Accessibility statement

The standard we aim for

This site targets WCAG 2.2 Level AA. That target is honest about being a target: the site has not been through a formal third-party audit, so this statement describes a self-assessment, not a certification. Where we know we fall short, it is listed below rather than omitted.

What is in place

• Keyboard access. Every tool, link, menu, and form control can be reached and operated with a keyboard alone. A "skip to content" link is the first focusable item on every page, so you can jump past the navigation.
• Visible focus. Focused elements get a clear outline that is not removed anywhere, including inside custom-styled inputs.
• Real form labels. Every input has an associated label rather than placeholder text standing in for one, so screen readers announce what a field is for.
• Live results. Tool results are announced to screen readers when they update, rather than changing silently below the fold.
• Native components where possible. The FAQ accordions are native <details> elements, which come with correct keyboard and screen-reader behaviour for free rather than reimplemented approximately in JavaScript.
• Semantic structure. One <h1> per page, headings in order, real landmarks, and tables marked up as tables with proper header cells.
• Contrast. Body text and interface text are checked against the 4.5:1 minimum, and status information is never conveyed by colour alone — a red or green state always carries text or an icon too.
• Reduced motion. Animation and transitions are disabled for visitors whose system requests reduced motion.
• Zoom and reflow. Layouts use relative units and reflow to a single column at 320px width and at 400% zoom, without a horizontal scrollbar on the page body. Wide tables scroll inside their own container instead of forcing the page sideways.
• No time limits. Nothing on this site expires, times out, or logs you out mid-task.

Known gaps

These are current, real, and being worked on. Listing them is the point of this page.

• No formal audit. Nothing here has been tested by an independent accessibility auditor, and it has not been tested exhaustively across every combination of screen reader and browser.
• Generated PDFs. The resume and cover letter PDFs are generated in your browser and are not tagged for accessibility. They are readable as text and copyable, but they do not carry a proper document structure tree. Anyone who needs a tagged PDF should expect to run the output through a tool that adds tags.
• Complex tool output. Some of the newer comparison tables and the application tracker present dense information. They are keyboard operable and marked up semantically, but they have not been usability-tested with screen reader users, and "technically conformant" is not the same as "pleasant to use".
• Third-party advertising. If advertising is enabled, the ad content itself is served by Google and is outside our control. We can control where ads sit and that space is reserved for them; we cannot control the accessibility of an individual ad.

If something blocks you

Email hello@freecareertools.com. Tell us the page, what you were trying to do, and what you use — browser, screen reader or other assistive technology, and operating system if you know it. A barrier that stops someone completing a task is treated as a bug of the same severity as a tool returning a wrong number, and the fix is logged in the changelog.

If you need something on this site in a different format, ask and we will find a way to get it to you.