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How this works

How this works

How is the match rate worked out?

ContractorUK's code works it out, never AI. It adds up to a hundred points.

70 points for the share of the advert's skills that your CV shows.

15 points for the job title: earned when your CV shows a skill named in the advert's title, or when its opening lines carry a title like the advert's.

15 points for the sector, which every reading gets because your CV is counted as being in the advert's sector.

The reading prints the sum for your CV, so you can check it.

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What do Strong, Good, Partial and Low match mean?

Strong match: 70% or more.

Good match: 50% to 69%.

Partial match: 30% to 49%.

Low match: under 30%.

There is no pass mark. The band says how much of the advert your CV shows, not whether you will be shortlisted.

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Which fix should I do first?

The reading orders its fixes the same way every time. Fixes come before notes, then the most serious first, then the order of the sections on the page.

On the free plan the first fix in each section is shown in full, up to 5 a reading; the rest are counted. Pro shows every fix.

Add a missing skill or result only if it is true. The reading says so beside every one.

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A skill is marked missing, but I have it. Why?

Fitread looks for the advert's skills by their names and the usual short forms of those names.

If your CV says it another way, or only inside a picture, a table or a text box, it may not be found.

Where it is true, use the advert's own wording, and write both the full term and its short form once.

The searchability checks point out pictures, tables and text boxes.

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Plans

Sample reading Fictional CV and advert

Sample reading

Management Accountant

Read my CV

Fictional CV and advert · Read 2 Oct 2026

Fictional permanent advert

£45,000 - £50,000 per annum, as the advert states. Not compared: too few permanent adverts yet. Fictional advert, made for this sample: there is nowhere to apply.

Agency CV tips

  • Put your email address and phone number in the body of the page, not only in a header or footer.
  • Open with a one-line headline under your name that says what you do, in the words adverts use.
  • Use the advert's own words for the skills, qualifications and job titles you really have.
  • Give each role its start and end month.
  • Send a Word file or a PDF in one column, with no tables or text boxes; many agencies ask for Word.
  • State your right to work in the UK, and leave out your date of birth, a photo and your marital status.

About this sample

Riley Sample is not a real person. Our engine read this made-up CV of an assistant management accountant against a made-up permanent advert on 2 Oct 2026, as it reads yours.

Every Pro part is open here. A free reading of this CV would hide 4 skill names and 1 finding. See Pro plans

A sample keeps nothing about you and runs no AI.

The reading The advert

Hard skills

UP TO +35 POINTS

What we check and why

The skills this advert asks for, and how often your CV names them. They carry most of your match rate. Each gain is our scorer re-run on your CV with that one change.

Skills are 70 of your match rate's 100 points.

Tip: Balance sheet moves your match rate most: +6 points if your CV shows it, only if you have it.

SkillThis CVThe advertAdverts for the role
ACCA Missing 1 No figure
+8 points if this CV shows it · only if you have it · counted under Credentials
Balance sheet Missing 1 No figure
+6 points if this CV shows it · only if you have it
Variance analysis Missing 1 No figure
+6 points if this CV shows it · only if you have it
Finance systems Missing 1 No figure
+6 points if this CV shows it · only if you have it
2 more issues to fix and 6 more skills this CV shows , ShowHide
SkillThis CVThe advertAdverts for the role
Sage Missing 1 No figure
+6 points if this CV shows it · only if you have it
Forecasting Missing 1 No figure
+4 points if this CV shows it · only if you have it
CIMA 4 1 No figure
Management accounts 3 1 No figure
Accruals and prepayments 2 1 No figure
Month-end close 3 1 No figure
Journals 4 1 No figure
Excel 3 1 No figure

All of them together: 65% to 100%. Gains overlap: the skills share the 70 skill points, so they do not simply add up.

Credentials

IMPORTANT

What we check and why

The licences, cards, registrations and clearances the advert names or the role usually asks for, and whether your CV says them.

Credentials the advert names count in your match rate.

Tip: Start with "The advert asks for ACCA": +8 points if your CV shows it, only if you hold it.

Asked in the advert

What we check and why

These are named in the advert. The ones that are also among its skills count in your match rate.

  • Needs a fix

    The advert asks for ACCA; your CV does not say you hold it. If you hold it, put it near the top: 'ACCA <member / affiliate / studying>, <year>'. Only if you hold it. See it in the advert

    +8 points if this CV shows it · only if you have it
  • Pass

    Your CV says CIMA, which the advert asks for.

Nothing to fix

Searchability

All good , ShowHide

Agencies load your CV into their systems and recruiters search it by keyword. This is how well yours reads in that process. Only the job title match counts in your score here: it earns 15 points.

