ATS Resume Checker: How to Test Your Resume Before Applying
Most people submit their resume without ever checking whether an ATS can actually read it. Here's how to test yours — and what to fix before it costs you an interview.
Why you should check before you submit
Over 75% of resumes are filtered out by ATS before a human ever sees them. The frustrating part: most of those rejections aren't because the candidate was unqualified — they're because the resume had formatting issues or missing keywords that caused the ATS to score it too low.
An ATS checker lets you see your resume the way the software sees it — and fix problems before they cost you the opportunity. It takes 5 minutes and can be the difference between getting through to the next stage or not.
What an ATS checker looks for
Keyword match score
Compares your resume's keywords against the job description to show how well you match what the employer is looking for.
Formatting issues
Flags tables, text boxes, headers/footers, columns, and graphics that confuse ATS parsers.
Section detection
Checks whether the ATS can find your key sections — experience, education, skills — in the right places.
Contact information parsing
Verifies that your name, email, phone, and location are correctly extracted from the document.
File format compatibility
Confirms the file type and structure is readable — simple PDF or DOCX, not a Canva export.
Missing keywords
Lists important terms from the job description that don't appear in your resume at all.
How to manually check your resume for ATS issues
Even without a tool, you can catch the most common ATS problems yourself:
The copy-paste test
Open your resume PDF, select all text, and paste it into a plain text editor (Notepad or TextEdit). What you see is roughly what an ATS sees. Check:
- →Does your name and contact info appear clearly at the top?
- →Is all the text readable, or do some sections appear garbled?
- →Are your section headings (Experience, Education, Skills) visible?
- →Do your bullet points still show — or have they disappeared?
- →Is the order logical — or has the ATS mixed up your columns?
The keyword check
Take the job description and highlight every skill, tool, qualification, and key phrase. Then search your resume for each one. The ones that are missing are your keyword gaps — and the easiest wins to fix.
The most common ATS failures — and fixes
Two-column layout
Problem: ATS reads left-to-right across the whole page, mixing your columns together
Fix: Switch to single column
Tables
Problem: Content inside tables is often invisible to ATS parsers
Fix: Remove all tables — use plain text with spacing
Text boxes
Problem: Text boxes are skipped entirely by most ATS systems
Fix: Delete all text boxes, put content in body text
Headers/footers
Problem: Contact info in the header is frequently missed
Fix: Move all contact details into the main body
Images and graphics
Problem: ATS cannot read text inside images or graphics
Fix: Remove all images, icons, and visual elements
Canva/InDesign PDF
Problem: These export as image-based PDFs, not text-based
Fix: Use Word or Google Docs and export as standard PDF
What score should you aim for?
Different ATS checkers use different scoring systems, but a general rule: aim for 70%+ keyword match on the skills and requirements explicitly listed in the job description. Below 60% and you're likely to be filtered out at the automated stage.
The fastest way to raise your score is to read the job description carefully and add the missing keywords where they genuinely apply to your experience. Never add keywords for skills you don't have — they'll come up in the interview.