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.