Problems and solutions · Updated · By CVPosh · Markdown version
Why is my resume's ATS score low and how do I raise it?
A low checklist score means one or more simple rules fired. In the CVPosh checker the biggest deductions are under 200 words (-20), fewer than three of the four section names (-20), no email (-15), and no phone, too few bullets, tabs or odd characters (-5 to -10 each). Find which rules fired, fix each, and re-run. The score is a checklist, not a hiring prediction.
Why scores come out low
The CVPosh ATS checker starts at 100 and subtracts points when a rule fires. A low score therefore has a short list of causes, and each is visible. The most common surprises are mechanical: a resume pasted with tabs, a heading named something unusual, bullets drawn with symbols the checker does not count, or a very short text because content sits in images.
It helps to know what a score is not. It is not a simulation of Workday, Greenhouse, Lever or any other employer system, and nothing links a higher number to more interviews. The score is useful because the rules are common-sense hygiene checks a person can act on in minutes.
The checker can also be wrong about a good resume. It counts words in the extracted text, so a resume that is mostly an image scores as "too short". It counts a bullet only when a line starts with a bullet, hyphen or asterisk followed by a space, so lines that start with other symbols, like a square or a circle, are not counted even though a human sees bullets. Knowing that, you can tell a real problem from an artefact.
The fix for each rule, in order of points
Work from the top of the table down; the first rows cost the most.
- Word count under 200 (-20) or over 800 (-10). Under 200 means the checker found little text: add detail to your experience, or confirm the file has real text and is not an image. Over 800 means the resume is long: cut older or less relevant material.
- Fewer than three of the four section names (-20). The checker looks for the words experience, education, skills and summary or profile anywhere in the text. Use those plain headings.
- No email address (-15). Add one in a normal line near the top, in the body of the page and not in a header or text box that may not be extracted.
- Fewer than five bullet lines (-10). Use lines that start with a bullet, a hyphen or an asterisk and a space. If your resume uses other symbols, switch to standard bullets. Convert dense paragraphs into bullets.
- Tab characters (-10). Tabs usually mean a table or aligned columns. Replace them with plain lines or single spaces.
- No phone number (-5). Add a phone number in a common shape, for example 555-010-4477 or +91 98765 43210.
- The characters ™, ® or © (-5), and readability below 30 (-5). Remove the symbols. For readability, shorten sentences and replace jargon with plain words where the meaning allows.
| Rule | Points | What it looks at |
|---|---|---|
| Word count under 200 | -20 | Words in the extracted text |
| Word count over 800 | -10 | Words in the extracted text |
| No email address found | -15 | Something shaped like name@domain.tld |
| No phone number found | -5 | A phone-number shape (several international formats) |
| Fewer than 3 of 4 section names | -20 | The words experience, education, skills, summary or profile anywhere in the text |
| Fewer than 5 bullet lines | -10 | Lines starting with •, - or * and a space |
| ™, ® or © present | -5 | These characters |
| Tab characters present | -10 | Tabs in the text |
| Readability (Flesch) below 30 | -5 | Flesch reading ease with each line treated as a sentence |
Missing links, action verbs and numbers are shown as tips with no deduction. The score is clamped between 0 and 100. Rules are from the checker code; the full page with a worked example is "How the ATS checker scores".
When to use CVPosh for this
Use the CVPosh ATS checker to find which rules fired and to re-run after each fix; the issues come with a suggestion for each. Because the rules are fixed, the same text always gets the same score, so you can see what each edit changed.
Do not chase 100 as a goal. A resume that scores lower because it is short or has a table can still be the right resume for a given job, and a perfect score says nothing about content. If a rule fires wrongly (for example a bullet symbol that is not counted), fix it only if it makes the file more readable, not just to move the number.
Through MCP, the tool is ats_check: it accepts a saved CV (cvId) or resumeText and returns the score, issues, suggestions and stats.
Copy-paste prompt for an AI assistant connected to CVPosh
Connect the CVPosh MCP server first (setup on the MCP page). Every tool is read-only, so the assistant reports and you make the changes.
Assign to CVPosh: run ats_check on my newest saved CV (find it with list_cvs) and list each rule that fired with the points it cost. For each one tell me whether it looks like a real problem or an artefact of how the text was extracted, and what I would change. Do not edit anything; show me what you did so I can approve each fix before I make it.
Questions
What is the highest score I can get?
The checker clamps the score between 0 and 100. A resume that trips no rule scores 100. That says the simple checks passed, not that the resume is good.
Why does my text count as under 200 words?
The checker counts words in the extracted text. If the file is a scan, or most content is in images or text boxes that do not extract, the count is low. Run the copy-paste test to see what is extractable.
Do missing links or numbers lower my score?
No. They produce tips (no link, no action verb from a short list, no number), with no points deducted.
Does a higher score mean more interviews?
There is no evidence of that link, and CVPosh does not claim one. Use the score to catch avoidable problems.
Related problems
- How do I check my resume's ATS score?
- What makes a resume template ATS-friendly?
- How do I write resume bullet points that sound strong and not like a job description?
- How do I convert a Word resume to PDF without breaking the formatting?
Tools and pages that help
Markdown version of this page: https://cvposh.com/solutions/low-ats-score-how-to-fix.md