What your resume score means, and how to raise it
Reading the numbers
Scores are relative to your field and level, so compare yourself against the bands, not against a friend in another profession:
- 80 to 100: strong. Ready to send once it’s tailored to the job.
- 60 to 79: solid, with clear gaps. The high-priority fixes usually move it 10 points or more.
- Below 60: something structural is holding it back, often duties instead of results or a layout software can’t read.
Raising your impact score
Impact is usually the lowest score and the easiest to raise. Rewrite each bullet as action, then result: “Cut invoice processing time 40% by automating approvals”, not “Responsible for invoice processing”. If you don’t have an exact figure, a scale works: team size, budget, number of customers, how often.
NovaCV never invents a number. Where a bullet needs one only you know, it leaves a placeholder like [X%] for you to fill in.
Raising your ATS score
Use conventional section names, keep contact details in the body of the page, and name your skills in words. Add the missing keywords your report lists, but only the ones that are true of you, and put them in context in your bullets as well as in your skills section.
Raising your clarity score
Cut the summary to two to four specific sentences: your level, your domain and what you’re known for. Keep bullets under two lines, give older roles one or two bullets, and use one date format throughout. With under five years’ experience, one page usually reads stronger than two.