Most resumes don't get rejected for lacking qualifications — they get filtered before a person ever reads them, usually for reasons that are fixable in an afternoon: formatting an applicant tracking system can't parse, generic phrasing that doesn't match what the posting actually asked for, or achievements listed without the numbers that make them legible at a glance.
Start with the posting, not a template
A resume that's identical for every application is easy to spot and easy to skip. The highest-leverage free thing you can do is read the posting closely and mirror its actual language — the skills and responsibilities it names — in your resume, honestly and only where it's true.
Check the formatting an ATS actually sees
Applicant tracking systems parse resumes as text before a person sees them. Multi-column layouts, text inside images, and unusual fonts can scramble what gets extracted. Simple, single-column formatting with standard section headings survives parsing far more reliably than something that looks impressive as a PDF but breaks on import.
Quantify what you can
"Improved performance" says less than "cut page load time by 40%." Numbers aren't available for everything, but wherever they are, they make an achievement easier to evaluate at a glance — which matters when a recruiter is spending seconds, not minutes, on a first pass.
Where OfferLyst fits in
OfferLyst's resume match scores a specific resume against a specific job posting and shows where they line up and where they don't, so you're not guessing at what to change. A separate ATS check reviews formatting and structure specifically for parseability. Both are AI features that use one credit each, and every new account starts with 5 free credits — enough to try both before deciding if they're useful for your search.
Check a resume against a real posting
See the free AI credit allowance and what each check costs.
See pricing