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Free CV checker: what a recruiter thinks in the first 8 seconds
Upload your CV, pick how blunt you want us to be, and get the three things to fix — free, no account.
Check my CV
Drop your CV here, or
PDF, DOCX, TXT, PNG, JPG, WEBP or GIF · up to 10 MB · one file
Your file, the job description and your result are kept for 24 hours so you can pick them up after signing in, then deleted. If you bring your CV into an account, its original is kept in your Files. Nothing is published. If you want, you can create a link that shows only your score and band.
Takes about 30 seconds. Nothing is published, and your result stays private unless you share your score.
What you get
The verdict first, then the fixes.
The checker reads your CV the way a recruiter with two hundred more to get through would, says what it thinks, then shows you the lines to change.
The verdict, in your chosen tone
A short, blunt read on your CV — the role it looks like it is for, the habit it has, whether it survives the pile. Written about your CV, not about CVs in general.
Three things to fix
Each one quotes the line in your CV and says what to do instead. Where a number is missing we leave a placeholder rather than invent one for you.
A score out of 100
Impact, Completeness, Format and Job fit. The number comes from fixed rules in our code, not from the AI — the same rules the WhizCV builder scores with — so checking the same CV twice gives the same number.
How we score your CV
The AI writes the verdict and the fixes. It never picks the number: the score comes from fixed rules in our code, the same ones the WhizCV builder uses. Your CV starts at 100 and loses a set number of points for each problem the rules find, so fixing a problem gives back exactly what it cost.
Impact
Up to 52 pointsWhether your experience shows results or only duties. Each role with a line that opens with a duty phrase such as “Responsible for”, “Worked on” or “Helped” costs 6, and so does each role with nothing written under it, up to 18 for each kind. A line with a number in it never counts as a duty. No number anywhere in your experience costs 16; numbers in fewer than one line in three cost 8.
Completeness
Up to 43 pointsWhether a recruiter has what they need. No email address and no phone number costs 20, and keeps the CV out of Strong whatever its score. Each role without dates costs 5, up to 15. No summary near the top costs 8.
Format
Up to 43 pointsWhether there is enough to judge. Under 250 words costs 10; under 150 costs 20 and keeps the CV out of Strong. The builder also counts content cut off at a page edge (15) and more than two pages (8) here, but we read your text, not your layout, so the checker can’t see those. A scan or photo with no text in it gets no score at all rather than a flattering one.
Job fit
Up to 20 pointsOnly scored when you paste a job ad. We take up to 30 things the ad asks for (tools, requirements, phrases it repeats) and take off up to 20 points, in proportion to the share your CV doesn’t mention. No ad, no job-fit score and nothing taken off, so leaving the box empty never costs you.
The total is 100 minus what the problems cost. Each kind of problem has a ceiling, so ten undated roles cost the same as three. 85 and above is Strong, 60 to 84 Getting there, below 60 Needs work. No way to contact you, or fewer than 150 words, keeps a CV out of Strong whatever the number. Each bar shows how much of what its category can cost you is still yours.
Why there’s no “ATS score”
No applicant tracking system publishes a pass mark, so a percentage that claims to predict one would be made up. What we check instead is what any system needs to read you: real text rather than a scan, contact details, dates and, if you paste the ad, the words it asks for.
See an example result
Sample CV written by the WhizCV teamA made-up CV for a warehouse team lead, checked with the Spicy tone and no job ad. Your own result quotes your own lines.
Spicy verdict
This reads like the job description for a warehouse team lead, not like the person who did the job. Every line says what the shift was — picking, packing, rotas — and none says what got faster, cheaper or safer because you ran it. It survives the pile only if nobody else applied.
Duties, not results
Your CV says“Responsible for picking and packing on the night shift.”
Say what changed because you ran it: “Ran a night shift of [8] pickers and raised orders packed per hour from [X] to [Y].”
Why it matters “Responsible for” tells a recruiter what the job was. They are hiring for what you did with it.
The full result has two more: no numbers on any result, and no dates on the forklift role.
Needs work
Score 59 · out of 100, 100 is best
Paste a job ad and we score the match too.
House rules
- We judge the writing, never the person. Names, age, nationality, gaps and personal circumstances are off limits.
- Every point quotes your CV. Nothing is invented to fill a quota, and no experience or numbers are made up for you.
- No fake ATS scores or interview odds. The score comes from the rules listed here, and we read your text only — never your layout or design.
- Your results are private to you and deleted after 24 hours. Nothing is published. If you want, you can create a link that shows only your score and band.
Questions
Is the CV checker really free?
Yes. No account, no email and no card. Free checks are limited per day so the service stays up for everyone. If you want to fix your CV in the WhizCV builder afterwards, that takes a free account.
What happens to my CV after the check?
Your file, the job ad you pasted and your result are kept for 24 hours so you can pick them up after signing in, then deleted automatically. To read your CV we send it to our AI provider (OpenAI or Anthropic), and we never ask it to keep the request. Nothing is published. If you want, you can create a share link that shows only your score and band, never anything from your CV. If you choose “Fix it in the builder”, the CV moves into your account and its original is kept in your Files. The privacy policy has the full details.
Can it check my CV against a job ad?
Yes. Paste the ad into the optional box before you upload. We then score job fit: the share of the ad’s tools, requirements and repeated phrases that your CV mentions. The fixes can also quote the ad where your CV falls short.
Which languages does it understand?
The verdict and the fixes come back in the language your CV is written in, and the AI reads most languages. The page itself is also available in Bulgarian, German and Polish. The score rules, the duty-phrase check (“Responsible for…”) included, read a CV in any language the WhizCV builder comes in.
Ready to hear it?
Free, private, and about 30 seconds. Then fix it in the builder if you want to.