Frequently asked questions
Short answers on how ATS Free For All scores a CV, what each tool does and what happens to your data.
ATS and CV basics
What is an ATS?
An applicant tracking system (ATS) is the software employers use to collect and sort applications. It turns your CV file into plain text and files that text into fields such as name, experience, education and skills, so recruiters can search and filter it.
What does an ATS CV checker check?
This checker shows the plain text a parser gets from your file and scores it out of 100 across five dimensions: parseability, keyword match, structure, impact and contact. Every lost point is tied to a named finding with the line it came from and a fix.
Is the ATS CV checker free?
Yes. The analysis and the full report are free, with no paid tier behind them. You need to sign in to run an analysis, and the file, its text and the result are then stored on our server for 12 months.
Should I send my CV as PDF or DOCX?
Either works, as long as the text can be selected. What matters is the text layer: a PDF exported from a word processor reads well, while a scanned or image-only PDF has no text for a parser to read. If the job ad asks for a format, use that one.
Do columns and tables break an ATS?
They often do. Parsers read lines left to right, so two columns or a table can mix sentences from different sections together. The checker flags multi-column and table layouts, and the parser view shows the reading order your file actually produces.
Does an ATS read headers and footers?
Not reliably. Some parsers skip them, and others pull repeated header or footer lines into the middle of your text. Keep your name and contact details in the body of the page; the checker flags headers and footers that repeat on every page.
Which section headings should I use?
Use plain, standard headings such as Experience, Education and Skills, each on its own line. Parsers map sections by their names, so a creative heading can leave the content below it unclassified. The checker recognises the usual English, Turkish and German headings and flags a missing one.
Which fonts and symbols are safe for an ATS?
Any standard font with real text is fine; the problem is information carried by icons. Phone and mail icons, emoji and decorative bullet glyphs can disappear or turn into garbage characters. Write labels in words and use a plain bullet; the checker reports icon fonts and broken characters.
How do I add keywords from the job ad without stuffing?
Use the job ad's exact wording for skills you really have, inside the bullets where you used them, and spell an acronym out once, such as Continuous Integration (CI). Repeating a term many times does not help: the checker flags keyword stuffing and terms that appear only in a skills list.
What is the difference between a normal CV and an ATS-friendly CV?
The content is the same; the difference is how easily software can read it. An ATS-friendly CV has a single-column layout, a selectable text layer, standard headings and dates in a consistent format. A designed CV is not rejected for its looks, but more of it can be lost in parsing.
Does my LinkedIn profile affect the ATS?
Not the parse of your CV, which only reads the file you upload. Recruiters do compare the two, though, so different dates or titles stand out. The LinkedIn consistency check compares your CV with your LinkedIn PDF export and lists the mismatches.
CV analysis and scoring
How do you score my CV?
Your CV is scored out of 100 across five dimensions: Parseability (25 points), Keyword match (25), Impact (20), Structure (20) and Contact (10). Every lost point is tied to a named finding that says which line it came from and what to write instead.
What does the Parseability dimension measure?
Parseability measures whether the text of your CV survives extraction, so that a parser can read it correctly. Columns, tables, icon fonts and broken character encodings are checked in this dimension.
How does keyword matching work?
Keyword match measures how many of the terms mined from the job ad appear in your CV, with each term weighted by how central it is to the posting. Without a job ad only a general skill inventory can be checked, so the dimension is capped at 20 of 25 points and the report says so.
What does the Impact dimension look at?
Impact looks at whether your bullets show quantified results and ownership verbs rather than lists of responsibilities. A concrete result such as "Increased sales by 20%" scores higher than "Increased sales".
What does the Structure dimension check?
Structure checks for headings a parser can map to fields, dated entries in reverse chronological order, and bullets rather than paragraphs.
Does a high score mean I will be invited to an interview?
No, the score does not predict whether you will be invited. The checks are heuristics built from how mainstream parsers behave, not a reproduction of any named vendor's parser. A good score means the checks found nothing that stops a parser from reading your CV.
Parser view
What does the parser view show?
The parser view shows what a parser extracts from your CV, field by field. For identity fields such as name, email, phone, location and links, it shows whether each one was found, looks suspect or is missing.
Why do my dates look suspect?
