Chapter 9
The checklist, and how Fitread checks each point
Everything in this guide as one list to run before you apply, with the evidence behind each point and what Fitread checks for you CUK8. Where Fitread does not check something, we say so.
Before you send the file
| Check | Why | Fitread today |
|---|---|---|
| The file has real, selectable text, not a scan or picture | M1 FP4 | Fitread checks this Text we could read: reads the text out of your file and flags a PDF with so few words per page that it is mostly images. |
| Name, phone, email and town in the body, not only in the page header | M1 | Fitread checks this Contact details: in a Word file, flags an email or phone number that appears only in the header or footer. |
| Plain section headings | Our view | Fitread checks this Headings: looks for a recognised work-history heading and reports optional profile, skills and qualifications headings separately. |
| One column | B1 | Fitread checks this Single column: PDF page layout and Word column settings. |
| No tables | M1 | Fitread checks this No tables: Word files. Not detectable in a PDF. |
| No text boxes or shapes | M1 | Fitread checks this No text boxes: Word files. Not detectable in a PDF. |
| Month and year for every job, one format | PS13 PS14 | Fitread checks this Dates: flags date ranges written in more than one format. |
| A .docx or a text PDF, well under 5 MB | FP1 FP4 FP6 | Fitread checks this File type: passes PDF and Word; flags plain text. |
| A readable length | Our view | Fitread checks this Length: up to three pages when a file provides a page count. Word count: 350 to 1,300 words; a text-only input has no measured page count. |
Against the advert
| Check | Why | Fitread today |
|---|---|---|
| The advert's skills stated plainly, where you have them | WK2 AS1 TT1 B3 | Fitread checks this Skills: which of the advert's skills your CV shows and which it does not. This drives the match rate: 70 of 100 points for the advert's skills, 15 for the title, 15 for the advert's sector (granted whenever the advert has one), and each reading shows the sum. |
| The common title for the role near the top | CV1 CV2 | Fitread checks this Role title: whether your CV carries the advert's title or the role it maps to. |
| Full term and short form | Our view | Fitread checks this Acronyms: for advert skills your CV has, whether both forms appear. |
| Results with numbers, where true | Our view | Fitread checks this Measurable results. |
| No filler, no repetition | Our view | Fitread checks this Overused words, Repeated phrases, Weak openers. |
| Pay, and for contracts IR35, as the advert states them | CV1 GOV1 | Fitread checks this Pay as stated for every job type; for contracts, the day rate against the role's advertised median and middle half this month, with sample and month, and IR35 as stated or "not stated". Never on temp or permanent adverts. |
| Job level and advert facts match the work you describe | Our view | Fitread checks this Job level: reads role titles in your recent dated work and the advert's literal facts. Contract readings may add the advertised day-rate position and contract length when the sample supports them; temp and permanent readings keep their own stated facts. |
| The cards, registrations and licences the advert asks for | CUK4 | Fitread checks this Credentials: recognised credentials the advert asks for, compared with the CV, with issuer sources and an explicit unchecked state when the check cannot run. This does not verify a licence or registration. |
Outside the file
- Screening answers ready and true: right to work GOV2, clearance GOV3, DBS GOV4, availability, rate and IR35. Fitread does not check these.
- One email address for every agency and board B7. Not checked.
- Database profiles set to the right job types, pay basis, location and a recent activity date CV1 CV2. Not checked.
- Gaps between contracts given a short, true reason FP27. Not checked.
- Every auto-filled application field read before you submit FP8 FP16, and a plain-text copy ready for forms such as NHS Jobs FP24. Not checked.
- A new file sent to agencies when your CV changes B1. Not checked.
What Fitread will not do
- It never applies for you. On ContractorUK you apply yourself, through the advert's Apply button.
- It never claims to show an agency's or employer's own score. Its match rate is its own calculation, and each reading says how it was worked out.
- It never uses the "75% of CVs are rejected" figure, which has no source, or any other number without one (chapter 4).
- It never suggests adding experience, skills or credentials you do not have. Its AI writing is labelled as AI and is written only from your own CV.