PIKA RESUME — STATE OF RESUMES MEDIA ANGLE
Angle ID: job-specific-matching
Title: General scoring and job-specific matching measure different things
Audience: Job-search, HR technology, and careers desks

Snapshot timestamp: 2026-10-31T13:01:14.138Z
Methodology reviewed: September 12, 2026 (2026-09-12)
Coverage: 2026-05-04T14:21:44.032Z to 2026-10-31T13:01:06.870Z
Unit of analysis: successful_ats_diagnostic_scan; repeat scans may be included.
Eligible scans are completed Pika diagnostics scored 1–100, non-deleted and non-watermarked. Counts are not one unique person, document, application, or outcome. Repeat scans and document or job-description variants may be included.
Minimum reportable sample: 30 scans. Rates, averages, and profiles below this floor are withheld.

CITATION-READY FINDING
0.5% of all 226,923 successful scans included a supplied job description. Separately, 1,121 successful JD scans had a keyword score; their average Pika keyword-match score was 65/100.

EVIDENCE
- Supplied-JD usage: 0.5% of all 226,923 successful scans, rounded as published; its exact numerator is not published.
- Average keyword-match score: 65/100 across 1,121 JD scans with a keyword score.

METRIC-SPECIFIC DENOMINATORS
- Supplied-JD usage (0.5%): all 226,923 eligible successful scans. The exact supplied-JD numerator is not published.
- Average keyword-match score (65/100): the 1,121 successful scans with a supplied JD and keyword score.

PUBLIC JSON SOURCE FIELDS
- aggregateData.keywordGap.sampleSize
- aggregateData.keywordGap.scansWithJdPct
- aggregateData.meta.totalAnalyzed
- aggregateData.keywordGap.avgKeywordMatchScore

LIMITATIONS
Supplied-JD usage describes successful Pika scans, not how often all jobseekers tailor applications. The keyword-score sample is a scored subset, not necessarily every scan with a supplied JD; the exact supplied-JD count is not published. Keyword matching does not measure callbacks or hiring outcomes.
Section and check-profile metrics use the latest eligible successful scans, capped at 10,000; the published sample for each metric is its relevant denominator. The checks profile further requires all eight canonical checks.
Self-selected successful Pika ATS diagnostic scans; repeat scans and variants may be included, so counts are not unique people, documents, or applications. The data is not representative of every applicant, employer, or ATS.
Pika diagnostic scores and flags do not measure employer rejection, callbacks, interviews, or hiring outcomes. No country- or role-specific result is claimed.
Scores reflect the Pika rubric in use when each scan ran. Until scoring versions are stored with historical results, score trends are product telemetry and must not be treated as comparable evidence of labour-market change.
Published percentages are rounded; zero displayed percentages must not be interpreted as exact zero counts.

EDITORIAL ASK
Explain this feature-usage subgroup, not how often all jobseekers tailor their resumes.

CITATION
Pika Resume. “Resume Statistics & ATS Score Benchmarks 2026: The State of Resumes.” Updated October 31, 2026. Aggregate dataset of 226,923 successful Pika ATS diagnostic scans. https://pikaresume.com/state-of-resumes

SOURCE AND ASSETS
Study: https://pikaresume.com/state-of-resumes
JSON: https://pikaresume.com/state-of-resumes/data.json
CSV: https://pikaresume.com/state-of-resumes/data.csv
Chart: https://pikaresume.com/state-of-resumes/charts/job-specific-matching.svg
Methodology: https://pikaresume.com/research-methodology

PUBLISHER DISCLOSURE
Pika Resume publishes this first-party product-diagnostic dataset and sells resume tools. This is not an independent audit of employer ATS systems.
Media contact: support@pikaresume.com
Refresh the public snapshot and verify the exact recipient, wording, and channel before any approved outreach.