OpenResume - Actually Free Resume Builder

Why Most Resume Builders Suck

Resume.io, Zety, and Canva are scams. They hook you with "free" templates then hold your resume hostage for $30/month. I got burned by Resume.io - spent 3 hours building a resume, then they wouldn't let me download it without paying. Fuck that.

OpenResume actually works. Free, no tracking, tests if ATS systems can read your resume. Runs in your browser so no servers dying at 2am when you need to submit something.

ATS Testing Saves Your Ass

Most resumes get auto-rejected before humans see them. I've watched ATS systems read "Software Engineer" as "Soft.ware Engi..neer" and reject perfectly good resumes.

OpenResume shows you what Greenhouse and Workday actually see when they scan your resume. Upload your current one and watch the parser completely fuck up your job titles.

I debugged a friend's Python job rejections - turns out the ATS was reading "Python" as his first name because of Unicode bullshit from copying text. Another time Workday parsed "React.js" as two skills: "React" and "js". You'd never know unless you test.

Simple React App That Works

React 18 + Next.js. Generates PDFs in your browser with react-pdf. No server bullshit that crashes at 2am.

No microservices, no Docker containers, no Kubernetes eating CPU. Just makes resumes that ATS systems can actually read. Unlike other tools that need 3 containers running just to export a PDF.

Everything runs in your browser. No servers to go down when you need it. Works offline - used it on a 6-hour flight once.

No Tracking Bullshit

Resume.io tracks everything. I checked their network tab - 47 different trackers. Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, sketchy ad networks nobody's heard of. They know your salary expectations and probably your dog's name.

OpenResume tracks nothing because there's nothing to track. No accounts, no cookies, no "we use cookies to improve your experience" while loading session recordings.

Data stays in localStorage. No servers, no database, no privacy policy needed. Works with JavaScript disabled (but then you can't export PDFs).

People Get Jobs With It

Friend rebuilt his resume with OpenResume and got past Meta's ATS. Same content, but this time it parsed correctly instead of getting auto-rejected.

Xitang built this after Zety held his resume hostage for $30. Been on GitHub 3 years, works because there's no backend to break.

How It Works (The Good and Bad)

Resume Builder Is Solid

Type stuff in, preview updates instantly. No 45-second timeouts with "PDF_GENERATION_ERROR" like Resume Genius. No spinning wheels of death.

One template, no choice paralysis. I've tested it on Greenhouse, Lever, Workday - all work fine. Spacing is consistent, fonts don't randomly change size, bullet points align properly.

Microsoft Word somehow fucks up basic formatting with its "smart" features. Google Docs exports PDFs with different margins than preview - learned that before an interview.

Parser Shows What ATS Actually Sees

Upload your resume and watch it get butchered. Mine read "Senior Software Engineer" as "Senior So ware Engi neer" because of invisible Unicode shit from copy-paste. Took an hour to debug.

Uses PDF.js like Firefox. When it fails, you see why. Usually fancy two-column designs break reading order, or text gets copied weird between apps.

Real ATS systems are even dumber. If OpenResume shows low confidence on contact info, Workday thinks your email is your job title.

PDF Import Sometimes Works

Simple Google Docs resumes import at 70-80% accuracy. You'll fix dates and bullet points manually - still beats retyping at 2am.

Two-column resumes become complete word salad. Parser reads left-to-right so education mixes with work experience. Once imported a resume where it thought my GPA was a phone number.

Tech Stack

React 18 + Next.js. PDF generation with react-pdf - way better than Puppeteer which ate 2GB RAM per PDF and crashed on long resumes.

No database, no backend. Static site that works offline. Loads fast, doesn't break when AWS goes down like LinkedIn's builder (got 502 error at midnight when I needed to submit something).

Clean repo. No monorepo bullshit, no 47 packages. Just npm install && npm run dev.

Running Locally

git clone https://github.com/xitanggg/open-resume
cd open-resume
npm install
npm run dev

Localhost:3000. No Docker, no .env files, no waiting for databases. Works on Node 18+.

MIT license - fork and modify whatever.

What Sucks

One template. Hate the design? Too bad. Wanted to change header color once, spent 20 minutes before realizing it's hardcoded.

PDF export sometimes has spacing issues. Bullet points off by a pixel or two, but close enough.

No collaborative editing. Export JSON, send over Slack, import changes back. Clunky vs Google Docs.

Import accuracy depends on formatting. Adobe stuff takes 30+ minutes cleanup. Simple Word docs import in 5 minutes.