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ATS Resume Checker for Software Engineers

This ATS resume checker for software engineer roles shows what an applicant tracking system extracts from your resume, flags structural problems, and checks it for the keywords software engineer postings most often ask for. Full results are free, and your file never leaves your browser.

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Your resume is read in this browser and never uploaded.

ATS resume checker for software engineer roles: what recruiters scan for

Recruiters searching for software engineers filter mainly on languages, frameworks and cloud tools, so the words in your skills section carry unusual weight. Write technologies the way job postings do: “JavaScript”, “Node.js”, “PostgreSQL”, “CI/CD”, and include a variant such as “React” alongside “React.js” only if you genuinely use both terms. Skill-bar graphics and logos are invisible to a parser, so list every technology as plain text.

Software Engineer keywords the checker looks for

Upload your resume and open “Job description match” to see which of these appear, which are only mentioned once and which are absent. Only list the ones that describe experience you actually have.

  • javascript
  • typescript
  • python
  • java
  • react
  • node.js
  • sql
  • aws
  • docker
  • kubernetes
  • git
  • ci/cd
  • rest api
  • microservices
  • agile
  • unit testing
  • system design

Common software engineer job titles

  • Software Engineer
  • Software Developer
  • Backend Engineer
  • Frontend Engineer
  • Full-Stack Developer
  • Senior Software Engineer

Credentials to state clearly

  • AWS Certified Developer – Associate
  • AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate
  • Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD)
  • Google Cloud Associate Cloud Engineer

How to lay out a software engineer resume

Contact and links at the top, a short summary, a technical skills section, then experience with outcomes in numbers (latency, users, deployment frequency), then projects, education and certifications.

  • Put your GitHub or portfolio URL in the body as visible text.
  • Group skills by type — languages, frameworks, cloud, tools — as a comma-separated list, not a table.
  • Show scale in each bullet: users, requests per second, cost or time saved.

How the score is calculated

The score starts at 100 and each issue removes the points listed here. Nothing is hidden or weighted behind the scenes.

  • Multi-column layout — 15 points
  • Text only in images (no readable text) — up to 60 points
  • Tables or grid layouts — 8 points
  • Contact details only in a header or footer — 8 points
  • Unrecognised section headings — 4 points each, up to 12
  • No Experience section found — 12 points; no Education or Skills — 6 points each
  • Dates in a non-standard format — 8 points
  • Garbled text from a font encoding problem — 25 points
  • No email — 20 points; no phone — 8 points
  • Very little text — 10 points; a page count over two for under ten years of experience — 5 points

How to use it

  1. Drop your resume (PDF or DOCX) onto the box, or try a sample.
  2. Read the verdict and open each issue for the explanation and the fix.
  3. Open “What an ATS extracts” and check the parsed fields are right.
  4. Optionally paste a job description on the last tab to see which terms you match.
  5. Fix the file, drop the new version in to re-check it, and download the report if you want a copy.

Frequently asked questions

What keywords should a software engineer resume include?

The most common in postings are javascript, typescript, python, java, react, node.js, sql, aws. Include those that describe your real experience, in the same wording postings use.

Is my software engineer resume ATS friendly?

Drop it in above. The check looks at layout, headings, dates, contact details and text extraction, and tells you exactly what to fix.

Is my resume uploaded to a server?

No. The file is read by code running in your browser and is never sent anywhere. The site records only an anonymous count of checks with the file type, page count, the codes of the issues found and the score — never your text, name or contact details.

Which applicant tracking system does this simulate?

None in particular, and it does not claim to. It shows what a typical resume parser can and cannot extract, and flags the structural problems — columns, tables, images, unusual headings — that are known to cause trouble across many systems. Real products such as Workday, Greenhouse or Taleo each behave a little differently.

Should I add keywords from the job description?

Only ones that describe experience you genuinely have. The job description tab shows which terms from a posting appear in your resume, which are missing and which are buried, so you can bring real experience forward. Adding skills you lack, or hiding keywords in white text, is dishonest and easily detected.

Keyword lists are typical of postings for the role, not a guarantee of what any employer will ask for. Include only skills you genuinely have.