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Methodology

How we score your CV

No black box: these are the 8 categories and all 48 criteria behind every report — and what the score does and does not mean.

The 8 categories and 48 criteria

Every report evaluates the same 8 categories in the same order. Each category always contains all of its criteria, listed below.

  1. 015 criteria

    Contact Information & Header

    Whether your name, contact details and links are complete and clearly placed at the top.

    • Full Name Visibility
    • Contact Details Completeness
    • Professional Links
    • Header Layout & Hierarchy
    • Professional Title or Tagline

  2. 025 criteria

    Professional Summary

    Whether a summary exists, and how clear, focused and appropriately long it is.

    • Presence of Summary
    • Clarity & Conciseness
    • Relevance & Focus
    • Differentiation
    • Length Appropriateness

  3. 038 criteria

    Work Experience

    How roles, achievements, dates and the progression of your career are described.

    • Chronological Consistency
    • Role Descriptions
    • Achievement Quantification
    • Action Verb Usage
    • Relevance & Focus
    • Gap Handling
    • Company Context
    • Progression Demonstration

  4. 045 criteria

    Education & Qualifications

    How clearly degrees, institutions, certificates and academic results are presented.

    • Degree & Institution Clarity
    • Relevance of Education
    • Certifications & Courses
    • Academic Achievements
    • Placement & Proportion

  5. 056 criteria

    Skills & Competencies

    Whether skills are present, organised, specific and backed by your experience.

    • Skills Section Presence
    • Categorization & Organization
    • Specificity
    • Relevance
    • Proficiency Indication
    • Skill-Experience Alignment

  6. 068 criteria

    Layout & Visual Design

    Readability, formatting consistency, spacing, length and the visual balance of the document.

    • Overall Readability
    • Consistent Formatting
    • Section Separation
    • White Space Usage
    • Length Appropriateness
    • Bullet Point Usage
    • Font & Typography
    • Visual Balance

  7. 076 criteria

    Language & Communication

    Grammar, tone, tense consistency and how concisely you write.

    • Grammar & Spelling
    • Tone & Professionalism
    • Clarity of Expression
    • Tense Consistency
    • Jargon Appropriateness
    • Conciseness

  8. 085 criteria

    Strategic Positioning & ATS Readiness

    Keywords, ATS-compatible formatting, signs of tailoring and how you position yourself.

    • Keyword Optimization
    • ATS-Compatible Format
    • Tailoring Indicators
    • Personal Branding
    • Competitive Positioning

What the score means

Each of the 48 criteria is scored 0–100 on its own. Those scores roll up into one score per category and one overall score from 0–100.

The AI generates the overall score; if that value is missing, we use the mean of the available category scores. This is our document-review heuristic, not an employer ATS score or an interview probability. Interpret findings in the context of your experience and target role.

75–100

Strong — ready to send, polish the details

50–74

Solid — targeted fixes will move the needle

0–49

At risk

What we honestly can't do

  • We evaluate your CV document — not your actual qualifications or how you interview.
  • The AI generates the overall score; if that value is missing, we use the mean of the available category scores. This is our document-review heuristic, not an employer ATS score or an interview probability. Interpret findings in the context of your experience and target role.
  • The paid Fix Report includes suggested rewrites. Check every suggestion against your actual experience before using it; you remain the author.

See it on your own CV

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Or look at a sample report first