1. The promise, and the one rule
TraceScout helps you get from a resume to an interview room without ever saying something about you that is not true.
Every score, every tailored resume, every cover letter and every interview answer TraceScout produces is built only from lines you have read and confirmed as true. That confirmation is called attesting. Nothing is added, rounded up, or strengthened. When TraceScout cannot say something truthfully, it refuses and tells you why, rather than guessing.
- Invent a skill, a tool, a date, a number or an achievement that your attested lines do not state.
- Apply for a job on your behalf, fill in an employer's form, or submit anything. Applying is always your own action.
- Feed you answers during a live interview.
- Show a score it cannot explain. Every score comes with a plain reason.
- Store anything from the free resume check, or keep a file the browser extension captures.
- Use your data to train AI models. Your data is stored in Canada.
2. The seven steps at a glance
The rail on the left of every page shows these seven stations. A tick means done; the lit station is where you are.
| Station | What happens | Roughly how long |
|---|---|---|
| Tell us what you are looking for | Country of search, target roles, seniority | Two minutes |
| Upload your resume | PDF, Word or LinkedIn export becomes numbered lines | About a minute |
| Confirm every line | Edit anything untrue, then attest | Five to ten minutes, once |
| See your matches | Real roles scored against your attested lines | Within minutes, then ongoing |
| Tailor and apply | A verified tailored resume and letter per role | Under two minutes each |
| Track your application | Board of every role you applied for | Ongoing |
| Prepare for the interview | Pack, practice, mock interview, 30 60 90 plan | Under ten minutes to build |
3. Getting in: free check, account, phone app
The free resume check (no account)
At /check you can upload a resume and see whether TraceScout can read it before you sign up. It reports the file type, page count, how many lines it found, and shows the first lines it read. Nothing is saved. If you then press Create my account, the same file is waiting on your Upload step.
Creating an account
Full name, email, password. Your resume stays yours; every line needs your attestation before anything uses it. You choose your country of search on the next screen.
Installing TraceScout on your phone
TraceScout works as an app with no app store. On the home page, the card Add TraceScout to your phone installs it (Android and desktop Chrome: press Install; iPhone: Share, then Add to Home Screen). Installed, it opens from an icon, remembers where you were, and stays readable when you are offline.
4. Step 1: Tell us what you are looking for
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Country of search | Which country's postings you see. Canada also switches on NOC codes and the Express Entry level chip. |
| Target roles | Short phrases such as service desk analyst. Postings whose titles carry these words rank first. Leave empty to see everything in your country. |
| Seniority | Used by the scoring model as context, never as a hard filter. |
| Preferred location (optional) | A city or region. The scoring model weighs it as context and may mention it in a match rationale; it never hides postings. |
| Minimum acceptable salary (optional) | A salary floor. Weighed by the scoring model as context, like seniority; never a hard filter. |
| Email me a daily digest of new matches | One email at 08:30 on days when new roles score 60 or above for you. Nothing on quiet days. Off means no email. |
| Save preferences | Saves, and asks the matcher to look again. |
5. Step 2: Upload your resume (or your LinkedIn export)
- Choose File. PDF, Word (.docx) or your LinkedIn data export (.zip).
- Upload. A new version is created every time. Reading takes about a minute; the page updates on its own.
- The version row shows Parsed when TraceScout has turned it into lines, or Could not read with a short reason.
6. Step 3: Confirm every line and attest
This is the step that makes everything else trustworthy. Read each line as an employer would.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Edit | Correct a line before you attest. Only true lines belong here. Save keeps the change, Cancel discards it. |
| Ask someone to confirm this | Rest your mouse on a line and this link appears under it. It sends a link to a former manager or colleague who can confirm that one line is true; their answer travels with your verified resume. |
| Every line above is true | Attests this version. Attested lines are what every score, tailored resume, letter and interview pack are built from. Lines cannot be edited after this; upload a new version to make changes. |
7. Step 4: See your matches
Within minutes of attesting, real postings in your country are scored against your attested lines. Every card carries a score and a one line reason.