Contact details

What we check and why

We look for an email address and a phone number in the body of the page. Some agency systems skip page headers and footers, so contact details only there can be lost.

  • Pass

    Your email address and a UK mobile number are in the body of your CV, where agency systems read them.

  • Pass

    Your CV names a town or area near the top, so a recruiter searching by location can find you.

Headings

What we check and why

We look for a heading over your work history (such as Experience, Employment history, Contract history, Assignments or Placements). Agency systems file your roles under it.

  • Pass

    We found 5 standard section headings: Summary, Skills, Experience, Interests, Education. One of them heads your work history.

  • Pass

    Your CV has a profile or summary heading.

  • Pass

    Your CV has a heading for your qualifications (Education).

  • Pass

    Your CV has a Skills heading.

Job title match

What we check and why

We look for the advert's job title in the first line of your CV after your name and contact details, where our match rate gives 15 points for it, and anywhere in your CV, where a recruiter's search for the title would find it.

  • Pass

    Your CV uses the advert's title, "Management Accountant". We could not map this title to a role in our catalogue. Your CV earns the 15 title points in the match rate because the first line of your CV after your name and contact details names the same role as the advert's title.

Education match

What we check and why

We compare the level the advert asks for with the highest level your CV names, in RQF levels (SCQF in Scotland). "Or equivalent experience" in the advert means a miss is not a fix.

  • Your choice, not scored

    The advert names CIMA and ACCA. They are counted with your skills, and under Credentials where the advert's discipline checks them, so this part does not count them again. See it in the advert

Dates

What we check and why

We check that the date ranges in your work history use one format (for example "Mar 2021 - Present" throughout), so a system reads each role's dates the same way.

  • Pass

    Your 3 date ranges use one format (like "03/2021").

Acronyms

What we check and why

We check that a term the advert uses in full or as a short form appears on your CV both ways at least once (for example "Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS)"), so a search for either finds you.

  • Pass

    None of the advert's skills on your CV has a common short form, so there is nothing to pair.

Text we could read

What we check and why

We check that we could read the text of your file. A scanned page or a picture of text can come back empty to an agency system too.

  • Pass

    We read 355 words from your CV.

3 checks need the file: see What we could not check

Pay

Nothing to fix , ShowHide

The salary and terms as the advert states them. Does not change your match rate.

Salary as stated

  • This advert offers £45,000 - £50,000 per annum. We don't hold enough permanent adverts yet to compare this salary with the market.

Formatting

14 not checked , ShowHide

How the file itself is laid out: columns, fonts, images and page setup. Does not change your match rate.

14 checks need the file: see What we could not check

Parse view

All good , ShowHide

What an agency system reads from your CV file. Does not change your match rate.

Name

What we check and why

What an agency system reads from your CV file.

  • Pass

    Your name was read as a name.

Email

What we check and why

What an agency system reads from your CV file.

  • Pass

    Your email address was read.

Phone

What we check and why

What an agency system reads from your CV file.

  • Pass

    Your phone number was read.

Location

What we check and why

What an agency system reads from your CV file.

  • Your choice, not scored

    No town or postcode was read. Many CVs leave it out on purpose; recruiters often search by location.

Current job title

What we check and why

What an agency system reads from your CV file.

  • Pass

    Your current job title was read.

Roles

What we check and why

What an agency system reads from your CV file.

  • Pass

    3 roles were read with their dates.

Education

What we check and why

What an agency system reads from your CV file.

  • Pass

    Your education was read.

Skills

What we check and why

What an agency system reads from your CV file.

  • Pass

    Skills were read in your roles as well as your list.

Section headings

What we check and why

What an agency system reads from your CV file.

  • Pass

    Your section headings were recognised.

1 not checked: see What we could not check

Screening questions

Nothing to check , ShowHide

Screening questions this advert's terms imply. Does not change your match rate.

On-site days

What we check and why

Screening questions this advert's terms imply.

  • Your choice, not scored

    On-site days

Salary cap

What we check and why

Screening questions this advert's terms imply.

  • Your choice, not scored

    Salary cap

Where this CV goes

Nothing to check , ShowHide

The system the advert's own link points to, where we can tell. Does not change your match rate.

AI review and opener

Your own reading adds an AI review and a paste-ready opener, written only from your CV and labelled as AI. A sample never runs the AI.

What we could not check

Left out of the bars and never counted against this CV.

  • Length

    Not checked We cannot count pages in pasted text. Your word count is checked under Word count.

  • File name

    Not checked A pasted CV has no file name to check.

  • Reading order

    Not checked We could not check the reading order from a pasted CV.

