ALERTNAIJA247 | Career Tools

CV ATS Checker

Review your CV for common ATS formatting, readability, structure, and job-description alignment issues.

Your results are a diagnostic checklist - not a guarantee of how any particular employer's ATS will process your CV. Analysis runs in your browser; your CV is not uploaded to our servers by default.

Check Your CV

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Drop your CV here or click to browse

PDF, DOCX or TXT | Max about 5 MB recommended

Job description (optional)

Paste the job description for a tailored keyword and responsibility comparison. Leave blank to skip matching.

Career stage (optional) Prefer not to specify Student / Graduate Entry-Level Mid-Career Experienced / Senior Academic / Research

Analyzing your CV...

CV Diagnostic Report - ALERTNAIJA247

Practical checklist based on readable text | Not a guarantee of ATS behaviour

CV Review Complete

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Checklist score

This CV checker provides a practical diagnostic review based on the information it can read from your document. ATS software varies, so the results are guidance rather than a guarantee of how a specific employer's system will process your CV.

What Is an ATS?

An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is software many employers use to collect, store and filter job applications. These systems extract text from CVs and may rank or filter candidates based on keywords, structure and other signals. Different employers use different products, so behaviour varies widely.

What Does an ATS Checker Actually Check?

This tool reviews the text it can read from your CV for common formatting, structure, contact, content and keyword-alignment considerations. It does not simulate every ATS parser and does not predict whether you will be shortlisted or hired.

Common CV Formatting Problems

• Complex multi-column layouts that some parsers may reorder or misread
• Text placed inside images or skill bars
• Heavy use of tables for core content
• Decorative symbols that replace important words
• Headers/footers that contain contact details some systems may skip
• Unusual section labels that are hard to recognise

How to Make a CV Easier for Software to Read

• Prefer a clear single-column layout when machine readability is a priority
• Use standard section headings (e.g. Work Experience, Education, Skills)
• Put important information in body text rather than graphics
• Keep contact details in plain text near the top
• Use consistent date formats and bullet styles
• Export or save as a clean PDF or DOCX when possible

How to Tailor a CV to a Job Description

Read the job description carefully. Where you genuinely have matching skills, tools or experience, make them explicit in your CV using clear language. Do not add qualifications, skills or experience you do not have. Keyword stuffing reduces clarity and can harm credibility.

Common CV Mistakes

• Missing or unprofessional-looking email address
• Inconsistent date formats across roles
• Long paragraph-style experience blocks with no bullets
• Generic claims ("hardworking", "results-driven") without supporting evidence
• Duplicate bullets or repeated content
• Placeholder text left in the document

FAQ

An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is software used by many employers to collect, parse and rank applications. Different employers use different systems, so behaviour varies.

Most systems extract text from the document and look for structured sections, contact details and keywords. Complex layouts, images and tables can sometimes reduce extraction quality.

No. This tool provides a diagnostic checklist based on the text it can read. It does not reproduce every ATS parser and cannot guarantee how a particular employer's system will process your CV.

Yes. PDF, DOCX and TXT are supported where the browser can extract text. If extraction fails (for example with scanned/image-only PDFs), paste your CV text instead.

Image-only or scanned PDFs often yield little or no extractable text. The tool will tell you if extraction looks incomplete and recommend pasting the text for a fuller review. OCR is not currently built in.

Providing a job description enables a side-by-side comparison of terms, tools and responsibilities. Matches and potentially missing terms are shown so you can decide what to clarify - only if you genuinely have that experience.

No. Only include skills, qualifications and experience you genuinely have. Adding terms you do not possess is not recommended and can harm credibility.

There is no universal rule. Early-career CVs are often shorter; experienced professionals may need more space. Focus on relevance and clarity rather than a rigid page count.

Some parsers handle simple tables and columns adequately; others can reorder or lose content. If machine readability is a priority, a clear single-column layout is generally safer. This is a potential concern, not a guaranteed failure.

Graphical proficiency meters are often harder for software to interpret than plain text labels. Prefer written skill lists when machine readability matters.

No. Analysis is performed in your browser. Your CV content is not uploaded to our servers by default.

Yes. Use the "Print / Save as PDF" button and choose your browser's print-to-PDF option. The print layout is optimised for clean A4 output.

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