The screening gate · Free
Keyword + layoutKnow if your resume clears the parser before Send.
Paste the posting beside your resume. ResumeStart spells out gaps — headings, messy structure, missing phrases — while a live score reacts as you edit.
No credit card · Score updates as you revise in the editor
Vs. job description
Match cues
Not vanity metrics — what parsers weight.
Calm down the folklore. We surface what software can realistically read — headings, parsing traps, overlap with the role — instead of doom metrics with no citation.
Parser physics
What actually moves your line
Applicant systems strip design first — then hunt for headings, sequence, and terms that resemble the employer brief.
Keyword overlap
Phrases from responsibilities and requirements where you've done that work—not hidden keyword clouds.
Buckets & headings
Plain “Experience / Education / Skills” tends to ingest cleanly versus clever section names parsers never trained on.
Structural hygiene
Fewer tables & side columns; text that flows linearly survives most ingestion paths.
Export discipline
Selectable text, sane PDF structure—what you preview is structured the way parsers expect downstream.
Sprint loop: gauge → tighten → peek again.
Keep the JD pinned; each edit teaches you whether you're aligning or just reshuffling typography.
Anchor on bullet language
Harvest verbs and nouns from the posting → park them beside accomplishments you genuinely own.
Simplify ruthlessly
If a human needs a compass to scan it left-to-right, the parser usually does too.
Watch the needle move
Push one change at a time; ResumeStart echoes how that affected score + missing signals.
FAQ
Signals, not folklore.
- What is a good ATS score?
- A score of 70 or above is competitive. Above 80 is strong. ResumeStart shows your score and what's missing.
- What file format is best for ATS — PDF or Word?
- PDF is safe for most modern ATS systems. ResumeStart exports ATS-optimized PDFs that parse cleanly.
- Does every employer use an ATS?
- Most mid-to-large employers do. Smaller companies often review manually. ATS-optimized resumes also tend to be cleaner for human reviewers.
- Why is my ATS score low even though my resume looks good?
- Visual formatting — columns, tables, graphics — can break ATS parsing. ATS systems read plain text, not design.
- How do I add keywords without stuffing?
- Weave them into bullets that describe outcomes you owned. Tailoring suggests placements; you approve every change.
- Is the "75% of resumes rejected by ATS" statistic accurate?
- This widely repeated figure has no peer-reviewed source. ATS filtering is real, but focus on genuine keyword alignment and clean formatting rather than fear-based statistics.
Run the gate check once per posting.
Free to try. Fix what software actually reads—before a human ever opens the file.
Check my score — free