About BurntCV
Hello, I'm David.I built BurntCV.
Not a company profile. Just the person who writes the code, reads the feedback and answers the emails.
Why I built BurntCV
I started looking into this after I applied for a job I was qualified and experienced for, and didn't even get an interview. I wanted to know why.
What I found was a hiring process that had quietly changed. Software reads your CV first. AI often ranks it. And good people are overlooked, not because they can't do the job, but because nobody told them the new rules.
So I built BurntCV. Honest feedback, CVs that work for software and people, and nothing made up. I can't promise you a job. Nobody honestly can. But I can help you show what you've actually done.
David Oswald, founder and the entire staff
Why one person is a good thing
It sounds like a weakness. In practice it's mostly the opposite.
You talk to the maker
Not a ticket queue. Your email lands with the person who can actually change things.
Changes happen quickly
A good suggestion often turns into a change within days, not a roadmap item for next year.
Nobody pushing for growth
No investors or growth team asking for spam, dark patterns or selling your data.
My name is on it
When it's your own name on the product, honesty stops being a policy and becomes personal.
25 years on the other side
I've spent 25 years in learning and development, working employer-side and watching how hiring really runs.
Fair pricing, eventually
No sales team or big office to pay for, so there's no reason to charge like there is.
Who it's for
Every career stage. The rules changed for everyone.
- Starting out
- School leavers, apprentices, graduates and anyone with little experience. BurntCV helps you get past the first filter. It can't guarantee what happens after that.
- Experienced
- Your CV should lead with what you can do, not the year you graduated.
- Stepping up or senior
- Help pitching your CV at the right level, so you read as the person for the role you want.
- UK and Germany
- In English and German, including job search reports you can share with the Jobcentre or the Agentur für Arbeit.
What's free, and what will need an account
The public tools are free. Account tools are currently free for private beta testers with a referral code. They will need a paid account in future. No prices here yet.
Free
No account needed
- Free
CV and LinkedIn roast
A funny, slightly painful read of your CV or LinkedIn About section. No sign-up.
- Free
Job hunting guides
Plain explanations of how hiring works now, with dated sources.
Paid account
Currently free for private beta testers with a referral code
- Paid account
CV Builder
Answer questions, get a CV pitched at your level.
- Paid account
A CV for your experience level
Starting out, experienced, stepping up or already senior. Present your real level without inflating it.
- Paid account
Software-ready rewrites
Three styles: for the parser, for the ranker and for the human.
- Paid account
CV Facelift
Helps reduce age bias by suggesting which unnecessary dates to leave out and which age-revealing phrases to reword. Your experience stays true. Dates are never changed or invented.
- Paid account
Job matching
How your real experience lines up with an advert.
- Paid account
Honest gap questions
Questions about what your CV leaves out, so nothing gets guessed.
- Paid account
Line-by-line tailoring
Adjust your CV for a specific job, one line at a time.
- Paid account
LinkedIn optimisation
A clearer profile, still in your own voice.
- Paid account
Cover letter ideas
Ideas to help you write your own letter, not a finished one. It should sound like you, not a bland AI template.
- Paid account
Application tracker
Contacts, calls, interviews and follow-ups together. Reminders go to your calendar, where they belong, not your inbox, where they get lost. Rejections get stamped "Their loss".
- Paid account
Job search report
A record of your applications, ready to share.
- Paid account
60+ job boards
A directory of boards worth knowing about.
What I promise, and what I don't
Short version: I'll be straight with you.
I don't make things up
I do everything I can to keep invented facts out. When you match your CV to a job, BurntCV asks about relevant experience your CV doesn't mention. You still check the result.
AI doesn't mark its own homework
Gemini writes and Claude, from a different company, checks it for anything made up. If Claude isn't available, Gemini runs a separate check instead, so not every check comes from a different company. If no check can finish, you'll see an error, not unchecked work.
How the checks work
What I won't do
Guarantee a shortlist
Nobody can, and anyone who says so is selling something.
Send reminder emails
Reminders stay in the app and your own calendar. Not your inbox.
Write you in someone else's voice
Cover letter ideas, not finished letters, so your words and personality come through. No generic AI letters or interview scripts. It's your application.
Your data
Download your saved personal data and uploaded documents as a ZIP, or delete your account, from Settings. PrivacyLegal notice
Email me. I read every message.
Suggestions, complaints, the bit that confused you. It all comes to me.
hello@burntcv.comOr copy the address: hello@burntcv.com
Try it
Start with the free roast. If you have a referral code, come and help shape the rest.