How to check if your resume matches a job description

What a resume-to-job match should look at

Required skills matter most, then preferred skills. A skill shown in an experience or project bullet counts as stronger evidence than one listed only under Skills. The job title, years of experience, degree and certifications the post asks for also matter.

If the job description does not mention one of these, it should not count against you. A post with no degree requirement should not lower your match because of your degree.

• Required skills covered
• Preferred skills covered
• Skills backed by experience or projects
• Job title alignment
• Years of experience
• Degree and certifications

How to check it yourself

Copy the requirements into a list. Next to each, write where your resume shows it, or mark it missing. Count how many required items you cover with evidence. This takes ten to fifteen minutes per job and tells you what to strengthen.

Look for terms that mean the same thing under different names, such as “JS” and “JavaScript” or “Spring Boot” and “SpringBoot”. Do not treat different skills as the same: Java is not JavaScript, and React is not React Native.

Improve the match without inventing anything

Raise coverage by moving relevant experience higher, naming the tools you actually used and adding a project bullet that shows a required skill. Do not add skills, titles or years you do not have; a higher score built on false claims fails at the interview.

Use a match score as a guide, not a prediction

Waywright gives you a free job match score with each tailored resume, broken down into these parts, and shows your original resume’s score for the same job next to it so you can see what changed. The same inputs always give the same score; the AI does not grade its own work.

No score can predict whether an employer will shortlist you or reproduce a particular company’s applicant tracking system. Use it to find gaps and check your edits. An account is required.