CASE STUDY

How Ahmed Fixed a Resume That Scored 38/100 on ATS

Graphic Designer at Freelance & Agency

Graphic Design & Branding•Audit Completed in Under 5 Minutes

Before CVPanda

ATS Scan Score

38/100

Deep Scan Score

53/100

ATS Compliance

8/100

Bullet Quantification

0/100

After CVPanda

ATS Scan Score

79/100

Deep Scan Score

76/100

ATS Compliance

72/100

Bullet Quantification

65/100

The Problem

Ahmed is a graphic designer with experience in branding, visual identity, and creative direction across agencies and freelance work. His resume was heavy on graphics — Photoshop and Illustrator were his tools of choice, and his resume reflected that. The problem? ATS systems couldn't read most of it, and the content that was readable lacked the metrics recruiters need to verify impact.

Links to LinkedIn and Behance were plain text, not clickable — ATS systems couldn't validate or follow them

Resume relied heavily on graphics to showcase his design background — experience and skills were embedded within images that ATS systems cannot parse

ATS compliance scored 8 out of 100 — contact details were presented as a block of plain text, phone number wasn't in international format, and email wasn't clickable

Zero quantified metrics in bullet points — claims like "EGP 80M+ pipeline impact" had no supporting KPIs, conversion rates, or ROI figures

No education or certifications section found — a major ATS penalty that cost him 8 points on its own

Focused on reflecting his creative design sense through visuals rather than clearly documenting measurable achievements and campaign outcomes

What CVPanda Found

Ahmed ran his resume through both CVPanda's ATS Scan and Deep Scan. The ATS Scan scored 38/100, flagging 16 specific issues across formatting, links, and content. The Deep Scan scored 53/100, revealing that while his brand-building experience was strong, it was buried under vague phrasing and zero quantified metrics.

ATS Scan: 38/100 — 16 Issues Flagged

The scan detected: contact block presented as plain text reducing parsing accuracy, LinkedIn and Behance URLs not clickable, phone number not in international format, no education or certifications section, inconsistent spacing between sections, and soft skills like "leadership" and "team building" dominating the skills list without substantiation.

Deep Scan: ATS Compliance at 8/100

The score breakdown revealed the root cause: ATS compliance scored just 8 out of 100. The resume's graphic-heavy format meant most content wasn't properly structured for automated parsing. While industry clarity scored 6/10 and title progression scored 4/10, these strengths were invisible to ATS systems.

Zero Bullet Quantification

Bullet quantification scored 0/100. The Deep Scan flagged: "No marketing metrics (reach, leads, ROI) in achievements" and "Agency role lists clients served without campaign KPIs." Claims like scaling a client base from 0 to 9 accounts lacked conversion metrics, revenue impact, or retention rates.

Missing Modern Design Stack

CVPanda identified critical missing skills for his target roles: Figma, prototyping tools (InVision/Principle), motion graphics (After Effects), UI/UX fundamentals, and design systems knowledge. His skills section listed only traditional tools like Photoshop and Illustrator without modern equivalents.

Rebuilt with Structured Content

Moved all content from graphics to parsable text. Added education section. Converted plain-text links to proper URLs with protocol. Restructured contact block for ATS parsing. Replaced vague bullets with metric-driven achievements following CVPanda's suggestions.

Added Quantified Achievements

Followed CVPanda's specific recommendations: "Grew agency client portfolio from 0 to 9 accounts in 4 months" with added conversion metrics, "Developed brand strategy for F&B venture acquired within 18 months" with valuation context, and "Coordinated offline campaigns reaching over 50k prospects" with lead generation outcomes.

Deterministic Results

These are measurements from CVPanda's own audit system — reproducible, verifiable outcomes. We don't promise interviews — that depends on experience and market conditions. But we can prove the resume is now technically ready for ATS screening and presents verifiable achievements.

ATS Scan Score

38 → 79

From failing to passing on CVPanda audit

ATS Compliance

8 → 72

From unreadable to fully parsable format

Bullet Quantification

0 → 65

From zero metrics to measurable achievements

Time Invested

~3 hours

5 min audit + 3 hours rebuilding content

Key Takeaways for Creative Professionals

Graphics-heavy resumes are ATS blind spots

Ahmed's resume was a design showcase. But ATS systems parse plain text, not pixels. His ATS compliance scored 8/100 because experience, skills, and achievements were embedded in images. If your content isn't in parsable text, it doesn't exist to automated screening.

Plain-text links are not clickable links

Ahmed's LinkedIn and Behance URLs were visible to humans but flagged by CVPanda as non-functional for ATS. URLs must include the protocol (https://) and be actual hyperlinks — not just text that looks like a URL. ATS systems and recruiters both need clickable links.

Zero quantified metrics is a dealbreaker

Bullet quantification scored 0/100. Claims like "grew client base" and "EGP 80M+ pipeline" had no supporting evidence. CVPanda recommended specific rewrites: add conversion rates, include campaign ROI, and provide timeframes. Every achievement should answer: how much, how many, by when?

Missing sections carry heavy ATS penalties

No education section cost Ahmed 8 points on the ATS scan alone. ATS systems expect standard sections: Contact, Summary, Experience, Education, Skills, Certifications. Missing any of these triggers automatic penalties regardless of how strong the rest of the resume is.

Your portfolio shows design — your resume shows impact

Creative professionals often use the resume itself to demonstrate aesthetics. But recruiters need to see business impact: revenue influenced, clients acquired, brands launched, efficiency gained. Link to your portfolio for design proof — use the resume for measurable outcomes.

"I was shocked when CVPanda showed my ATS compliance was 8 out of 100. I'd spent years making my resume look incredible — it was my best design work. But the scan showed that most of what I'd built was invisible to the systems actually screening me. The hardest part was accepting that a simpler format would serve me better. My ATS score went from 38 to 79 after rebuilding."

Ahmed Mekkawy

Graphic Designer

February 8, 2026

Verified on Trustpilot

“I have 10 years of experience working at large companies, but recently I noticed I wasn't getting any replies to the emails I sent with my CV. I honestly thought my CV was already good — I even tested it with several AI tools and kept getting decent scores. When I tried CV Panda, I expected another high score… but instead, the app asked me a lot of detailed questions and pointed out important things I hadn't included. It didn't just rewrite content — it guided me on what to write and where each piece of information should go. This isn't just an AI writing tool or a CV template generator. It feels like an HR professional reviewing and coaching you step by step. After applying the feedback, my CV improved significantly, my score went up, and I've already started seeing real results from those changes.”

Ahmed Mekawy

Posted onTrustpilot

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