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Analyze resume against job description for ATS optimization and keyword gaps

rhowardstone By rhowardstone schedule Updated 1/22/2026

name: ats-review description: Analyze resume against job description for ATS optimization and keyword gaps

ATS Review Skill

Score a resume against a job description. Identify keyword gaps, suggest improvements, and estimate ATS pass likelihood.

When to Use

  • Before submitting an application
  • When response rates are low
  • To understand why applications aren't getting traction

Process

1. Extract Job Requirements

From the job description, identify:

Hard Requirements (must-have):

  • Required years of experience
  • Required technologies/tools
  • Required certifications/degrees
  • Deal-breakers if missing

Soft Requirements (nice-to-have):

  • Preferred skills
  • Bonus qualifications
  • Culture fit indicators

Keywords (exact matches matter):

  • Technical terms (languages, frameworks, tools)
  • Role-specific jargon
  • Industry terminology

2. Analyze Resume

Score the resume on:

Category Weight Description
Keyword Match 30% Exact keyword presence from job description
Experience Alignment 25% Years + relevance of experience
Skills Coverage 20% Hard requirements coverage
Achievement Evidence 15% Quantified results, not just duties
Format Compatibility 10% ATS-parseable format

3. Generate Report

## ATS Score: [X/100]

### Keyword Analysis
**Present**: [keywords found in resume]
**Missing**: [critical keywords not in resume]
**Partial**: [related but not exact matches]

### Gap Analysis
1. [Most critical gap and how to address it]
2. [Second gap]
3. [Third gap]

### Quick Wins
- [Easy change that would improve score]
- [Another easy change]

### Recommendation
[STRONG MATCH / MODERATE MATCH / WEAK MATCH / NOT RECOMMENDED]

[Brief explanation of recommendation]

Scoring Guidelines

  • 90-100: Excellent match, high likelihood of passing ATS
  • 75-89: Good match, likely to pass with minor tweaks
  • 60-74: Moderate match, needs keyword optimization
  • 40-59: Weak match, significant gaps to address
  • Below 40: Not recommended, fundamental mismatch

Important Notes

  • ATS systems vary widely; this is a heuristic, not a guarantee
  • Keyword stuffing backfires if a human reviews it
  • Focus on honest representation of actual skills
  • Some gaps can be addressed in cover letter instead

Example Output

## ATS Score: 72/100

### Keyword Analysis
**Present**: Python, machine learning, data analysis, SQL, AWS
**Missing**: Kubernetes, CI/CD, Airflow
**Partial**: "distributed systems" (resume says "parallel computing")

### Gap Analysis
1. **Kubernetes** - Listed as required. If you have any container orchestration experience (Docker Swarm, ECS), mention it and add "familiar with Kubernetes concepts"
2. **CI/CD** - Do you use GitHub Actions, Jenkins, etc.? Add this explicitly
3. **Airflow** - If you've used any workflow orchestration, mention it

### Quick Wins
- Add "CI/CD" to your skills section (you mention GitHub Actions in a bullet point)
- Change "parallel computing" to include "distributed systems"

### Recommendation
MODERATE MATCH

Strong technical foundation but missing some DevOps/MLOps keywords they're looking for. Worth applying if you can honestly add the CI/CD reference.

Anti-Patterns

  • Don't recommend adding skills the candidate doesn't have
  • Don't optimize so heavily the resume becomes unreadable
  • Don't ignore the "why" - a 95 score on a miserable job is still miserable
  • Don't treat ATS score as the only factor
Install via CLI
npx skills add https://github.com/rhowardstone/AI-Job-Coach --skill ats-review
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