Skip to main content
resumecopilot
Before you apply

Match your CV to a job description and see what's missing.

You can match your CV to a job description by hand in five steps, or automatically while Resume Copilot tailors your CV. This page covers both, and what to do with a gap.

Match and tailor your CVFree to try, no account. Sign up only when you export.

Matching means putting each requirement in the advert next to the evidence in your CV. What is evidenced moves up, and what is missing you know about before you apply.

  • Must-haves and nice-to-haves are split
  • Every requirement gets evidence or counts as a gap
  • The match runs automatically while you tailor

How to match your CV by hand.

  1. Step 1: List every requirement

    Put each requirement from the advert on its own line, including the responsibilities. Copy technical terms, software and certificates word for word, because those are exactly the terms an ATS will look for in your CV.

  2. Step 2: Split must-haves from nice-to-haves

    Whatever sits under “your profile” or “what you bring” is a must-have. Anything marked “desirable”, “ideally” or “a plus” is a nice-to-have. What the advert repeats, or lists first among the responsibilities, is usually the core of the role.

  3. Step 3: Find the evidence for each one

    Find the line in your CV that shows the requirement: a role, a project, a number or a certificate. Mark it “evidenced”, “there, but worded differently” or “missing”. The middle group is the most valuable, because new wording is all it needs.

  4. Step 4: Sort out the gaps

    A missing nice-to-have is rarely a problem. If a must-have is missing, check whether you have shown it elsewhere, in volunteering, a project or a course, and it just isn't on your CV yet. Anything you genuinely don't have, address openly in the cover letter and put a related experience next to it.

  5. Step 5: Carry the result into your CV

    Move the evidenced requirements up, name them in the advert's words, and cut what doesn't fit. The tailoring guide walks through exactly how, with an example.

How Resume Copilot shows you the match.

  • You see what we took from the advert

    Paste the advert text or a link from a job board. Next to your CV, the advert's requirements, nice-to-haves and responsibilities are then listed separately.

  • The match runs while your CV is tailored

    While your CV is being tailored, you see how many requirements we are matching against your CV and which one the advert is asking for at that moment.

  • Missing requirements are named

    Under “Missing from your CV” you find the requirements your CV doesn't evidence. Each one is marked as a must-have, a nice-to-have or the core of the role.

  • You see what was highlighted

    The themes the tailored CV puts forward are listed on their own. Next to each rewritten line, a margin note explains why it changed.

  • Evidenced skills move up

    If a skill shows in your roles but not in your skills list, we suggest it together with the evidence from your CV. One click adds it.

What happens to a gap.

A missing requirement shows up in the list of open points, and the tailored CV shows only what your original evidences. Dates stay word for word, and so do job titles unless your German CV goes into English, where they are translated at the same level. A validator checks the finished version against your CV. So before you send it, you know which gap to address in the cover letter.

Match it now

Common questions about matching.

What is the difference between matching and tailoring?

Matching is the analysis: you work out which requirements your CV evidences and which are missing. Tailoring is the next step, where you rewrite, reorder and cut your CV accordingly. Resume Copilot does both in one pass.

How many requirements do I need to meet before applying?

There is no fixed share. The must-haves decide it: if you can evidence most of them, the application is worth sending even when some nice-to-haves are missing. If you lack the core of the role, though, the job probably isn't the right fit.

Is it enough to copy the advert's keywords into my CV?

No. A term counts where your experience backs it up: in a role, a project or a number. An ATS will find the word in a loose list too, but the person reading afterwards looks for the evidence behind it.

Do I need to match my CV against every advert again?

Yes. Two adverts with the same job title often ask for different things: one puts customer care first, the other number-crunching. The match shows you, for each advert, which of your experience belongs at the top. Your full CV stays the base you select from every time.

Can I paste a link instead of the advert text?

Yes. You can paste the advert text or a link from a job board, and we read the requirements from the page. If that doesn't work for a particular page, paste the text instead.

What does matching with Resume Copilot cost?

The match is part of every tailoring run. The first three applications are free, and you can try the first one without an account. After that you buy one-off credit packs with no subscription, and credits don't expire.

Match your CV against the next advert you apply to.

Paste the advert and you see which requirements your CV evidences and which are open, together with a tailored version.

Match it now