Reading a match card
- Score (0 to 100). 50 and above is shown as ready. Below that, the card sits under the line "these roles are a weaker match".
- Reason line. One sentence in plain words about why the score is what it is.
- NOC line (Canada). NOC code, official occupation title and TEER level, shown once the posting has been tagged; new postings are tagged nightly. A teal Express Entry level chip appears for TEER 0 to 3, the level Express Entry programs generally require. It is a starting point, not immigration advice.
- Source. Which board or employer the posting came from, or Supplied by you for postings you added.
Controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| NOC code | Filters your matches to one occupation code. All codes is the default. |
| Tailor my resume for this role | Rewrites your attested resume for this posting, verified line by line. Nothing new is invented. Usually under two minutes. |
| Generate cover letter | Writes a cover letter from your attested resume for this posting, checked claim by claim. Usually under two minutes. |
| Dismiss / Restore | Hides a role, or brings it back from the dismissed filter. |
| View the posting | Opens the original posting in a new tab. |
| I applied | Adds the role to your applications tracker. |
| Tailor for a posting you found | Paste any posting (link, title, employer, location, text). It is saved as yours, scored within a minute, and can be tailored like any match. The browser extension fills this form with one click. |
8. Step 5: Tailor and apply
The tailored resume page
Every line of the tailored resume traces to your attested lines. The integrity strip at the top counts them: reworded, merged, unchanged, and title mapped. Chips down the right edge mark each changed line.
| Mark | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Reworded | One attested line rephrased to match the posting's language. Same facts. |
| Merged | Two or more attested lines combined. |
| Title mapped | A job title from another country rendered as its Canadian equivalent, with your original title kept in parentheses, only when your attested duties support it. |
| Verified banner | Which attested version this was verified against, and when. If a newer attested version exists, the page says so and you can tailor again. |
| Show all sources | Shows the attested lines behind every tailored line. |
Downloading and sharing
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Download PDF / Download Word | Downloads the tailored resume. Word files can be edited. |
| Layout | Classic is the standard look. Compact fits more on one page. Plain uses Times in black only for the most conservative employers. |
| Enable sharing | Creates a private verification link that shows this resume with its verification to anyone who has the link. You see every open (count and last date). |
| Get a new link | Replaces the link; the old one stops working. |
| Turn off sharing | The link stops working immediately. |
| Apply on the original posting | Opens the employer posting. You apply; TraceScout never does. |
The coverage report
Below the document, What this posting asks for splits the posting into two columns: evidenced by your attested resume, each point tied to real lines, and not evidenced, the honest gaps. The page says it plainly: closing them in real life is the only way TraceScout will ever show them as evidence. The not evidenced list is carried into your interview pack.
The cover letter
Written from your attested resume and this posting, then checked claim by claim. Same refusal rule. Generate again writes a fresh letter; Download PDF or Download Word saves it to send with your application.
9. Step 6: Track your application
The Applications page is a board with five columns: Applied, Interview, Offer, Hired, Closed. Drag a card, or use the status dropdown; both do the same thing. A List view shows the same applications as full cards, one under the other.
- Each card shows the role, employer, the date it entered its column, how many times your shared link was opened, and whether readers said the verified banner made it more credible.
- A card in Applied for seven days with no opens shows a quiet nudge to follow up.
- Moving a card into Interview builds an interview pack for that role automatically.
- Notes are private to you. Add an application records a role you applied for outside TraceScout.
