Free ATS Resume Check: 12-Point Test (Do It Yourself)
You can check your own resume against an applicant-tracking system in minutes with a twelve-point test — no paid scanner required. Confirm it is single-column, uses real heading styles, sticks to a standard font, keeps contact details in the body, drops images and layout tables, and saves as DOCX or a text-extractable PDF. Each failed check has a one-step fix you can make today.
| # | Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Single column, no text boxes | Columns and boxes scramble the reading order or get skipped |
| 2 | Real heading styles, not big bold text | Heading styles tell the parser where each section starts |
| 3 | Standard font (Calibri, Arial, Georgia) | Uncommon fonts fail to embed and render as missing glyphs |
| 4 | Contact details in the body | Headers and footers are often stripped before parsing |
| 5 | No images, icons, logos, or photos | Parsers cannot read text inside a graphic |
| 6 | Standard round or square bullets | Exotic symbols import as question marks and break lists |
| 7 | Saved as DOCX or a text-extractable PDF | Image-only PDFs contain no selectable text |
| 8 | Consistent, recognizable date format | Mixed formats make tenure hard to calculate |
| 9 | Titles and employers spelled out | Undefined acronyms miss a recruiter's keyword search |
| 10 | Posting keywords appear naturally | Ranking systems score overlap with the job ad |
| 11 | No layout tables for columns | Layout tables read unpredictably and merge cells |
| 12 | US Letter, 0.5–1 inch margins | Off-standard sizes clip content and look hasty |
Step by step
Open your resume and read it top to bottom in one column
Trace the reading order with your eye. If the text jumps between columns or sidebars, reflow everything into a single column so a parser reads it the same way you do.
Copy all the text out into a plain notepad
Select everything, paste it into a plain-text editor, and read what you get. Anything missing or scrambled — contact details, skills, dates — is what an ATS will also lose, so fix those items at the source.
Confirm the file, fonts, and margins, then save
Set a standard font, US Letter page size, and 0.5-to-1-inch margins, then save as DOCX or a text-extractable PDF. Re-run the twelve checks until every box is ticked before you apply.
Printable ATS checklist — free PDF
- No sign-up
- No payment
- No watermark
- Download the printable checklist (PDF)
ats-resume-check.pdf, 6 KB, one-page printable 12-point ATS checklist, US Letter.
Build an ATS-safe resume in the builder → edit it in your browser — nothing leaves your device.
FAQ
Do I need a paid ATS scanner to check my resume?
No. The free copy-the-text test catches the same problems a paid scanner flags: if you can highlight and copy every word into a plain notepad without anything scrambling or vanishing, an applicant-tracking system can read it too. The twelve-point checklist covers the rest.
How can I tell if my PDF is text-extractable?
Open it, try to select a line of text, and copy it into a notepad. If the text pastes as readable words, it is extractable and ATS-safe; if you can only select it as an image or nothing pastes, it is a scanned or image-only PDF that a parser sees as blank.
Is the printable ATS checklist free to download?
Yes. The one-page PDF version of this twelve-point test downloads free with no sign-up, no payment, and no watermark, like everything else on this site. Print it, tick each box by hand, and keep it next to you while you fix your resume.
How many of the 12 checks does my resume need to pass?
Aim for all twelve, but the highest-impact ones are single-column layout, real heading styles, a text-extractable file, and posting keywords in your text. Those four decide whether your resume is read and ranked at all; the rest reduce smaller parsing errors.