What a fit score actually tells you (and what it can't)

Any tool that scores your résumé against a job posting is answering one narrow question: how well does this document, as written, line up with that posting, as written. That's genuinely useful. It's also not a hiring decision, and treating it like one leads people astray in both directions.

What the number is good for

• Triage. When you're looking at ten postings, a score sorts them by where your evidence is strongest, before you spend an evening on the weakest.
• Finding silent gaps. A low coverage score usually means the posting asks for something your résumé never mentions: sometimes a real gap, often just a word you forgot to use.
• Checking the rewrite. Tailor, re-score, and you can see whether the edit actually moved the needle or just felt productive.

What it can't see

A score can't see that the hiring manager already likes you, that a referral is waiting, or that the posting is a wish list nobody meets. It can't tell whether the skills underneath the words are real. That part is yours. Use the number to protect your time, not to grade your worth.

A decent mental rule: high score, apply with confidence. Middling score, fix the coverage gaps you actually have and apply anyway if the role matters to you. Low score on a role you love, go find a human instead; a referral will do more than another rewrite.