How FounderToo scores jobs
FounderToo assigns every job one of three verdicts: YES, CONSIDER, or STRETCH - so you know at a glance which roles actually deserve your time. This page explains exactly how that score is built, what inputs it uses, and how to read each verdict.
What "fit" actually means
Most job seekers spend the majority of their effort on roles they were unlikely to land in the first place. The bottleneck is rarely effort, it's direction. A single posting often attracts hundreds of applicants, automated filters narrow that list long before a person reads your resume, and tailoring every application by hand is exhausting. The result is that more applications do not reliably produce more interviews.
FounderToo's score is a structured answer to one question: given everything I know about you and this role, how likely is this application to be worth your time? It is not a guarantee, and it is not a gate. It is a signal you can act on so you spend your real effort on the small set of roles that actually fit.
The inputs FounderToo uses
The score is the output of a comparison between the job description and the structured profile you've built inside FounderToo. The inputs include:
- Your resume(s). You can upload more than one and FounderToo will use the strongest match for the role. Tailored resume variants are first-class, they're not just attachments, they actively change the score.
- Profile preferences. Desired roles, industries you want and industries to avoid, location, travel tolerance.
- Compensation floor. A minimum base salary so roles below your number don't crowd out roles that meet it.
- Work type and company stage. Remote / hybrid / onsite, plus the kind of company you want to work for (early-stage, growth, enterprise).
- Custom rules. Hard requirements or deal-breakers unique to you (e.g. visa sponsorship, specific tech stack, no weekend on-call).
- The job description itself. Required experience, responsibilities, seniority, and the language used to describe the role.
Each verdict comes with a written explanation, so you see the reasoning, not just a number.
The three verdicts
YES: strong match, worth applying
Your resume covers the bulk of what the role asks for, the compensation and work-type line up with your preferences, and there are no custom-rule violations. About ~15%-20 of analyzed roles tend to score YES across early users, that's by design. The point is to identify the short list worth your real effort.
What to do: apply, and consider using a tailored resume variant to push the match even higher.
CONSIDER: fit with tailoring
The role is a credible match but the gap between your resume and the JD is wide enough that a generic application will likely under-perform. Maybe a couple of required skills are under-represented on your current resume, or the seniority framing is slightly off.
What to do: apply with a tailored resume and a focused cover letter. FounderToo can generate both.
STRETCH: lower probability, decide deliberately
You're a real candidate but the math is against you on this one, typical reasons are seniority mismatch (a notch above or below your current band), a skill gap on something the JD treats as required, or a sector you don't have direct experience in.
What to do: STRETCH is a signal, not a block. Some users deliberately pursue stretch roles because the upside is worth it. FounderToo shows you the reasoning so you can decide whether this is one of those cases.
Why some jobs are STRETCH, and why that's OK
STRETCH exists because real careers don't move in straight lines. The point of flagging a role as STRETCH is to give you the information to choose intentionally instead of by default. A stretch role you pursue because the company, the team, or the trajectory is genuinely worth the long-odds application is a very different decision than mass-applying to fifty stretches in a single afternoon. FounderToo tries to make that distinction visible.
What FounderToo doesn't do
FounderToo is a decision-support tool, not an automation layer. It does not auto-apply, it does not submit your resume anywhere, and it does not block you from applying to anything, even if the score is low. It also doesn't read private job boards or accounts you have to log in to. Every application stays your decision, every message goes out in your voice, and every analysis is tied to your own profile.
How to improve your score on a role
- Add a tailored resume variant that explicitly addresses the JD's required experience.
- Fill in your profile preferences, empty preferences make the score noisier.
- Set an honest compensation floor so the verdict reflects roles you'd actually accept.
- Add custom rules for true deal-breakers so they show up in the explanation, not after a screening call.
- For STRETCH roles you're genuinely interested in, generate a strategy and a tailored cover letter, that's where FounderToo earns its keep.
"Am I qualified for this role? Should I apply?"
The honest answer to "should I apply?" is: it depends on whether the role fits your profile, how much time you can invest in tailoring, and how strong the alternatives on your list are. FounderToo's score is designed to make that trade-off explicit instead of leaving it to gut feel. For more on the underlying philosophy and answers to common product questions, see the FAQ.