How the PCG ATS Score works
A plain explanation of what is checked, how the points are given, and where AI and people come in.
The short version
You submit your CV, and optionally a job description. The system scores it out of 100 across six categories and runs 15 automated checks. You see that score straight away. A PCG recruitment specialist then reviews your submission and emails your full report within 24–48 hours.
The six categories
Each category has a fixed number of points. Together they make 100.
| Category | Points | What it checks |
|---|---|---|
| Document Integrity | 20 | Whether software can read your file: single or multiple columns, word count, contact details, and whether the text extracts cleanly. |
| Role Alignment | 25 | How well your CV evidence matches the requirements in the job description you add. Each requirement is matched to your CV and rated by how strong the evidence is, from directly evidenced to missing. |
| Achievement Quality | 20 | Whether your bullets show outcomes: numbers, scope, action verbs and results rather than a list of duties. |
| Career Clarity | 15 | Whether your career story is easy to follow: progression, unexplained gaps and consistent titles. |
| Completeness and Consistency | 10 | Dates, titles, contact details, education and certifications all present, and written consistently. |
| PCG Human Review | 10 | Awarded when a PCG recruitment specialist approves your report after reviewing your submission. |
Targeted and General scores
If you add a job description you get a Targeted score, where Role Alignment is checked against that role. If you do not, you get a General score. We cannot judge role fit without a role, so a neutral baseline is used for that category and everything else is scored on your CV alone. A Targeted score is the more useful of the two.
The 15 automated checks
Alongside the score, 15 automated checks look for problems such as hard-to-read layouts, missing contact details or unexplained gaps. Some are warnings. Serious ones can cap how high a score can go, and the report tells you why.
Where AI fits in
An AI service helps read the job description into a list of requirements and judge how well your CV evidence matches each one. The points themselves come from fixed scoring rules, not from the AI deciding a number. Your text is sent to the AI service when you submit; the page How we handle your CV explains where.
Where people fit in
Every submission is reviewed by a PCG recruitment specialist, who can approve the report, ask for changes or reject it. Approval awards the 10-point Human Review category, so your final score can differ from the instant one.
Every submission is reviewed by a People Connect Global recruitment specialist before your full report is emailed to you.
What the score is not
- It is PCG's own methodology. It is not a simulation of any ATS vendor's product.
- It does not guarantee interviews or offers. Hiring decisions depend on many things we cannot see.
- It cannot read a CV that is only an image or a scan. If that is your case, paste the text.
See your own score
It is free to use and takes a few minutes. Add a job description for a Targeted score.