10. Step 7: Prepare for the interview
The interview pack
The pack opens with a readiness panel: questions practised, whether your latest attempt was grounded, whether it met all four criteria, and whether your latest spoken answers stayed within two minutes. It fills as you practise.
| Section | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Likely questions | What this employer is likely to ask, from the posting. Each has a Practise this pill. |
| Talking points | Your strongest attested facts for this role, each with its evidence line. |
| Honest gaps | The same gaps shown on your tailored resume, one by one. For each: the question they are likely to ask, what you can truthfully say, and, where nothing on your attested resume supports it, the line You cannot claim this yet. |
| Ask them | Questions worth asking the employer. |
Practising an answer
Press Practise this on any likely question, or open a question of your own. You can type your answer or speak it; when you speak, the browser writes a transcript, and you should read and correct the transcript before pressing Check, because speech recognition mishears names. The check reads your answer sentence by sentence against your attested resume: a sentence it can trace shows in teal, and a sentence it cannot trace is marked in amber with the nearest attested fact beside it, so you see exactly which claim went beyond your resume. It then assesses four criteria, each with a plain reason: grounded on your attested resume, answered the question, gave a specific example, stated a result. You get a count of how many were met, never a grade or a percent, and your words are never rewritten; the answer stays yours. A timer records how long the answer took, with your pace and a reminder that one to two minutes is the range interviewers expect. Every attempt is kept in your practice history, and the readiness panel fills as you practise.
Mock interviews
Start a mock interview runs a timed session through the pack's questions: typed or spoken, all questions in order or five at random. A clock counts each answer and turns amber past two minutes. Next submits the answer for checking and moves on, Skip leaves a question, Finish scores what you answered, End stops the session. The summary reports real counts: how many questions you answered, how many answers were fully on your attested resume, how many met all four criteria, and your times. Each row opens the full result for that answer, so you can retake the ones that stayed open. Every session is saved under Mock interviews with its counts and time, sessions ended early say so, and a session still in progress can be ended and its summary viewed.
Build a new pack clears the pack and builds a fresh one from your current attested resume, usually within minutes.
The 30 60 90 day work plan
On the Work plan tab of an Interview application, Build my plan writes a plan for this exact role in three phases: days 1 to 30 to learn, days 31 to 60 to contribute, days 61 to 90 to own. The plan itself is written in the first person, I and my, because it is yours to hand to the hiring manager; the coaching around it speaks to you. Every action is tied to a requirement in the posting and carries a Draws on note naming the attested facts behind it, or is marked New for you when nothing on your resume covers it yet, so the plan commits to actions rather than claiming experience. Nothing is asserted about the employer beyond the posting; unknowns go into a list of assumptions you will confirm with the manager, and the plan ends with questions worth asking and guidance on how to present it. Download it as a full plan or a one page version, each as PDF or Word; the Word copy exists because you will edit the plan after the manager corrects your assumptions. Build a new plan replaces the current one.
11. Versions and the Active version
Every upload is a version. Attestation is per version. One attested version drives your account at a time.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Version rows | Tap a parsed version to review it below. The reviewed row shows Reviewing. |
| Active | The version that drives matching, tailoring, cover letters, interview packs and work plans. By default this is your newest attested version. |
| Use this version | Makes that attested version the active one. New matches are scored against it. Useful when you keep two true resumes, for example a Canadian one and a home country one, or a resume and a LinkedIn export. |
| Use newest attested instead | Returns to letting the newest attested version drive everything. |
12. The browser extension
Save to TraceScout is a one button extension for Chrome and Edge, in final testing and coming to the Chrome Web Store. On any job posting, press it and TraceScout opens with the posting captured for you to check and save. Until it is in the store, use Tailor for a posting you found on the Matches page, which does the same job by paste.
- On a posting (Job Bank, LinkedIn, Indeed, Jobillico, an employer site), click the TraceScout icon in the toolbar, then Capture this posting.
- TraceScout opens the supply form with the link, title, employer and text filled, and a banner saying where it was captured from. Check the four fields.
- Press Save and open. The posting is scored against your attested resume within a minute, then you can tailor and write a letter for it.
13. The daily digest email
Every morning at 08:30, if new roles scored 60 or above for you in the last day, you get one email listing up to five of them with the score and the reason line, and a link to Matches. No email on quiet days, never the same email twice. Turn it off in Preferences.
