Your beautiful resume is probably failing you.
At large employers, applications are searched and filtered by software before a person reads them. Polished, design-heavy resumes often don't survive the text extraction, and you never find out why. You just stop hearing back.
ATS engines parse design into garbage: names get lost, dates scramble, and whole skill sections just disappear.
What is an ATS checker?
An ATS checker shows you what an applicant tracking system is likely to read from your resume before you apply. Ours pulls the text out of your PDF or Word file the same basic way an ATS does, runs 11 parsing checks on it, and shows the extracted text next to every problem it finds. It cannot tell you how a particular employer has set up its system.
Three steps. No invented match-score theater.
Drop your resume
PDF or DOCX, up to 4 MB. We don't store the file. It's parsed in memory and never written to disk.
We pull out the text
An ATS can only work with the text it extracts from your file. We extract it the same basic way, then run 11 parsing checks on what comes out: reading order, name, dates, glued words, missing sections.
See exactly what broke
Original on the left, raw extracted output on the right, every issue flagged with a one-line fix. Nothing hidden behind a paywall on the first scan.
What breaks resumes in a parser.
Five free tools. No signup, no email gate.
ATS Resume Scanner →
Upload your resume and see exactly what an ATS extracts. Free scan, no signup.
ATS Keyword Database →
628 keywords across 10 professions, tiered by seniority. Sourced from O*NET + 262 real job descriptions. No login.
Resume Bullet Rewriter →
Score any resume bullet 0-100. Flags weak verbs and gives templates in STAR, XYZ, and PAR format.
ATS Keyword Extractor →
Paste any job description. Pull the top weighted keywords an ATS will match against.
Cover Letter ATS Checker →
Paste your cover letter. Get a score on length, weak phrases, structure, metrics, and JD keyword match.
Resume Length Checker →
Paste your resume to get word count, page estimate, and a verdict on whether to trim to 1 page or expand to 2.
"I'd been ghosted for 3 months. Turns out my name wasn't on my resume."
Read what other job seekers say, or leave your own after a scan. In seconds, no signup.
Every Sunday we tear apart a popular resume template.
Real ATS-style parsers. Real parser output. Real failures named by section. See exactly which templates pass, and which destroy your shortlist chances, before you use them.
Get next Sunday's teardown.
One email per week. Each one names a popular template, runs it through ATS-style parsers modelled on Workday, Greenhouse, Lever and Taleo, and shows the actual parser output. Free. Unsubscribe in one click.
Free. One email per Sunday. Unsubscribe in one click. No spam, ever.
We don't sell templates.
Every other ATS tool is also a resume builder. We're not. Resume builders have a built-in conflict of interest: they want their templates to look like the answer.
We sell receipts. Build your resume wherever you want, then use us to verify it actually works.
Everything you need to pass the ATS, by platform, profession, and topic.
We've mapped how each major ATS engine parses resumes, written guides for every profession, and broken down the formatting rules that decide whether your application is even read.
The readable resume that every ATS lets through.
Canva, Resume.io and other design-led builders sell beautiful templates with two columns, sidebars, icon bullets, and custom fonts. Every one of those choices is exactly what our scanner flags as a critical parse failure. Our rebuild gives you a professional, single-column version with standard headings and no tables, sidebars or icons, so the reading order survives extraction, and it still looks like something a recruiter wants to read.
ChatGPT, Gemini, any AI chatbot: they rewrite your words. None of them see what the machine reads.
Ask ChatGPT, Gemini, or any AI chatbot to “make my resume ATS-friendly” and it edits the text you paste, confidently and sometimes wrongly. But it never opens your actual file, so it can’t see that your two-column layout scrambles your work history, or that the parser dropped your name. It guesses. We do the one thing no chatbot can: run your real file through the parse and show you exactly what came out.
| What it actually does | AI chatbots | “ATS score” sites | ATS Verification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opens and reads your real PDF / DOCX file | ✕ | ✕ | |
| Shows the exact text an ATS pulls out of it | ✕ | ✕ | |
| Detects layout & parsing failures: columns, tables, headers | ✕ | some | |
| Evidence-based: no hallucinating, no invented numbers | ✕ | ✕ | |
| No fake “match %” that no real ATS produces | ✕ | ||
| Published, reproducible test method you can check yourself | ✕ | ✕ |
AI chatbots are great writers. But they’re blind to the one thing that gets resumes silently rejected: how the file actually parses. That’s the only thing we do, and we hand you the receipt.
Pay once. Use it whenever you need it.
One-time pricing, no subscription and no upsell carousel. Pick the tier that matches the problem you actually want fixed.
No subscription, no auto-renewal. Pay once and your resume is yours forever.
No risk to cancel and forget and get charged extra. No card stored after purchase.
See your ATS score and top 3 issues.
- Parsing readability score (0–100)
- Top 3 issues identified
- Side-by-side parser view
- No login, no card
Layout fix only, your words, untouched.
