How the resume keyword scanner matches your resume
Recruiters and applicant tracking systems find candidates largely by searching for terms. The scanner does the same in reverse: it pulls the skills and repeated phrases out of the job description, then looks for each of them in your resume as a literal term, allowing for simple plurals. The result is three lists — matched, missing and buried.
“Buried” is the useful middle category. It means the term does appear, but only once, in the body of a bullet, and not in your skills section or opening lines. If you genuinely have that experience, the fix is to say so where a keyword search will look: in the skills list, the summary or a job title.
Use the gap list honestly
- A missing term is a prompt to ask “do I really have this experience?” — not a to-do list of words to add.
- If you do, add it with a real example: what you did, with which tool, and with what result.
- If you do not, leave it out. Interviews test claims, and a keyword you cannot discuss costs more than it gains.
- Never hide keywords in white or tiny text. Systems flag it and a human reading the resume will notice.
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
Limits of a keyword match
A literal match cannot understand meaning: “managed a team of six” will not match “people management”. Treat the lists as a prompt to review the posting against your experience, and read the job description yourself for what it really asks.
How to use it
- Drop your resume onto the box, then open the “Job description match” tab.
- Paste the full job posting into the box.
- Review the matched, buried and missing lists.
- Where you genuinely have the experience, bring it forward in your skills or summary and re-check.
Frequently asked questions
What is a resume keyword scanner?
A resume keyword scanner compares the text of your resume with a job posting and lists the skills and phrases the posting asks for that your resume covers, misses or mentions only in passing. Recruiters search applicant tracking systems by these terms, so the gaps show where a search would skip you. This one is free, needs no account and scans your resume in your browser.
How do I match my resume to a job description?
Compare the skills and phrases the posting repeats with your resume, and make sure the ones you genuinely have are visible in your skills section, summary or job titles. This scanner automates the comparison.
How many keywords should match?
There is no magic number. Cover the requirements you truly meet, in the posting’s own wording where it is accurate, and do not chase a 100% match.
Does the scanner work for any job?
It recognises a built-in vocabulary of common technical, business, finance and healthcare skills and also picks up phrases repeated in the posting, so it works for most professional roles, though very specialised jargon may be missed.
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.
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.
A keyword match is a prompt to review your resume against a posting, not a prediction of whether you will be shortlisted.