14. Offline, waiting, and what the app tells you
- Waiting. Every wait (reading a resume, scoring, tailoring, writing a letter, building a pack) shows a card with the usual time. If it runs long, the card says so and tells you it is safe to leave the page.
- Offline. Installed on your phone, TraceScout stays readable without a connection. Anything that saves shows the message You are offline. This action needs a connection. Nothing is queued; press again when you are back online.
- New version. After an update, a bar offers Reload. Press it once.
- Tooltips. Hover or tap and hold any button to read what it does, how long it takes, and what it will not do.
15. When something looks wrong
| You see | What it means and what to do |
|---|---|
| Could not read | The file has no text layer or is corrupt. Upload the original document, not a scan or photo. |
| No matches yet | Either you have not attested, or nothing in your country matched your target roles. Check Preferences; widen target roles or leave them empty. |
| TraceScout declined to produce this tailored resume | The verifier could not confirm every line as true. Read the reason. Often a target role in Preferences is pulling in roles far from your attested experience. |
| A pack, plan or letter is taking longer than usual | Leave the page; it appears when ready. If it is still missing after an hour, use Send feedback. |
| A version shows Not attested but you expected it to drive matches | Only attested versions can be active. Review it, edit anything untrue, then attest. |
| The extension opens TraceScout but the form is empty | Reload the extension from chrome://extensions and try again; some sites block reading, in which case copy the posting text into the form. |
Send feedback (footer of every page) reaches a person. We read every message.
16. Words and marks you will see
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Attest / attested | You confirmed every line of a version is true. Only attested lines are used. |
| Verified | A tailored resume or letter whose every line was checked against your attested lines by an independent verifier. |
| Version | One upload. Versions are numbered; each has its own parse and attestation state. |
| Active version | The attested version currently driving your account. |
| Score | 0 to 100, how well a posting fits your attested lines, always with a reason. |
| Coverage report | On a tailored resume: what the posting asks for, split into evidenced by your resume and not evidenced. |
| Honest gaps | The not evidenced list, carried into your interview pack. |
| NOC and TEER | Canada's occupation code (five digits) and its training level (0 management to 5 entry). |
| Verification link | A private link that shows an employer your verified resume with its checks. You see every open. |
| Supplied posting | A posting you added yourself, by paste or by the extension. |
17. For recruiters, counsellors and career offices
You can use TraceScout today with no account at all, through the verification links your candidates share.
What a verification link proves
- Every line on the resume you are reading was attested as true by the candidate, on a specific version, on a specific date. The banner names both.
- Each changed line is marked. Reworded and merged lines trace to the attested lines behind them; Show all sources reveals them. A title mapped line keeps the candidate's original title in parentheses.
- Lines a former manager or colleague confirmed carry that confirmation.
- If the candidate replaces or turns off the link, it stops working. What you see is what they chose to show you now.
One thing you can do on the link
At the bottom of a shared resume, the question Did the verified banner change how you read this application? has one button. Pressing it tells the candidate that a reader found the verification credible. It is anonymous and it is the only thing the page records.
What TraceScout does not do, which matters to you
- It never applies on a candidate's behalf, never fills employer forms, and never feeds answers during an interview. Every application you receive through it is the candidate's own.
- It never invents a claim. A candidate cannot use it to inflate a resume; it refuses.
- It never shows you candidates who did not share with you.
What a recruiter workspace would add
Organization seats are planned for staffing firms, newcomer centres and career offices. The five things on the table, in the order we think you would value them:
- Verified shortlist. Candidates who share with you appear as a list: target role, NOC code, verification state, last attested date. Candidates opt in by sharing; nothing is scraped.
- Role brief. Paste a client's posting once; every candidate on your shortlist can tailor against it, giving you ten verified resumes for one role in an afternoon.
- Request a verified resume. Send a candidate outside TraceScout an invite; they sign up, attest and share back.
- Gap view. For a role brief, which coverage gaps recur across your shortlist, so you can tell the client honestly what the market has.
- Seat billing per recruiter, with published pricing, no hidden tiers and stated refund terms.