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CV Diagnosis for the German Job Market

Before you send another application, it's worth knowing whether the document itself is the problem. A CV diagnosis checks your Lebenslauf against the two things that decide whether it gets read in Germany: whether applicant tracking software can parse it, and whether it matches the German standard a recruiter expects. You upload your CV and get a score across 14 checks, with a pass/fail breakdown of exactly what to fix.

In short

The diagnosis scores your CV across 14 checks in two layers: ATS parseability (50 points) and the German standard (50 points).
It's rule-based and deterministic — the same file always gets the same result — and it's free.
You need a free account to upload; results come back in under a minute.
It diagnoses the CV document only. If the CV is clean and you're still hearing nothing, the cause is usually eligibility, targeting, or timing instead.

Run your CV through the diagnostic

Free, 14 checks, results in under a minute. A free account is all it takes — no card.

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What a CV diagnosis actually checks

The diagnosis looks at your Lebenslauf from two angles. The first is machine readability: can an applicant tracking system (ATS) open the file and pull out a complete, correctly ordered picture of your career? The second is the German standard: does the document follow the format, order, and completeness a German recruiter expects to see?

Each layer is worth 50 points, for a total of 14 checks and 100 points. The scoring is entirely rule-based — there’s no model judging your CV, so the same file always produces the same score. It doesn’t rewrite your CV, assess your career, or predict your chances. It tells you, check by check, where the document falls short of a known standard.

ATS checks

These decide whether parsing software can read your CV at all. A CV that a human could skim fine can still be mangled or skipped by an ATS before anyone sees it.

The text is machine-readable — not a scanned image the parser can't extract.
No tables or multi-column layouts that parsers read out of order or drop entirely.
Standard German section headings (Berufserfahrung, Ausbildung) the parser can recognise.
An email address and/or phone number the parser can extract.
Clean character encoding — no garbled text from an unusual or embedded font.

For what specifically trips these up and how to fix the layout, see the ATS section of the German CV format guide.

German CV standards

These check whether the document reads as a proper Lebenslauf rather than a translated resume.

A photo is present (standard practice, though not legally required).
Personal details such as date of birth are included.
Berufserfahrung comes before Ausbildung, as expected for anyone with work history.
Entries run in reverse-chronological order, most recent first.
No unexplained gaps of more than three months between positions.
Dates are in MM.YYYY format, not year-only or spelled-out months.
The document is one to three pages.
No American resume clichés like “References available upon request” or “Career objective”.
Each role has a real description, not just a title and dates.

The format guide explains each of these rules, and the annotated example shows them applied to a real CV.

Common problems that weaken a CV

Most CVs that score badly fail on the same handful of points:

A graphic, single-column template that looks modern but parses poorly and reads as unfamiliar.
No personal-data block at all, which looks incomplete rather than streamlined.
Roles listed as a title and dates with no lines on what the work involved.
Vague language ratings (“German: intermediate”) instead of the CEFR levels (A1–C2) employers expect.
Year-only dates where MM.YYYY is the norm.
Silent gaps between roles or between graduation and the first job — the gap is fine, the silence isn't.

What happens after the check

You get a total score, the two sub-scores, and every check marked pass or fail with a short note on what was found in your file. From there you have two paths:

Fix it yourself. The guides cover every check — work through the fails and re-run the diagnosis to confirm.
Use the paid optimisation. For €49.99 one-time, the AI generates a corrected Lebenslauf draft — plus a matching Anschreiben and an optional Deckblatt — that you review and edit before downloading the package as one PDF.

The diagnosis stays free either way, and re-checking a revised CV doesn’t cost anything.

Who this is useful for

You have a CV or resume and you're about to apply for jobs in Germany.
You're converting a US or UK resume and want to confirm the conversion holds up.
You've sent applications and heard nothing, and want to rule the document out first.
You're not sure which of the German-format rules your CV already follows.

CV problems vs. broader job-search problems

A diagnosis only looks at the document. If your CV passes cleanly and you’re still not getting interviews, the cause is usually somewhere else: eligibility (qualification recognition, work authorisation, the required German level), targeting (wrong channels, no tailoring per role, no network), or timing (seasonal slowdowns, salary expectations, or simply not enough time passed).

For that wider diagnosis, see why you might not be getting interviews in Germany. Use the CV diagnosis to settle the document question first, then work through the rest.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to sign up?

Yes. Uploading a CV and getting your score needs a free account — there's no anonymous, no-signup version. The account and the diagnosis itself are free; you're not asked for a card.

Is the diagnosis actually free?

Yes. The 14-check score and the full pass/fail breakdown cost nothing, and you can re-check a revised CV as often as you want. Only the optional AI optimisation that generates a corrected draft is paid.

Is this an AI review of my CV?

No. The score is rule-based and deterministic — the same file always produces the same result. It checks concrete things like whether the text is machine-readable, whether the section headings are standard, and whether the dates are in MM.YYYY format. AI only comes in later, if you choose the paid optimisation.

What file format should I upload?

PDF. It preserves your layout across devices and is what both human recruiters and applicant tracking systems expect.

Will the diagnosis fix my CV for me?

No — on its own it only reports. You can act on the findings yourself using the guides, or use the paid optimisation (€49.99 one-time) to generate a corrected Lebenslauf draft, plus a matching Anschreiben and optional Deckblatt, that you review and edit before download.

Does a high score guarantee interviews?

No. A clean score means the document isn't what's holding you back. Getting interviews also depends on eligibility, targeting, and timing — see the guide on why applications go quiet in Germany for that wider picture.

See where your CV actually stands

Upload your Lebenslauf and get the free 14-check breakdown against the German standard — no guesswork about what to fix.

Start your free diagnosis