  • File checks

    Not checked We read pasted text, so these file checks did not run:

    • File type
    • Single column
    • No tables
    • No text boxes
    • Photo and images
    • Text alignment
    • Number of fonts
    • Standard fonts
    • Body text size
    • Bold text
    • Text colour
    • Page header
    • Page footer
    • Margins
    • Page size

The sample CV (Riley Sample, fictional)

, ShowHide
  1. Line 1Riley Sample
  2. Line 2Assistant Management Accountant
  3. Line 3riley.sample@example.com | 07700 900633 | Stockport SK4
  4. Line 4
  5. Line 5Profile
  6. Line 6CIMA (in the advert and the CV) part-qualified assistant management accountant with five years in manufacturing and distribution finance teams. I run month-end close (in the advert and the CV), reconciliations and journals (in the advert and the CV), and prepare the management accounts (in the advert and the CV) pack for the finance director. I enjoy turning ledgers into reports people outside finance can use, and I am studying for the CIMA (in the advert and the CV) management level. I am looking for a permanent role where I can take on more of the reporting and learn planning from an experienced finance team.
  7. Line 7
  8. Line 8Skills
  9. Line 9Month-end close (in the advert and the CV), management accounts (in the advert and the CV), reconciliations, journals (in the advert and the CV), accruals and prepayments (in the advert and the CV), purchase ledger, Excel (in the advert and the CV) (pivot tables, lookups), Xero
  10. Line 10
  11. Line 11Experience
  12. Line 12
  13. Line 13Assistant Management Accountant, a manufacturing company, 05/2023 - 09/2026
  14. Line 14- Prepared the monthly management accounts (in the advert and the CV) pack for a £40m turnover business.
  15. Line 15- Ran month-end close (in the advert and the CV) for 3 entities, including journals (in the advert and the CV), accruals and prepayments (in the advert and the CV).
  16. Line 16- Completed control account reconciliations every month and cleared 60 old items.
  17. Line 17- Built an Excel (in the advert and the CV) model of stock and work in progress that the auditors used at year-end.
  18. Line 18- Answered questions from site managers on their cost centre reports each month.
  19. Line 19- Reviewed overhead spend with 6 budget holders and wrote the notes for the board pack.
  20. Line 20- Set up a monthly checklist for the close that cut the timetable from 8 working days to 6.
  21. Line 21
  22. Line 22Assistant Accountant, a distribution business, 08/2021 - 04/2023
  23. Line 23- Posted journals (in the advert and the CV) and ran bank reconciliations in Xero.
  24. Line 24- Processed the purchase ledger for 400 suppliers and ran the weekly payment run.
  25. Line 25- Built Excel (in the advert and the CV) reports with pivot tables for the operations team.
  26. Line 26- Helped move the chart of accounts to a new structure without a late close.
  27. Line 27- Reconciled supplier statements each month and agreed disputed balances with 20 key suppliers.
  28. Line 28
  29. Line 29Finance Assistant (placement year), a housing association, 07/2019 - 07/2020
  30. Line 30- Matched invoices to purchase orders and chased missing approvals.
  31. Line 31- Kept the fixed asset register up to date.
  32. Line 32- Prepared the monthly rent arrears report for the income team.
  33. Line 33- Supported the year-end audit by pulling samples and answering auditor queries.
  34. Line 34
  35. Line 35Interests
  36. Line 36Five-a-side football and cooking for friends.
  37. Line 37
  38. Line 38Education
  39. Line 39CIMA (in the advert and the CV) management level, studying, exams in 2027
  40. Line 40CIMA (in the advert and the CV) Certificate in Business Accounting, 2021
  41. Line 41BA (qualification) Business Studies, 2:1, University of Salford, 2021

Fictional advert Fictional advert, made for this sample: there is nowhere to apply.

The advert, as we read it

Select a marked skill to see if this CV shows it.

Management Accountant - Permanent Manchester (hybrid) | £45,000 - £50,000 per annum (Pay and terms as stated) | Full time, permanent A growing manufacturing group in Manchester is looking for a Management Accountant to join its finance team. The role - Prepare monthly management accounts (Skills this CV shows) and commentary for the board. - Lead month-end close (Skills this CV shows), including journals (Skills this CV shows), accruals and prepayments (Skills this CV shows). - Budgeting and forecasting (Skills this CV does not show) with the operations managers. - Variance analysis (Skills this CV does not show) against budget and forecast. - Balance sheet reconciliations (Skills this CV does not show). About you - CIMA (Skills this CV shows) or ACCA (Skills this CV does not show) qualified, or finalist. - Strong Excel (Skills this CV shows) skills. - Experience of Sage (Skills this CV does not show) or a similar finance system (Skills this CV does not show). - Clear communication (Soft skills) with non-finance managers.

See this for your own CV

Upload your CV and the advert you want.

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