Different tools can score different things. One may check whether sections were extracted; another may compare words with a job description; another may rate writing style. Their percentages do not form a shared employer pass mark.
Start here
- Different tools can score different things.
- Not necessarily. Accuracy depends on what was measured and whether the extracted facts are correct. Inspect the feedback, not only the headline number.
A practical checklist
Keep the document and job description identical while comparing results. First inspect extracted contact details, roles, employers, dates and skills. If a section is missing or joined incorrectly, fix that before interpreting keyword feedback. Then read each tool’s explanation of its score and separate missing information from advice about how it is written.
Mistakes and limits to keep in mind
Do not rewrite accurate work solely to make two numbers match. A public Jobscan discussion that motivated this guide includes the author’s later resolution of a LaTeX formatting problem; that is not evidence that all lower scores are unfair. No cross-vendor benchmark or hiring-outcome prediction is claimed here.
Make a comparison worksheet
Record the file name, file format, job description, tool and feedback categories for each check. Confirm that the job description was not truncated and that the tool analyzed the intended version. Compare extracted facts first, then examine whether a suggestion concerns keywords, writing or layout.
If a tool does not disclose its criteria, treat the headline number cautiously. This worksheet helps explain differences without pretending the tools share a common scale or that a percentage represents an employer’s probability of hiring you.
Change one cause at a time
If dates are missing, correct the date presentation and recheck extraction before rewriting bullets. If the fields are correct but relevant skills are absent, review whether those skills are genuinely part of your experience. Do not add them simply to close a score gap.
Keep the original file and record what changed. A better diagnostic result can show that a specific defect was corrected; it cannot establish how every employer will evaluate the application.