See your resume through a recruiter's eyes.
Recruiters decide in about 7 seconds. Watch a replay of that first look on your own resume — where their eyes land, what they take in, and the achievements they never reach.
Run the 7-second test
Upload the PDF you send to employers — we'll test your real design.
Drop your resume here
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How recruiters read resumes
Seven seconds, in an F-shape.
Eye-tracking research shows recruiters don't read — they scan. The test models the same habits, so you can design for them.
Across the top
Name, title and current role are read first. If your title isn't in the top third, it's often missed.
Down the left edge
The eye drops down the left margin, reading the first few words of each line.
Pulled by contrast
Bold text, numbers and short lines grab attention. Digits early in a bullet get read.
Skipping the dense
Long bullets, paragraphs and anything low on page one rarely get a first look.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a recruiter look at a resume?
Eye-tracking studies of recruiters found an average first look of about six to seven seconds before they decide whether to read on. In that time they check your name, current title and company, dates, and whatever stands out — numbers, bold text and the first words of each line.
How do recruiters read a resume?
In an F-shaped pattern: across the top (name, title), then down the left edge, reading the first few words of each line and jumping to anything that stands out. Long bullets, dense paragraphs and content low on the page are mostly skipped on the first look.
How does the Recruiter Eye Test work?
It lays your resume out the way it appears on page one and scores every line using rules from eye-tracking research — position on the page, left-to-right reading, size and boldness, numbers, the first bullets of each role, and penalties for long bullets and walls of text. It then replays a 7-second scan and shows what gets noticed and what gets missed. No AI is involved, and nothing leaves your browser.
Should I upload a PDF or a Word file?
Upload the PDF you actually send. The test then runs on your real design — fonts, columns and spacing. Word files, pasted text and builder resumes are shown in a standard single-column layout.
How is this different from an ATS checker?
An ATS checker tests whether software can read your resume. The eye test shows what a human recruiter takes in during the first glance. You need both: the ATS gets you into the pile, the first glance gets you read.