document stays readable to the eye, not to a text extractor. A CV can be polished and still be perfectly machine-readable.

Ready to create an ATS-friendly CV?

Our 20+ templates contain searchable text and a structured layer designed to improve ATS extraction. Create your CV from €2.

Create my ATS-optimized CV →