When people say they want to "improve their score," they usually mean three different things at once:

  • make the resume easier to parse
  • make it look more relevant to the job
  • know what to fix before applying

That is why the report matters more than the headline number.

Rate My CV gives you an overall compatibility score plus supporting fields that explain where the result is coming from. Used well, the report becomes an editing checklist. Used badly, it becomes just another vanity number.

Start With the Overall Compatibility Score

The overall score is the summary signal for the specific job description you analyzed.

Treat it as a directional answer to this question:

How well does this version of my resume line up with this version of the job posting?

That wording matters.

It is not a universal career score. It is not a promise of an interview. It is not proof that every employer will rank you the same way. It is a role-specific snapshot.

The Two Subscores: Fit and Format

Rate My CV can also expose two core subscores:

  • AI Score for content alignment
  • Structure Score for formatting and organization

If you want the deep dive, read AI Score vs. Structure Score Explained. The short version is this:

  • AI Score helps you judge whether your resume reflects the role language and relevant experience
  • Structure Score helps you judge whether the document is readable and parseable

You need both. A clean resume that says the wrong things still misses. A relevant resume with broken formatting still loses signal.

What the Report Usually Shows

Depending on the analysis flow, your results may include several supporting fields beyond the headline score.

Keywords found

These are role terms that already appear in your resume.

What to do:

  • keep the strongest ones in visible sections
  • make sure they appear in context, not as a dumped list
  • use them to confirm what is already working

Keywords missing

These are terms from the posting that the analyzer did not find in your resume.

What to do:

  • check whether you genuinely have that experience
  • if yes, rewrite bullets or skills so the language becomes visible
  • if no, do not fake it just to move the score

Skills detected and job-relevant skills

These help you compare what the analyzer sees in your resume versus what appears useful for the target role.

What to do:

  • promote the most relevant skills higher in the document
  • remove emphasis from side skills that distract from the target role
  • tighten wording so your strongest evidence is easier to identify

Sections present and sections missing

This is the structural sanity check.

What to do:

  • restore missing essentials like Experience, Education, or Skills
  • use standard section names
  • make section order easy to follow

Contact information checks

The analysis may also flag whether basics like email, phone, LinkedIn, or location are detectable.

What to do:

  • keep core contact details in the main body of the resume
  • make them easy to spot without icons or layout tricks

Recommendations

These are your next-step suggestions, not commandments.

The good use case is prioritization. The bad use case is blindly applying every suggestion without checking accuracy.

How to Interpret a Score Without Lying to Yourself

This is the part people hate because it requires judgment.

Strong score, weak evidence

If the score looks good but the bullets are still vague, do not assume you are done. A resume can match terminology while still underselling impact.

Weak score, strong background

If your background is genuinely relevant but the score is soft, the problem is often translation.

You may need to:

  • use the language from the posting more directly
  • move relevant experience higher
  • make tools and outcomes explicit

Weak score, weak fit

Sometimes the score is low because the role is actually a stretch. That is useful information too.

The right move is not always "rewrite harder." Sometimes it is "pick a better target."

A Smarter Editing Order

Do this in sequence.

  1. Fix structural issues first.
  2. Review missing keywords and relevant skills second.
  3. Rewrite only the bullets and sections that directly affect those gaps.
  4. Re-run the analysis and compare what changed.

MIT's resume and ATS guidance both reinforce the same idea: strong resumes are specific, readable, and built around relevant evidence. Harvard says much the same thing through tailoring, factual writing, and scan-friendly formatting.

That is the standard behind the score interpretation here.

What Scores Cannot Tell You

A resume score cannot tell you:

  • whether a recruiter will like your background
  • how competitive the applicant pool is
  • whether you interviewed well
  • whether the employer values referrals, portfolio work, or domain depth more than keyword overlap

Scores are useful because they shorten the editing loop. That is it.

The Best Way to Use the Report

Use each analysis as a before-and-after comparison.

For one role, ask:

  • which missing terms did I actually close?
  • which sections became clearer?
  • did the recommendations get more specific after cleanup?
  • is the resume now easier to defend in an interview?

If the answer to the last question is no, your edits probably drifted into keyword theater.

Bottom Line

Your analysis scores are most useful when they help you make the next good edit.

Read the overall score as a summary. Use the subscores to separate content problems from formatting problems. Use missing keywords, skill alignment, section coverage, and recommendations to decide what to change.

Then rerun the analysis and see whether the document actually got better.

If you have not run your first test yet, start with How to Analyze Your CV with AI. If you want the specific difference between the two core subscores, read AI Score vs. Structure Score Explained.