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Your resume match score tells you why you're not getting callbacks

A match score compares your resume to a specific job description and gives you a number. That number roughly predicts whether an ATS will pass you through — and whether a recruiter will think you're worth calling. Here's what the score actually means and how to move it.

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What does a match score actually mean?

  • A match score measures keyword and skills overlap between your resume and the job description
  • It's a proxy for how an ATS (applicant tracking system) will rank your application against other candidates
  • It also signals to you whether you're using the same language the hiring team uses — critical for passing human review too
  • It's not a measure of your actual ability — just how well your resume communicates your ability in the words this specific job is looking for

What 60% vs 85% looks like

60% Match — Likely filtered out
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
✅ Found: project management, communication,
         data analysis, Excel

❌ Missing: Jira, agile, sprint planning,
           OKRs, stakeholder alignment,
           cross-functional teams

Result: ATS likely scores you below the
cutoff. Recruiter may not see your resume.

─────────────────────────────────────────

85% Match — Strong candidate signal
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
✅ Found: Jira, agile, sprint planning,
         OKRs, stakeholder alignment,
         cross-functional teams, data analysis

❌ Missing: Confluence, product roadmap

Result: ATS passes you through. Recruiter
sees a resume that mirrors the job posting.

The keyword gap you don't realize you have

The job description says: "Drive OKR alignment across engineering and design teams."

Your resume says: "Led quarterly goal-setting sessions with cross-departmental teams."

You did the same thing. But "OKRs" isn't on your resume, and the ATS is looking for that exact term. One word swap can move your score by 5–10 points.

How to improve your match score

  • Run your resume through Touchdwn before every application — each job description is different
  • Look at the missing keywords list and ask: did I actually do this? If yes, add the term to your resume
  • Don't keyword-stuff — weave missing terms into real bullets that describe your actual experience
  • Aim for 75–85% match before submitting. Above 85% is diminishing returns; below 70% is a red flag
  • Keep a tailored version per job family (engineering, management, etc.) to reduce rewrite time

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