- Everything in Scan
- All 15 issues with one-line fixes
- ATS-safe .docx + PDF download
- Every word preserved verbatim, no rewrites
30-day refund, no questions asked
Most candidates need bullet rewrites too, see Rebuild + coach $9 →
Same truth, written sharper.
- Everything in Rebuild
- AI rewrites every bullet (STAR + action verbs)
- Diff view: accept, reject, edit each rewrite
- No invented metrics, same truth, written better
30-day refund, no questions asked
Tailored to a specific job description.
- Everything in Rebuild + coach
- Paste any job description
- Match score + keyword gap analysis
- Bullets rewritten in the JD's language
30-day refund, no questions asked
Tailor once per application, not once per lifetime.
- Everything in Rebuild + coach
- Paste up to 10 job descriptions
- A tailored PDF + Word file for each
- No expiry, no subscription
30-day refund, no questions asked
ATS checker FAQ
What is an ATS checker?
An ATS checker shows you what an applicant tracking system is likely to read from your resume before you apply. Ours pulls the text out of your PDF or Word file the same basic way an ATS does, runs 11 parsing checks on it, and shows the extracted text next to every problem it finds. It cannot tell you how a particular employer has set up its system.
Is this ATS checker free?
Yes. The scan, the score, the list of problems and the extracted text are free, with no signup and no card. You only pay if you want the fixed file: $5 one time, nothing renews.
Does it check a CV as well as a resume?
Yes. A CV and a resume are read by applicant tracking systems in the same way, so the same checks apply. Upload a PDF or Word file of either.
What is an ATS (Applicant Tracking System)?
An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is software employers use to filter and rank job applications before any human reviews them. The ATS extracts the text from your resume and parses it into structured fields (name, contact, experience, education, skills) that recruiters search and filter. If the text comes out scrambled or incomplete, the parsed profile is wrong before anyone reads it.
Why is my qualified resume not getting interviews?
The most common reason qualified candidates don't get interviews is ATS parsing failure. If your resume has a two-column layout, tables, fancy fonts, or contact info in a header, the ATS may not be able to extract your name, dates, or work history correctly, so your application gets filtered out before any recruiter sees it. Run a free scan at atsverification.com to see exactly what the ATS extracts from your resume.
What does ATS Verification do?
ATS Verification is a free ATS resume scanner and rebuilder. The free scan shows you exactly what an Applicant Tracking System extracts from your resume, names every parsing failure. If the resume needs fixing, it is rebuilt into an ATS-safe single-column structure with your exact wording: the clean Word and PDF files are $5 one-time; optional tiers add bullet rewrites that lead with what you did and achieved ($9), a version tuned to one job description ($14), or ten job-matched versions ($20).
What is the STAR resume bullet format?
STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result. It's a framework for writing resume bullets and answering behavioral interview questions. Each bullet describes the situation/task you faced, the action you took, and the measurable result. For ATS resumes, the related XYZ format ('Accomplished X by doing Y, with Z impact') is denser per line and often performs better. ATS Verification's $9 rewrite turns duty bullets into action-first, STAR-style achievements, and never adds numbers you didn't give.
What's the difference between STAR, XYZ, and PAR resume bullet formats?
STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) is the most detailed, originally an interview framework. XYZ ('Accomplished X by doing Y, with Z impact') is shorter and outcome-led, ideal for resumes. PAR (Problem, Action, Result) is the simplest, three-clause format. For most resumes, XYZ wins because it leads with the outcome and fits cleanly in 1-2 lines. STAR is better for cover letters and behavioral interviews. PAR works for early-career resumes.
How much does ATS Verification cost?
Free for the scan, the extracted text, the issue list and the score. Downloads are one-time purchases: $5 for the Rebuild (same words, ATS-safe structure, Word + PDF), $9 for Rebuild + rewrite (bullet rewrites you approve line by line), $14 for Rewrite + job match (tuned to one job description), or $20 for the Job Search Pass (ten job-matched versions). No subscription, no regional pricing.
What file format should my resume be in for ATS?
.docx (Microsoft Word) is the safest format for ATS submissions and parses most accurately. Text-based PDF is acceptable if the application requires PDF, but never submit an image-based or scanned PDF, as most ATS engines can't read images.
Which fonts work best for ATS resumes?
Universally safe fonts: Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, Garamond, Times New Roman, Cambria, and Verdana. Avoid 'modern' fonts like Avenir, Proxima Nova, Montserrat, and Poppins. They often fail font substitution on ATS servers and produce garbled text.
Earn 40% recurring commission on every referred rebuild.
Our free scan shows your clients exactly where their resume is failing. Most senior candidates conclude they need a professional rewrite (your service). For the self-servers who buy our $5–$14 rebuild instead, you earn 40%. First cohort: 20–30 partners.