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How to check your CV or resume against a job description

By Eliakim Anzizi, PhD · 30 October 2026

You found a job you want. Before you press "apply", stop and check your CV against the job description. It takes a short while, and it is often the difference between a CV that is read with interest and one that is put aside.

The idea is simple. The advert tells you what the employer wants. Your CV should show, clearly and honestly, that you have it. This guide shows you how to check your CV against a job description in five steps, and how to use a free CV checker to test the result. The steps are the same whether you call the document a CV (the usual word in the UK, Ireland, Nigeria, South Africa and Australia) or a resume (the usual word in the US and Canada).

Why check your CV against the job description?

A recruiter reads your CV with one question in mind: can this person do this job? The job description is their checklist. If your CV answers the points on that checklist, you are easy to shortlist. If the reader has to guess, they often move on to the next CV.

Many employers also use an applicant tracking system (ATS). This is software that stores applications and lets recruiters search and sort them. Systems differ from employer to employer, so no one can tell you exactly how a given system will rank your CV. But the safe rule is well known: use the advert's own words where they are true for you, and keep your CV in plain, readable text.

The UK's National Careers Service gives the same advice. It tells job seekers to tailor the CV to the job and to highlight the skills the employer has asked for.

Step 1: Read the whole advert first

Do not open your CV yet. Read the full job advert from the top to the bottom, slowly. Many people read the job title and the salary, then skim the rest. The detail is where the employer tells you what matters.

As you read, look for these parts:

The job title and summary. What is the role for? Who does it report to?
Duties or responsibilities. What will you do every week?
Essential requirements. Look for words such as "must", "required", "essential" and "minimum". These are the points you must show.
Desirable requirements. Words such as "desirable", "an advantage" or "a plus" mark the nice-to-haves.
Hard limits. A licence, a degree, a language, a number of years, a location or the right to work in a country.

If you do not meet a hard limit, think carefully before you apply. No CV edit can fix a missing licence or work permit.

Step 2: List the skills and keywords it asks for

Now make a short list. Copy the requirements into a document or a notebook, in the advert's own words. Keep the exact phrases. If the advert says "stakeholder engagement", write "stakeholder engagement", not "people skills".

Look for four kinds of keyword:

Hard skills and tools: software, methods and techniques, for example Excel, SPSS, KoboToolbox, budgeting or report writing.
Qualifications: degrees, certificates, licences and professional memberships.
Experience: the type of work, the sector and the number of years.
Soft skills: communication, teamwork, leadership and problem-solving.

A word that appears two or three times in the advert is usually important to the employer. Mark it. Then split your list into "essential" and "desirable". You will work through the essential points first.

Here is an illustrative example. The advert and the details are made up.

Advert (illustrative): "Monitoring and Evaluation Officer. Essential: degree in social sciences or statistics; three years of M&E experience; data collection with KoboToolbox or ODK; data analysis in SPSS or Stata; strong report writing. Desirable: experience with donor reporting."
Your list: degree in social sciences or statistics; three years of M&E experience; KoboToolbox or ODK; SPSS or Stata; report writing; donor reporting (desirable).

Step 3: Match your CV to it line by line

Now open your CV. Take each point on your list, one at a time, and find the line in your CV that proves it. Mark each point with one of three labels:

Shown: a line in your CV clearly proves it. A stranger reading only that line would believe you.
Partly shown: your CV hints at it, but does not prove it. For example, the tool is in your skills list, but you never say what you did with it.
Missing: nothing in your CV speaks to it.

Be strict. A word in your skills section is not proof on its own. The strongest evidence sits in your work history, in a bullet that says what you did and what changed because of it.

Check your profile too. The three or four lines at the top of your CV are often read first. They should name the role you want and the key skills the advert asks for.

Continuing the illustrative example:

Partly shown: "Skills: SPSS, KoboToolbox, report writing."
Shown: "Designed a household survey in KoboToolbox, trained six enumerators, analysed the data in SPSS and wrote the final report for the donor."

The second line proves four points on the list in one sentence. That is what you are aiming for.

Step 4: Fix the gaps

Start with the "partly shown" points. They are usually real work that you described too briefly. Rewrite them so they show what you did, with a result where you can. Use a number only if it is true and you can explain it at an interview.

Then look at the "missing" points. For each one, ask yourself a plain question: have I done this?

