Resume
readability checker.
Paste your resume below and this tool reports how quickly a busy person can read it: word count, reading grade, passive voice, buzzwords, and how many lines open with a strong action verb. It runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, stored, or sent anywhere. It is free, rule-based, and there is no sign-up.
Paste plain text, not a PDF. This tool reads exactly what you paste, so copy the words themselves rather than a file. That is also what a recruiter skims in the first few seconds.
Runs in your browser. Your resume never leaves this device. There is no server call, no database, and no analytics on the text you paste. Close the tab and it is gone.
Your results will appear here. Paste a resume and select "Check readability".
What this checks, and what it does not
This is a plain, rule-based readability tool. It counts words, sentences, and syllables, and it matches a fixed list of buzzwords and action verbs. It is not artificial intelligence, it does not judge whether your experience is a fit, and it does not know the job you are applying for. Every number below comes from a rule you can read in the section further down the page.
Readability is only one lever. A resume can score well here and still be the wrong resume for the role, and a resume can score poorly and still land the interview on the strength of its content. Treat the score as a quick edit pass, the sort a careful friend would give you, and not as a verdict on your candidacy.
If you want the machine-readability and keyword side of the picture, use the ATS resume checker as well. This tool is about how a human reads your resume. That one is about how software parses it.
Why a scannable resume wins.
A first pass on a resume is fast. The words have to work before anyone reads carefully.
Recruiters are commonly said to spend about 6 to 7 seconds on a first pass
That figure is widely cited from a small eye-tracking study, so take it as a rough signal rather than a hard law. Whatever the exact number, the point holds: the first look at a resume is a skim, not a read. In those few seconds a reader is scanning for job titles, dates, and the shape of your impact. Anything that slows that skim works against you.
Long, dense sentences slow it down. So do passive constructions like "was responsible for", which bury who did what. So do tired phrases like "results-driven team player", which say nothing a reader can picture. And a bullet that opens with a weak lead-in wastes the most valuable spot on the line, where a strong verb such as "built", "led", or "cut" would have landed first. This tool flags each of those so you can tighten the words that carry the most weight.
Short and clear is not the same as thin. You still need real detail and real numbers. The goal is to say what you did in the fewest plain words, so the reader gets it on the first pass and keeps going.
Every check, and the rule behind it.
The score is built from plain heuristics. Here is the full list, so you can see there is no black box behind it.
| Check | The rule it applies |
|---|---|
| Word and character count | A one-page resume runs roughly 400 to 600 words, a two-page one up to about 1000. Well under or well over that band gets flagged. |
| Words per sentence and per line | Long lines are hard to skim. Any line over 25 words is flagged as dense and counted against the average. |
| Reading grade level | A Flesch-Kincaid grade estimate from words, sentences, and syllables. Clear, scannable writing tends to sit around grade 8 to 12. |
| Passive voice | A form of "to be" followed by a past participle, such as "was managed" or "were implemented". Active verbs read faster and show ownership. |
| First-person pronouns | Counts "I", "me", and "my". Resume convention drops them, since the whole document is understood to be about you. |
| Buzzwords and cliches | Matches a fixed list of empty phrases such as "team player", "results-driven", and "responsible for", and shows which appeared. |
| Action-verb ratio | The share of bullet lines that begin with a strong verb from a built-in list of about 100, such as "built", "led", or "reduced". |
| Complex-word density | The share of words with four or more syllables. A high rate signals jargon that slows a fast reader down. |
Common questions.
What the tool does, what it refuses to do, and why.
Is my resume stored or sent anywhere?
No. The entire check runs in JavaScript inside your browser. There is no upload, no server request, and no database. The text you paste is never transmitted, and it is gone the moment you close the tab. You can confirm this by opening your browser's network panel and watching that nothing is sent when you run the check.
Is this artificial intelligence?
No. It is a set of fixed rules: it counts words, sentences, and syllables, and it matches your text against built-in lists of buzzwords and action verbs. There is no model and no guessing. That is why it is fast, private, and gives you the same answer every time for the same text.
How many words should a resume be?
As a rough guide, a one-page resume runs about 400 to 600 words and a two-page one up to about 1000. Fewer than roughly 250 usually means you are leaving out detail a reader needs, and well over 1300 usually means it can be cut. The word count check flags both ends of that range.
Why does it flag "I", "me", and "my"?
Resume convention leaves out first-person pronouns because the whole page is already understood to be about you. Instead of "I managed a team of six", the line reads "Managed a team of six", which is shorter and opens with the verb. The tool counts these so you can trim them.
What counts as passive voice here?
The tool looks for a form of "to be" (am, is, are, was, were, be, been, being) followed by a word that looks like a past participle, such as "was promoted" or "were delivered". It is a heuristic, so it can miss some cases and occasionally flag a fine one. Read each example it shows and decide for yourself.
Will a high score get me the job?
No. A readable resume keeps a busy reader moving through your best material, which is worth doing. It does not replace relevant experience, real numbers, a referral, or a strong portfolio. The score is an editing aid, not a hiring decision.
Once your resume reads well.
A clear resume is the raw material for everything else. Here is where to take it next.
Now build a site
from the same resume.
A readable resume is a good start. Paste the same text into Portfolio and it drafts a complete personal website, a designer resume, and a matched cover letter in about a minute.