Free Resume Checker

What each check actually does

Nine checks run on the text you paste. Every one of them is a plain rule you can read below, apply by hand, and disagree with. Nothing is hidden, nothing is scored by a model, and nothing leaves your browser.

Word count

Counts every run of letters, digits, apostrophes and hyphens. Under 200 words usually means a resume that is still a draft. Over 1,000 usually means a document that will not be read to the end. Between those two, the check says nothing.

Email address

Looks for a standard address anywhere in the text. This is the only contact check treated as a hard problem, because a resume without a reply-to address cannot do its job.

Phone number

Takes every run of digits and separators on a line, strips out everything that is not a digit, and accepts any stretch of 7 to 15 digits inside it. So (555) 123-4567, 555-123-4567, 555.123.4567, +1 555 123 4567, 5551234567 and +44 20 7946 0958 all register, and so does a number with a date sitting next to it or on the line below. A date range like 2019 - 2022 normalises to eight digits as well, so a stretch made only of four-digit years is rejected before the count is taken.

LinkedIn or portfolio link

Looks for linkedin.com, github.com, an http:// or https:// address, or a www. prefix. A link is optional, so a missing one is a small deduction, not a failure.

Section headings

Checks for four groups of words: experience or employment history; education, degree or university; skills or competencies; and summary, profile or objective. If you use unusual headings, this check will flag sections you actually have. That is a limitation of keyword matching, and the note says so.

Bullet points

Counts lines that begin with a bullet glyph, a dash or an asterisk. This one is about scanning. Paragraph-shaped experience sections are harder to read quickly than a list of outcomes.

Quantified results

This is the check that matters most, so it is the strictest. First, contact details are removed: emails, links and phone numbers anywhere in the document, plus a street address or a city/state/zip line in the header block. A summary at the top of the page is left alone, so a number in it still counts. Then every remaining number is tested, and it only counts when it carries meaning on its own:

• a percent sign or the word percent, as in 35%
• a currency symbol, as in $1.2M
• a multiplier, as in 3x
• comma grouping or a decimal, as in 1,200 or 4.8
• a K, M or B magnitude, as in 50K
• a trailing plus, as in 500+
• a countable noun beside it, as in 12 engineers, 40 hours or 1,800 tickets

Four-digit numbers from 1900 to 2099 are treated as dates and skipped. So is tenure such as “8 years” or “3 months,” and any number sitting next to a month name. This is the fix for a real bug: the old version counted the digits in your phone number and your graduation years, so a resume with no achievements in it at all could be told it had “7 quantified details.” The weakest resumes scored best on the most important check.

Because a count you cannot verify is worth very little, the results list every snippet that counted and every number that did not. If you disagree with a call, you can see it and decide for yourself.

Filler phrases

Matches a fixed list of phrases that describe a job rather than a result: responsible for, duties included, team player, detail-oriented, self-starter, worked on, helped with, and about eight more. Hyphens and spaces count as the same character, so “detail oriented” and “detail-oriented” are one hit, not two.

Very long lines

Flags any line over 200 characters. A bullet that long is usually two or three separate accomplishments that would land harder apart.

How the score is put together

The score starts at 100 and subtracts points. It is not an ATS score, and it does not correspond to anything a recruiter sees. It is a rough total of the fixes still available to you, weighted so the checks worth acting on cost the most.

The score cannot fall below 20. Above 80 the ring shows green, above 60 amber, below that red. A resume with real numbers in it, clear headings and no filler lands in the nineties. One with none of those does not, which is the whole reason the weights were changed. The same rules, and why they were rewritten, are recorded on our methodology page.

How to read your results

Treat the score as a nudge, not a grade. The notes point you toward the fixes that change the most: adding numbers to your accomplishments, removing tired phrases like “responsible for,” and making sure your contact details and section headings are clear.

This check deliberately stays simple and honest. It is not an ATS simulator, and no online tool can guarantee interviews — be wary of any that claim to. To improve specific lines, use the bullet point generator, then rebuild cleanly in the resume builder.