Free ATS score for your CV

Paste a job ad and upload your CV. You get three scores at once: keyword match, semantic relevance and how an AI screener reads you, plus the keywords you are missing. No signup, no card. When you want to tailor the whole CV to that exact job, it is one click away.

1. Your CV

Drop here or click

.docx or .pdf, max 5MB

.docx recommended. PDF supported but yields lower fidelity.

2. Job ad

Min 100 characters (0/100)

Paste the ad text or URL. Minimum 100 characters.

What is an ATS score?

ATS stands for Applicant Tracking System. It is mainly a database and workflow tool: it takes in applications, parses your CV into fields, and lets recruiters search, filter and rank the pile. The filters are set up by the recruiter, not by an algorithm acting on its own. An ATS score is an estimate of how well your CV matches one specific job ad, on the ad's own vocabulary and on substance. A low score rarely means a robot binned you. It usually means you would sit below other candidates for that particular ad, and that is something you can fix.

How the 3-in-1 score works

Most tools give you a single keyword-match percentage and stop there. careerify asks the model to read your CV against the ad and report three separate reads. Keyword match is how much of the ad's own vocabulary actually shows up in your CV. Semantic relevance is how well the substance matches even when you worded it differently, so "lead team" counts towards "people management". AI screener is how a recruiter would judge the fit on a first pass. It is one read reported three ways, not three separate engines, and keeping them apart is what makes it useful, because they fail differently. A low keyword number with high semantic relevance means you have the experience but not the ad's words. The reverse means the words are there and the substance is not.

How to improve your score

Mirror the ad's language: if the ad says "FP&A", write "FP&A", not "financial planning", searches match exact strings. Make outcomes concrete: replace "was responsible for" with a measurable result, which lifts both the semantic layer and how a human recruiter reads you. Tailor your CV per application: a master CV that fits every job fits none. careerify tailors the CV to the exact ad you paste in, without inventing anything you have not done.

How an ATS actually parses your CV

An ATS starts by converting your document into plain text. Then it reads top to bottom, left to right, and tries to map the text into fields: name, contact details, work history, dates, titles and skills. What breaks parsing is multi-column layouts, tables, graphics, logos and text placed in headers or footers, that content often lands in the wrong field or disappears entirely. This is why a single-column .docx with real, selectable text almost always beats a beautifully designed or scanned PDF. Use standard section headings like "Work experience" and "Education" so the system finds the right section.

careerify vs Jobscan, Teal and ChatGPT

Reflects typical free-tier capabilities as of 2026; features vary by plan, check each tool for the latest.
Capability	careerify	Jobscan	Teal	ChatGPT
Keyword ATS score	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial
Semantic relevance beyond exact words	Yes	Partial	Partial	Yes
AI-screener read like a recruiter	Yes	No	No	Partial
Tailors and rewrites the CV to the ad	Yes	No	Partial	Yes
Flags fabrication, never invents experience	Yes	No	No	No
Score without an account	Yes	Partial	No	Yes
Free to start	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Yes Partial No

Reflects typical free-tier capabilities as of 2026; features vary by plan, check each tool for the latest.

What we learned building careerify on the founder’s own CV

careerify was first tested on the founder's own CV. The same experience, the same roles, the same facts, scored low against some ads and high against others. The difference was not what the CV contained, but what it led with. Reframed from a broad generalist headline to a tighter specialist one, the exact same background scored well for a different, tighter set of roles. Nothing was invented, nothing was removed. That is the whole point of the positioning analysis: your profile ranks differently depending on which job you aim it at.

careerify is the honest CV tool: it tailors your CV to the job and shows the keywords you are missing, but never invents experience you do not have.

See how the positioning analysis works →

Frequently asked questions about ATS scores

Do I need an account to get an ATS score?

No. The ATS score, the keyword analysis and a preview of a tailored cover letter are free without signup. An account is only needed if you want to download the tailored CV, generate personal cover letters, or automate follow-up sending.

How is careerify's score different from Jobscan's?

Jobscan and similar tools mainly give a keyword-match percentage. careerify reports three numbers from the same read: keyword match, semantic relevance and an AI-screener judgement, so you can see whether the issue is missing vocabulary from the ad or a positioning problem.

What does "without inventing things" mean?

Some tools encourage adding keywords you do not actually cover. It may lift the keyword number but it lowers you with a human recruiter and can destroy your credibility in the interview. careerify flags keywords you are missing, but it never suggests writing in something you have not done.

Which file formats are supported?

.docx (recommended, better text-extraction quality) and .pdf. If your CV is an image or a scanned PDF, extraction can be poor. .docx gives the highest accuracy.

Is my CV saved?

Yes. The anonymous score keeps the CV text and the ad text for up to 30 days, so you can pull the result into an account without uploading again. The text is never used to train models. After 30 days it is deleted automatically. If you want it removed sooner, email support@careerify.ai. When you create an account, your CV and approved facts are stored in your personal knowledge bank, which you can delete at any time (GDPR).

What ATS do Nordic employers use?

Common ones in the Nordics are Teamtailor, Workday, SmartRecruiters, Varbi and ReachMee. They differ in interface, but the parsing rules are the same: plain text, a simple layout and standard headings read best, whatever the system.

What is a good ATS score?

There is no universal pass mark, different systems and recruiters set different thresholds. What matters is mirroring the ad’s must-have keywords. careerify’s three scores show whether it is a keyword gap or a positioning problem, so you know what to actually fix.

Does a low score mean automatic rejection?

Usually not. The software does not normally reject you on a match score by itself. What does knock candidates out automatically is the employer’s own screening questions, things like work permit, certification or notice period, which are set up to filter. Beyond that, a low score mostly means you sit below other candidates in the recruiter’s ranked list, so fewer eyes reach you.

.docx or .pdf, which parses better?

.docx is the most reliable for text extraction. A text-based PDF is usually fine. Avoid scanned PDFs or PDFs that are images, where the ATS may fail to read the text at all.