Dates are usually marked suspect because the date range is split across two columns or the date format was not recognised. Every suspect field comes with a readable cause, and clicking it highlights its line in the raw text.
Job ad analysis
What does analysing a job ad provide?
Analysing a job ad extracts its required and preferred skills, seniority level, language requirements, location or remote model, and salary if the ad states one. It also flags red flags such as overly long skill lists or years of experience that contradict the seniority.
What is the ghost posting check?
The ghost posting check asks the job board whether a posting is still open. It works for ads hosted on Greenhouse, Lever and Ashby, uses their public posting APIs, and reports the ad as live, gone or unknown.
Matching modes
How many matching modes are there?
There are three matching modes: Strict (word for word), Normalized (synonyms, abbreviations and a skill taxonomy) and Semantic (an embedding model). All three run over the same CV and ad, and the comparison shows which terms account for the difference.
What does semantic matching mean?
Semantic matching compares the meaning of terms rather than their spelling, using an embedding model that runs in your browser. It can link different wordings such as "software development" and "coding". Semantic hits are shown as "possible match", never as confirmed, and they do not change the score.
CV tailoring
How do I tailor my CV to a job ad?
Use Tailor mode, which lists the terms in the job ad that are missing from your CV. For each term it shows where it appears in the ad, how central it is and where it could go in your CV.
Are skills automatically added to my CV?
No, nothing is added to your CV without your confirmation. No skill, experience or number you do not have is written in.
How does bullet rewriting work?
Bullet rewriting rephrases bullets that are already in your CV and does not add new facts. Where a measurable result is missing, it inserts a placeholder such as [X%] or [N people] for you to fill in. A grounding check rejects any rewrite that names a number, technology or organisation your CV does not contain.
Interview preparation
What is the STAR story bank?
The STAR story bank turns the achievement bullets in your CV into Situation, Task, Action and Result cards. The cards are built by rules and quote your CV word for word; a part with no source text is marked missing rather than filled in.
How does practice mode work?
Practice mode shows a question, you write an answer, and the tool suggests the story card that fits it best. The suggestion is based on words your answer shares with the card, so you can trace why it was chosen. Questions drawn from the job ad need a model that you turn on.
Application tracking
How do I track my applications?
Track your applications on the Kanban board, moving each one through Saved, Applied, Interview, and Offer or Rejected. Each card holds the ad, the CV variant used, the score at the time of applying, notes and contact details.
How do follow-up reminders work?
Follow-up reminders are computed in your browser from the dates on your board. An application in the Applied stage gets a reminder after 7 days without an update, and one in the Interview stage after 3 days.
CV builder
Is the CV builder ATS-safe?
The builder checks its own output: every export is read back by our parser and the result is shown to you. CI tests assert that every template scores full Parseability, 25 of 25, on English, Turkish and German test CVs.
What formats do you support?
The builder exports PDF in three templates (dense, plain and modern), DOCX and JSON Resume. You can import an existing CV as a PDF or DOCX file.
Multilingual support
Which languages are supported?
English, Turkish and German are supported. The engine handles Turkish stemming, German compound splitting, per-language stopwords and date formats in all three.
Are Turkish characters recognised?
Yes, ş, ğ, ı, İ, ç, ö and ü are fully supported. If these characters come out garbled after extraction, that is reported as a Parseability finding.
AI and privacy
Does AI affect scoring?
No, scoring is fully deterministic and AI never changes it. AI is used only for explanations and suggestions. Rewritten bullets, tailoring suggestions and cover letters pass a grounding check that rejects numbers, technologies or organisations not found in your CV.
Where is my CV stored?
Your CV is stored on our server for 12 months after you analyse it, then deleted. It is first read and scored in your browser; when you analyse it, the file, its text and the result are sent to the server and bound to your account. You can request earlier deletion through the data request form.
Is my API key safe?
Your API key stays in your browser and is never sent to our server. With BYOK (bring your own key), requests go from your browser to the provider you configured, and each request asks for your consent first.
Reports and sharing
Can I share my report?
Yes, you can share a report through a link that expires after 30 days. The link keeps the scores and findings but strips the evidence, the lines quoted from your CV.
What formats can I download the report in?
You can download the report as a PDF or as Markdown.