Every job seeker has heard the stat: 75% of resumes never reach a human recruiter. They get filtered by ATS before anyone reads them.
I built a free, client-side tool to help check resumes against common ATS requirements. Here's what I learned.
What ATS Systems Actually Look For
1. Section Headers Matter
ATS systems scan for standard headers: "Experience", "Education", "Skills". Creative names like "My Journey" often get missed entirely.
2. Quantified Achievements Get Flagged
The difference between "managed a team" and "managed a team of 12, delivering 3 projects 15% under budget" is massive for ATS scoring.
3. Contact Info Must Be Parseable
Fancy formatting, columns, or graphics can break ATS parsing of basic contact details.
4. Keywords Must Match Naturally
Modern ATS detects keyword stuffing. Natural integration of job description terms works best.
The Tool
I built a Resume ATS Score Checker that runs entirely in your browser:
Try it free → charliemorrison.dev/resume-checker
It checks:
- Resume length optimization
- Contact info completeness
- Section structure and standard headers
- Action verbs and quantified achievements
- Formatting compatibility
- Keyword matching against job descriptions
Your resume data never leaves your browser. No sign-up, no tracking.
How It Works
Pure HTML/JavaScript with pattern matching and heuristics:
// Check for quantified achievements
const pattern = /\\d+[%+]?.*?(increase|decrease|improve|reduce|save|deliver)/gi;
const matches = text.match(pattern);
Each check produces pass/warn/fail, combining into an overall ATS score out of 100.
Key Takeaways
- Use standard section headers — no creative naming
- Quantify everything — numbers work for both ATS and humans
- Mirror job description language — use the same terminology
- Keep formatting simple — single column, standard fonts
- Include a skills section — easy for ATS to parse
More Free Tools
What's your ATS experience? Drop a comment!
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