If yes, add it. Put it under the job where you did it, using the advert's words where they are true for you.
If you have done something close, describe that honestly. The same work in a different tool, or at a smaller scale, still counts. You can explain the link in your cover letter.
If no, do not claim it. You could learn it with a short course or a small project, then add it when it is done.

A few more fixes help every CV:

Put the most relevant points first. Move the bullets that match the advert to the top of each job.
Use the advert's words for the same thing. If you wrote "M&E" and the advert says "monitoring and evaluation", use both.
Keep the layout plain. Use clear headings such as "Profile", "Experience", "Education" and "Skills". Type your skills as text, not inside images, charts or rating bars.
Cut what does not help. Old or unrelated detail can be shortened to make room for what this job needs.

Our guide on the best skills to put on a CV or resume shows how to list skills and back each one with an example.

Do not copy whole sentences from the advert into your CV. Recruiters notice, and it proves nothing. Use the employer's key words inside your own true examples.

Step 5: Test it with our free CV checker

When your edits are done, test the match. Our free CV checker lets you check your CV against a job description in a few minutes. Here is how to get the most from it:

Upload your CV as a PDF or Word (.docx) file.
Type your profession, for example "Accountant" or "Nurse".
In the job box, paste the whole job advert, not just the job title. If you type only the title, the checker can only check your CV against the title.
Read your score and the list of fixes. Start with the first fix, because it is the one that matters most.

When you paste a full advert, the checker picks out the advert's key words. It then shows what share of them your CV uses and how many appear in your experience, not just your skills list. It also names key words from the advert that your CV does not use yet. Your CV is read in your browser and is not uploaded, and the advert is not saved.

Make your changes, then check again with the same advert. Each new job needs a new check, because each advert asks for different things.

What a CV score can and can't judge

A CV score is useful, but it helps to know what it measures. Our checker is an automatic, rule-based guide. It gives a score out of 100, and it is strict on purpose: 66 is the highest score it gives.

What it can check:

Whether your CV uses the key words from the advert, and whether they appear in your experience
Whether your profile names the role and the skills the job asks for
Clear sections and headings, and your contact details
Results with numbers, and action verbs at the start of bullets
Consistent dates and tenses, and common spelling slips
Length and layout, such as long paragraphs instead of bullet points
Certificates and recent training

What it can't judge:

Truth. It cannot tell whether what you wrote is true. Only claim what you can prove at an interview.
The quality of your achievements. It can see that a bullet has a number. It cannot tell whether that result is impressive for the role.
Fit and culture. It cannot judge whether you suit the team, the employer's values or the way they work.
Every employer's software. Employers use different systems in different ways, so no score can promise how one employer will sort your CV.

Most importantly, a person still reads your CV before you are invited to an interview. Use the score to find gaps. Then read your CV the way a busy recruiter would, and ask: does this clearly show I can do this job?

Quick checklist

Read the whole advert, not just the title
Listed the essential and desirable points in the advert's own words
Found a line in my CV that proves each essential point
Profile names the role and the key skills asked for
Key words appear in my experience, not only in my skills list
Nothing claimed that I cannot prove
Plain layout with clear headings and text, not images
Spelling checked by a second reader
Tested with the CV checker using the full advert

You can find the CV checker, with any new tools, on our free services page.

Sources

National Careers Service. How to write a CV.

Frequently asked questions

Should my CV match the job description?

Yes, as closely as the truth allows. Your CV should show each essential point in the advert, using the employer’s words where they are true for you. It does not need to match every desirable point, and it should never claim skills you do not have.

How do I find the keywords in a job description?

Read the whole advert and note the skills, tools, qualifications and types of experience it names. Words that appear more than once, or sit under "essential" or "required", usually matter most. Copy them in the advert’s own words.

Can I check my CV against a job description for free?

Yes. Our free CV checker lets you paste the whole job advert and shows which of its key words your CV uses and which it misses. Your CV is read in your browser and is not uploaded.

What is a good CV score?

It depends on the checker, because each one scores in its own way. On our checker the score is out of 100, but 66 is the highest it gives, and 60 to 66 counts as Strong. Treat any score as a guide. A recruiter still reads your CV.

Is your CV ready for this job? Run it through our free CV checker with the full advert. You get a score out of 100 and the top fixes to make first. Want it done for you? Our editors can rewrite your CV in one of six templates. See the CV checker page for details, or message us on WhatsApp.

Write it Right, Choose Erudite.