How we test CV PDFs for ATS readability
Create a clearly structured CV and check it yourself.
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What the test covers
We check the technical readability of a printed CV PDF: is all text extractable, in the right order, with headings the software recognises? Data tables, text boxes and multi-column layouts are the usual failure points.
How we build the test
We generate CVs from the same templates you can use, fill them with realistic UK sample content (job titles, dates, qualifications) and export them the way you would: as a PDF.
What we extract
Name, contact details, personal statement, work history with dates, education and skills. If a field is missing, reordered or merged with another line, the layout loses a point.
Keywords and job titles
UK employers and recruiters search by keyword. We therefore check that terms from a sample advert – job title, tools, qualifications – survive the export unchanged, including hyphens and abbreviations.
British spelling and characters
We verify that UK spelling and characters such as £, – and é survive extraction, so nothing is mangled before a human reads it.
What the test does not do
It cannot predict an interview, and it does not judge the content of your CV. It only says whether the document you send can be read reliably by the software in front of it.
Related CV guides
FAQ
No. The test only shows that your CV can be read correctly by the software; the decision is still made by people reading the content.
No. The single-column templates in our gallery are built for exactly this, but any clean layout without tables or text boxes works.
PDF, unless the advert asks for something else. Our PDFs contain selectable text, not images, so the content stays searchable.
A photo is not read as data and UK CVs do not need one, so leaving it out removes a source of error.
Fill in your CV in a structured way, check the preview and export the PDF – the same PDF we use in our tests.
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