Creating a new scan

Filling in a scan takes as long as it takes you to paste a job description. The scan itself typically takes a few seconds, and it runs while you wait.

Image coming soon

Step by step

1. Open the Create New Scan dialog from your scans page.
2. Pick a scan type. Smart Scan is selected for you, and Classic Scan is there if you would rather paste in resume text than use a resume held on SkillSyncer. See Should I use a Smart Scan or a Classic Scan? if you are weighing the two.
3. Fill in Job Details on the left. The subtitle states the point of it: "Paste the job posting so we can compare it against your resume."
   • Company is optional and is not scored.
   • Job title, for example Project Manager. Use the exact title from the posting, because it is matched as written.
   • Job description, pasted in from the posting.
4. Pick your resume on the right. Once you have chosen one, the footer restates it as "Scanning with your resume name", so you can confirm you picked the right one before spending a credit.
5. Press Create Scan.

Your report opens as soon as the scan finishes.

Get the job title right

The job title is worth 10 of the 100 points on its own, and it is all or nothing. If the exact title from the posting appears somewhere in your resume you get all 10, and if it does not you get 0. There is no partial credit, so copy the title across rather than paraphrasing it.

Get the job description right

Paste in only the parts that describe the work, which is what the form's own tip asks for: "Include only the responsibilities and qualifications sections of the job description for better results."

Company boilerplate, benefits lists, and equal opportunity statements add words that are not requirements, and every keyword we find in them becomes one more thing your resume is measured against. Trimming them is the difference between a score about the role and a score about the perks.

If you have no resume on SkillSyncer yet

Smart Scan handles this without a separate setup trip. It opens on an upload step, and while your resume is being read it tells you "You can start entering your job details while we process your resume," so the two happen at once rather than one after the other.

If the upload does not go through you will see Resume Processing Failed and a Try Again button. A smaller file or a different format usually goes through on the second attempt.

Before you press Create Scan

Each scan costs 1 scan credit regardless of type. If you are running low the form tells you before you commit, for example "You can still create a scan (1 left this week)." Premium accounts have unlimited scans, so the warning never appears.

Take the tour

The dialog has a Take a tour button in its footer that walks through the same form in place, including the Classic and Smart comparison. It is the quickest way to see the whole flow before you run one.