Question 1

Should I apply for a job if I do not meet all the requirements?

Accepted Answer

It depends entirely on which requirement you are missing, and that is the distinction most CV tools ignore. A missing keyword, a weak personal statement, or relevant experience buried on page two are presentation problems — a recruiter would hire you, but the CV is not making the case, and rewriting genuinely fixes that. A missing qualification, licence or registration is a different thing: if an advert says a full CeMAP qualification or an NMC registration is essential, no rewrite creates one, and applying now usually means being screened out regardless of how well the CV reads. The useful question is not "am I a 70% match" but "is the thing I am missing something writing can fix".

Question 2

What is a hard requirement on a job advert?

Accepted Answer

A hard requirement is one the employer uses to screen applications and that cannot be satisfied by rewriting your CV. In UK job adverts these are usually named qualifications (CeMAP, a Level 3 NVQ, QTS), professional registrations (NMC, HCPC, SIA), legal requirements (right to work, DBS clearance, an up-to-date Hepatitis B immunisation record), or an explicit minimum such as "at least three years in a supervisory role". Everything else — tools, sectors, soft skills, achievements — is usually a soft gap you can close by evidencing what you already have more clearly.

Question 3

How does this application review work?

Accepted Answer

You upload your CV and paste the job advert, and we extract every requirement the advert states and classify each one against your CV as met, a soft gap, or a hard gate. Each finding quotes the advert and your CV word for word — the quotes are located in your actual documents rather than generated, so if we cannot find a line we drop the claim instead of showing it. You then get one of four answers: apply, apply but not with this version of your CV, do not apply yet, or a question back if your CV genuinely does not say.

Question 4

Will you ever tell me not to apply?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and we will not charge you when we do. If the advert has a qualification gate you are on the wrong side of today, we say so, we do not offer to rebuild the application, and we do not add a qualification to your CV that you do not hold — in regulated work that kind of overstatement ends an application at interview instead of at screening. We will suggest what is actually worth doing: state exactly how far through a qualification you are, look at entry-level roles at the same employers, or come back when it is complete.

Question 5

Is the job application review free?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The review, the verdict and the quoted evidence are free and do not require an account. A paid rebuild is offered only when the application is actually worth rebuilding — when what stands between you and the role is how your CV presents your experience rather than a credential you do not yet hold.

Question 6

How is this different from an ATS score or CV checker?

Accepted Answer

An ATS checker scores how well your CV matches a job description, which is useful but does not answer whether to apply. A score cannot separate two applications that look identical on paper: in our own testing, one CV scoring 42 was worth rewriting and another scoring 48 was not, because the second had a qualification gate no rewrite could fix. This review classifies the requirements instead of scoring the overlap, which is why it can recommend against applying at all.

Question 7

Does this work for NHS and Civil Service applications?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and those are the applications where the distinction matters most. NHS adverts routinely list essential criteria that are genuine gates — NMC or HCPC registration, a specific band-level qualification, immunisation status, ALS or ILS certification — alongside desirable criteria that are not. Civil Service adverts do the same with behaviours and essential criteria. Treating both as one undifferentiated keyword list is exactly how strong candidates waste applications on roles they cannot be shortlisted for.

A rewrite fixes this	A rewrite cannot fix this
Missing keywords from the advert	A named qualification you do not hold
Relevant experience buried on page two	Professional registration (NMC, HCPC, SIA)
Job titles that undersell what you did	A licence the role legally requires
Achievements with no numbers attached	Holding a lower grade than the advert asks for
Skills you have but never stated	An explicit minimum years-of-experience floor

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