Free Resume ATS Checker

Paste your resume and a job description to get an instant keyword match score, plus exactly which keywords are missing.

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Resume & Job Description

What Is an ATS (Applicant Tracking System)?

An Applicant Tracking System, or ATS, is software that companies use to collect, sort, and filter job applications before a human recruiter ever sees them. Well over 90% of large employers and a majority of mid-size companies use some form of ATS, including widely used platforms like Workday, Greenhouse, Lever, iCIMS, and Taleo. When you submit a resume through an online application form, it almost always passes through an ATS first.

Most ATS platforms don't reject resumes outright based on keywords alone — but they do rank, score, or filter candidates based on how closely a resume's content matches the job description, and recruiters frequently search or sort the ATS database by specific skill and keyword terms. A resume that never mentions the tools, technologies, and qualifications listed in the job posting is significantly less likely to surface near the top of a recruiter's search results, even if the candidate is genuinely qualified.

How ATS Keyword Matching Works

When you submit a resume, the ATS parses the raw text and extracts data into structured fields (contact info, work history, education, skills). Separately, most systems compare the vocabulary in your resume against the vocabulary in the job description — looking for exact or near-exact matches on job titles, required skills, certifications, tools, and qualifications. A resume that mirrors the language of the posting (using "Python" instead of just "programming," or "Google Analytics" instead of just "analytics tools") scores better in these keyword comparisons.

This tool simulates that basic keyword-matching layer: it extracts meaningful keywords from the job description (filtering out common words like "the," "and," or "with"), checks which of those keywords also appear in your resume, and reports a match percentage along with the specific matched and missing terms.

How to Use This Tool

  1. Paste your resume text into the left box.
  2. Paste the target job description into the right box.
  3. Click Check Match.
  4. Review your match score, the list of keywords your resume already includes, and the list of keywords it's missing.
  5. Add the missing keywords to your resume where they genuinely and honestly apply — in your skills section, work experience bullet points, or summary.
  6. Click Try Example to see a sample Software Engineer resume matched against a Python Developer job description.

Frequently Asked Questions

Generally, aim for 75% or higher (shown in green). Scores between 50-75% (amber) suggest room to better align your resume with the role. Below 50% (red) usually means your resume is missing several core requirements mentioned in the posting — worth reviewing carefully before you apply.

No. Only add keywords that honestly reflect your real skills and experience. Keyword stuffing (e.g., listing a skill you don't have, or repeating terms unnaturally) can get flagged by more sophisticated ATS systems and will almost certainly fail once a human recruiter or interviewer asks you about it. Use this tool to identify genuine gaps, not to game the system.

No. Commercial ATS platforms use proprietary, often more sophisticated matching (including synonym recognition and semantic matching in some cases), and exact algorithms are not public. This tool provides a straightforward, transparent keyword-overlap approximation to help you spot obvious gaps — treat the score as a directional guide, not a guarantee of how any specific ATS will rank you.

No. All text extraction and keyword matching happens entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Neither your resume nor the job description is ever uploaded or stored on our servers — safe to use with your real, unedited resume.

This tool filters out common stop words (the, and, with, team, work, etc.) that appear in almost every job description and carry little distinguishing value. It focuses on more specific, meaningful terms — tools, technologies, qualifications, and role-specific skills — since those are what typically drive ATS keyword scoring.

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