CV Audit

The mechanical half of the four-minute audit. Your file is read inside this browser tab and is never uploaded.

This browser will not let the page remember your lists. They will reset when you close the tab.

1 · Your CV or cover letter

Drop your .docx here, or click to choose You can drop several at once. Add the PDF of the same file and the page count comes from it.

Using Google Docs? File, Download, Microsoft Word (.docx). Old .doc files: open in Word and save as .docx.

2 · Your lists

These are saved in this browser for next time. The phrases below are placeholders: a list copied from somebody else catches nothing. Put in the phrases you keep reaching for.

A file counts as a cover letter when its name contains the word cover.

3 · The eight steps

  1. Split the required section into one requirement per line.
  2. Ask: do I have this? If no, do not invent a near match.
  3. If yes, ask: does my CV use their term for it?
  4. Audit friendly headings such as what sets you up for success too.
  5. Before cutting a bullet, ask whether it carries a bridge into their domain.
  6. Check every number against every other number.
  7. Check filename and document properties for another employer's name.
  8. For every claim, predict the follow-up question.

Steps 6 and 7 are the ones people get wrong at eleven at night. This page does 7 and lists every number for 6. The rest need you.