75% of resumes get deleted by software before a human reads them. Not rejected. Deleted. The recruiter never saw you existed.
I found this out the hard way when helping friends rewrite their resumes. They'd spend hours on a beautiful PDF, only to hear nothing back. The problem wasn't their experience — it was that an ATS parser couldn't extract their info because of a two-column layout or a missing section header.
So I built getapplykit.com (https://getapplykit.com) — a completely free resume builder.
Here's the kicker: every "free" resume builder out there either watermarks your PDF, locks export behind $20/month, or requires an account. I wanted some
thing that was actually free.
The Stack
- Astro 5 — static output, deployed on Cloudflare Pages
- Tailwind CSS 4 — utility-first styling
- localStorage — all data stays in the browser (privacy by design)
- html2pdf — client-side PDF export, no server needed
- Zero backend — no database, no API, no user accounts Everything runs client-side. Your resume data never touches a server. When you hit "Export PDF," the page generates it in your browser. No uploads, no data collection, no "we'll send you a link via email." What It Does The builder itself has the usual features — drag-and-drop sections, multiple templates, color themes. But I also built a suite of free tools around it: ATS Score Checker — Paste your resume + a job description. It analyzes keyword match, formatting structure, contact info completeness, section headers, and action verb usage. Gives you a score out of 100 and highlights exactly what to fix. I built this because I kept seeing people pay $40/month for Jobscan when a simple keyword overlap check gives you 80% of the value. Bullet Point Improver — It catches weak phrases like "Responsible for" and suggests quantified alternatives. This is basically regex + a scoring algorithm, not AI — but it works well enough that people think it's magic. Cover Letter Generator — Syncs with your resume data so you don't retype everything. Generates a matching cover letter in one click. Resume Summary Generator — If you've ever stared at a blank screen trying to write a professional summary, you know why this exists. Keyword Extractor — Paste a job description, get a ranked list of keywords. See which ones your resume is missing. Resume Scanner — See exactly how an ATS parser reads your resume. It extracts your contact info, skills, and sections so you can verify the parser sees what you want it to see. Resume Objective Generator — For entry-level and career-change positions where a summary doesn't fit. On top of that, there are 90+ industry-specific resume examples and 46 blog posts covering everything from ATS optimization to salary negotiation. The Numbers
- 234 pages built (static site)
- 195 indexed in Google
- 207 sessions in 28 days
- 88% direct traffic — basically zero organic reach
- 3 clicks from Google search total The content exists. Google knows the pages exist. But they're not ranking. That's the next battle. What I'd Do Differently Ship faster. I spent way too long polishing the builder UI before publishing any content. The tools could have been live with basic styling, and I could've started building backlinks months earlier. Write for SEO first. I wrote blog posts I thought were interesting instead of writing posts that target actual search queries. Keyword research should come before writing, not after. Build in public earlier. I kept this quiet until it was "ready." By the time I started sharing, I had 200+ pages and zero audience. If I'd documented the process from day 1 on Twitter/DEV/Indie Hackers, I'd have both a product and an audience now. Try It No account. No paywall. No watermark. Your data never leaves your browser. https://getapplykit.com (https://getapplykit.com) I'm also actively building this and would love feedback — especially from other devs who've grown a side project organically. What worked for you to get those first 1,000 monthly visitors?
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