Understanding Your CV Analysis Score: What Each Metric Means

When you analyze your resume, you get multiple scores and metrics. But what do they actually mean, and how should you interpret them? This guide breaks down every component of your analysis score and shows you how to use that information to improve your job search.

The Overall Compatibility Score

Your overall compatibility score (0-100%) indicates how well your CV matches a specific job description. This is the headline number that tells you at a glance whether your resume is a good fit.

Score Interpretation

• 90-100% (Excellent): Your CV strongly aligns with the job requirements. You have most or all required keywords, relevant experience, and strong structural formatting. Apply with confidence.

• 75-89% (Good): Your CV is a solid match with minor gaps. You have relevant experience and many required keywords, but there's room for improvement. Consider making small adjustments before applying.

• 60-74% (Fair): Your CV has some alignment but significant gaps. You may be missing key keywords, relevant experience, or have formatting issues. Consider whether you're truly qualified for this role, or make substantial changes.

• Below 60% (Poor): Your CV doesn't align well with this job. You're missing critical keywords, experience, or skills. Either reconsider this application or significantly revise your CV.

The Two Core Metrics

Your analysis includes two important subscores:

1. AI Match Score

This measures how well your experience and qualifications align with what the employer is looking for.

What it evaluates:

• Keywords and phrases from the job description
• Required skills and certifications
• Years of experience in relevant areas
• Industry-specific terminology
• Job-specific competencies

Why it matters: The AI score tells you if your actual background fits the role. A low AI score might mean you're applying for a job that doesn't match your experience level or expertise.

How to improve it:

• Reframe your existing experience using the job description's language
• Add industry-specific keywords naturally
• Highlight relevant skills even if they're from different contexts
• Include certifications or training that match requirements

2. Structure Score

This measures how well your CV is formatted and organized for ATS systems and human readability.

What it evaluates:

• Section organization (Experience, Education, Skills)
• Formatting consistency
• Readability and white space
• ATS compatibility
• Use of standard section headers
• Absence of problematic elements (tables, graphics, unusual formatting)

Why it matters: A poor structure score means your CV might be rejected by ATS systems before a human ever sees it. Even with great experience, bad formatting can cost you interviews.

How to improve it:

• Use standard, clear section headers
• Maintain consistent formatting throughout
• Avoid tables, text boxes, and graphics
• Use simple bullet points for easy parsing
• Ensure adequate white space
• Use standard fonts (Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman)

Breaking Down Matched vs. Missing Keywords

Your analysis identifies two keyword categories:

Matched Keywords

These are keywords from the job description that appear in your CV. They're working in your favor and show strong alignment with the role.

What to do:

• Keep these in your CV - they're helping you
• Consider increasing their prominence if they're buried deep in the document
• Verify they appear in your professional summary or early in the document
• Ensure they're used in context (not forced)

Missing Keywords

These are important terms from the job description that don't appear in your CV. They represent gaps that could hurt your chances.

What to do:

• Review if you have the actual experience they represent
• If yes: Rewrite descriptions to include these keywords naturally
• If no: Be honest about the gap. Applying anyway might waste credits
• Prioritize keywords that appear early in the job description
• Focus on "required" keywords before "nice-to-have" ones

Understanding Keyword Categories

Not all keywords are equally important. Your analysis may categorize them as:

Required Keywords

Skills and experience explicitly listed as "required" in the job posting. Missing these significantly impacts your score and chances.

Example: "5+ years Python experience" - this is required, not optional.

Preferred/Nice-to-Have Keywords

Skills listed as "preferred," "nice-to-have," or "a plus." Missing these affects your score less severely.

Example: "Experience with Docker" might be preferred but not required.

Hard vs. Soft Skills

• Hard skills: Technical abilities (Python, project management, accounting)
• Soft skills: Personal qualities (leadership, communication, problem-solving)

Both matter, but hard skills typically carry more weight in ATS scoring.

What the Metrics Tell You

High AI Score + High Structure Score

✓ Your CV is excellent for this job. You have relevant experience and strong formatting. Apply with confidence.

High AI Score + Low Structure Score

⚠ You have relevant experience, but your CV formatting is hurting you. Fix the structure before applying - you could lose out to formatting issues.

Low AI Score + High Structure Score

⚠ Your CV is well-formatted, but your experience doesn't match. Consider whether you're qualified for this role or if significant rewording could help.

Low AI Score + Low Structure Score

✗ Both your experience and formatting need work. Either revise substantially or reconsider this application.

How Scoring Works

The overall score is calculated from:

• 40% Keyword matching (do you have the required skills?)
• 30% Experience alignment (does your background fit?)
• 20% Structure score (is your CV readable by ATS?)
• 10% Formatting consistency (is everything properly formatted?)

These percentages represent a typical weighting - actual scores may vary based on the specific job and CV.

Important Score Limitations

What the score DOES tell you:

• How well your CV matches this specific job posting
• Whether you have the required keywords and experience
• If your CV will likely pass ATS screening
• Which areas to focus improvement efforts on

What the score DOESN'T tell you:

• Whether you'll actually get an interview (humans also decide)
• Your actual qualifications beyond what's on paper
• How competitive you are compared to other candidates
• Soft factors like cultural fit or personality

Improving Your Score

Quick Wins (10-15 point improvements)

• Add missing keywords naturally to your CV
• Fix formatting issues (standardize fonts, spacing)
• Improve section organization

Medium Improvements (15-25 points)

• Rewrite job descriptions with stronger keywords
• Add missing certifications or skills
• Improve the clarity and structure of the document

Major Overhauls (25+ points)

• Add significant missing experience or skills
• Completely restructure your CV
• Complete additional training or certifications
• Consider if you're the right fit for this role

Using Scores to Guide Your Job Search

Apply Strategically

• 90%+ score: Apply immediately
• 75-89% score: Apply with minor tweaks
• 60-74% score: Consider your interest level; make improvements
• Below 60%: Skip unless it's your dream job and worth major revisions

Track Your Progress

• Reanalyze your CV after making changes
• Compare scores across different job postings
• Look for patterns in what employers value
• Use insights to improve your general CV

Learn From Patterns

• If you consistently score low on AI metrics: Your experience may not align with your target role
• If you consistently score low on structure: Completely redesign your CV format
• If certain keywords appear frequently: Build expertise in those areas

Next Steps

1. Analyze your CV against a job you're targeting
2. Review both scores - AI and Structure
3. Focus on the biggest gaps - either keywords or formatting
4. Make targeted improvements
5. Reanalyze to see if you improved

Ready to understand your analysis score? Analyze your CV for free → - See exactly how your resume scores against any job description.