CV Score Statistics: What 3,277 CVs Show
Each month we publish here what our free CV Score tool picks up in the CVs it checks. This edition covers 3,277 CVs submitted from 1 October 2026 to 31 October 2026. The figures come from our own data, and the method at the bottom of the page explains how we counted them.
This is the October 2026 edition, published on 3 November 2026. Its figures are fixed and won't be revised.
Key Figures
Share of the 3,277 CVs checked from 1 October 2026 to 31 October 2026. For quantified results, only the CVs that check applies to are counted.
How Scores Are Spread
| Under 50 | 1.7% |
| 50 to 79 | 54.3% |
| 80 and over | 44.0% |
Scores out of 100, across 3,277 CVs.
Median Score by CV Language
Median score out of 100, by the language each CV is written in.
| English | 80/100 | n = 400 |
| French | 78/100 | n = 2,155 |
| Spanish | 77/100 | n = 688 |
Languages with fewer than 30 CVs in this edition aren't shown.
The Checks CVs Fail Most
Share of CVs failing each check, highest first. A partial pass, which the tool shows as a warning, counts as a fail.
No LinkedIn URL, or fewer than four of these five: name, email, phone, city or country, LinkedIn.
n = 3,277
By CV language: Spanish 75.0% (n = 688); French 68.8% (n = 2,155); English 47.3% (n = 400). The overall figure shifts with each month's language mix, so the language figures are more reliable for comparing two editions.
Too few or too many skills listed. For experienced candidates the target is 8 to 15, with lower ranges for students and graduates.
n = 3,277
Fewer than two of the three most recent roles include a figure, such as a percentage, an amount or a headcount (one role is enough for graduates, and student CVs always pass).
n = 3,166: trades CVs aren't scored on this check
No summary, or one that isn't three to five sentences long.
n = 3,277
At least one phrase from our list of overused CV wording, such as "results-driven" or "team player".
n = 3,277
At least one of the five core sections is missing: contact details, summary, experience, education or skills.
n = 3,277
Fewer than three roles (or not all of them, when the CV lists under three) have a description of at least 50 characters.
n = 3,277
| Contact details | 67.5% | n = 3,277 | No LinkedIn URL, or fewer than four of these five: name, email, phone, city or country, LinkedIn. |
| Skills section | 63.6% | n = 3,277 | Too few or too many skills listed. For experienced candidates the target is 8 to 15, with lower ranges for students and graduates. |
| Quantified results | 56.3% | n = 3,166 | Fewer than two of the three most recent roles include a figure, such as a percentage, an amount or a headcount (one role is enough for graduates, and student CVs always pass). |
| Summary | 50.4% | n = 3,277 | No summary, or one that isn't three to five sentences long. |
| Overused phrases | 16.2% | n = 3,277 | At least one phrase from our list of overused CV wording, such as "results-driven" or "team player". |
| Section structure | 12.8% | n = 3,277 | At least one of the five core sections is missing: contact details, summary, experience, education or skills. |
| Experience descriptions | 12.7% | n = 3,277 | Fewer than three roles (or not all of them, when the CV lists under three) have a description of at least 50 characters. |
Since 10 September 2026
Five checks were scored the same way throughout, so we can count them across the whole period: 4,993 CVs checked from 10 September 2026 to 31 October 2026. Share of CVs failing each check, highest first.
n = 4,993
n = 4,993
n = 4,993
n = 4,993
n = 4,993
| Skills section | 63.3% | n = 4,993 |
| Summary | 52.2% | n = 4,993 |
| Overused phrases | 17.0% | n = 4,993 |
| Experience descriptions | 14.0% | n = 4,993 |
| Section structure | 13.2% | n = 4,993 |
Scores and the quantified results check aren't pooled, because the way quantified results are detected changed on 1 October 2026. Contact details isn't pooled either, because that figure moves with the language mix of each month.
How We Measured This
This edition covers every CV run through our free CV Score tool from 1 October 2026 at 00:00 to 1 November 2026 at 00:00 UTC for which a score was saved: 3,277 CVs, whether or not the person went on to create an account. We count checks, not people, so a CV checked twice counts twice. The statistics only use the score and the pass or fail result of each check, never the text of the CV, a name or contact details.
Each CV gets a score out of 100 from eight checks: format, section structure, contact details, quantified results, skills, experience descriptions, overused phrases and summary. The score uses all eight. The list of checks above leaves out format (multi-column layouts) while we confirm how reliable that detection is. Trades CVs aren't scored on quantified results, and that weight moves to experience descriptions.
CVs checked before 10 September 2026 aren't included, because we changed the scoring rules at the start of that month and older scores aren't comparable. From October 2026 each edition covers one calendar month, and past editions stay online at their own address with their figures unchanged. On 1 October 2026 we also changed how the quantified results check spots figures in a CV, so that check, and the scores it feeds, aren't comparable between the September edition and the editions from October onwards.
These are CVs from people who chose to check them with us, and the mix of languages follows who uses the tool (see the sample sizes above), so the figures describe that group rather than every job seeker. We publish aggregates only: no figure here rests on fewer than 30 CVs, and nothing identifies a person, an employer or a job ad.
How to Cite This Data
You're welcome to quote these figures. Please name Personal Job Coach as the source, with the edition and a link to the page:
Personal Job Coach, "CV Score Statistics", October 2026 edition, https://personaljobcoach.com/cv-score-stats/2026-10
- Permanent link to this edition:
- CV Score Statistics, October 2026 Edition
- Latest edition, updated monthly:
- CV Score Statistics, Latest edition
All Editions
- October 2026 Edition (3,277 CVs)
- September 2026 Edition (1,615 CVs)
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