Key Takeaways

  • 75% of U.S. employers use automated applicant tracking systems to screen resumes before a human reviews them (Harvard Business School & Accenture, 2021)
  • The most common ATS failures are missing keywords, incompatible formatting, and incorrect file types
  • ResumeGeni scores your resume across 8 parsing layers — modeled on the same steps enterprise ATS platforms like Workday, Greenhouse, and Taleo use to evaluate candidates

How ATS Resume Scoring Works

Applicant tracking systems parse your resume into structured data — extracting your name, contact info, work history, skills, and education — then score how well that data matches the job requirements. Many ATS rejections happen because the parser couldn't extract critical fields, not because the candidate wasn't qualified.

LayerWhat It ChecksWhy It Matters
Document extractionFile format, encoding, readabilityCorrupted or image-only PDFs fail immediately
Layout analysisTables, columns, headers, footersMulti-column layouts break field extraction
Section detectionExperience, education, skills headingsNon-standard headings cause sections to be missed
Field mappingName, email, phone, dates, titlesMissing contact info is a common cause of immediate rejection
Keyword matchingJob-specific terms, skills, certificationsKeyword overlap affects recruiter search visibility and ATS scoring
Chronology checkDate ordering, gap detectionReverse-chronological order is expected by most ATS
QuantificationMetrics, numbers, measurable outcomesQuantified achievements help human reviewers and some scoring models
Confidence scoringOverall parse quality and completenessLow-confidence parses get deprioritized in results

Frequently Asked Questions

Is ResumeGeni free?
Yes. ResumeGeni is currently in beta — ATS analysis, scoring, and initial improvement suggestions are free with no signup required. Full guidance and saved reports may require a free account.
What file formats are supported?
PDF, DOCX, DOC, TXT, RTF, ODT, and Apple Pages. PDF and DOCX are recommended for best ATS compatibility.
How is the ATS score calculated?
Your resume is processed through an 8-layer parsing pipeline that extracts structured data the same way enterprise ATS platforms do. The score reflects how completely and accurately your resume can be parsed, plus how well your content matches common ATS ranking criteria.
Can ATS read PDF resumes?
Yes, but not all PDFs are equal. Text-based PDFs parse well. Image-only PDFs (scanned documents) and PDFs with complex tables or multi-column layouts often fail ATS parsing. Our analyzer will flag these issues.
How do I improve my ATS score?
Focus on three areas: use a clean single-column format, include keywords from the job description naturally in your experience bullets, and ensure all sections (contact, experience, education, skills) use standard headings.

ATS Guides & Resources

Built by engineers with 12 years of experience building enterprise hiring technology at ZipRecruiter. Last updated .

Senior Covenant Lawyer - Distressed

9Fin · New York

About 9fin

9fin is the AI platform powering global debt markets — the world’s largest asset class at over $145 trillion.

Debt markets are vast, global, and mission-critical, yet still run on fragmented data, PDFs, and manual workflows. 9fin replaces this broken infrastructure with a single platform that centralises proprietary credit data, deep analysis, and high-value workflows across global markets.

Today, 9fin powers teams at 300+ blue-chip institutions worldwide, including global banks, asset managers, private equity firms, law firms, and advisors. The business is scaling at exceptional speed, with rapid expansion in the US and best-in-class retention driven by deep workflow adoption.

We’re at a defining inflection point. With proven product-market fit and strong, global market pull, 9fin is accelerating toward becoming the category-defining platform for debt markets worldwide.

The Opportunity

9fin is looking for a corporate finance attorney who geeks out about a good indenture and who has broader ambitions to write and be a thought-leader in the industry they love. This role will help our distressed editorial teams understand all the nuances of interesting bond and loan documents that could factor into restructuring and liability management exercises. It is perfect for an experienced finance attorney who is looking to recalibrate their work-life balance to allow for a little more life, but who loves their work. We’re growing our groundbreaking coverage of complex out-of-court restructurings with an emphasis on distressed coverage. The role will report into our New York office with flexibility to work from home / remotely as needed.

This role offers a unique opportunity for a legal professional to use their expertise within a rapidly growing start-up environment, with opportunities to refine an already valuable skillset while learning all of the new skills that comes with working with technologists, credit analysts and journalists.

What you'll work on

Every day is different, but here’s an example of the kind of things you’ll work on:

  • Reviewing leveraged finance and high yield documentation to produce commercially focused and insightful analysis on distressed scenarios and the primary market

  • Writing topical reports on secondary situations, collaborating closely across 9fin’s team of lawyers and credit analysts

  • Answering client questions about the covenant packages of specific borrowers and issuers

  • Using 9fin’s proprietary technology to build and expand our restructuring and LME databases

  • Delivering seminars, teach-ins and podcast segments as a subject matter expert

  • Representing 9fin in the press and at industry conferences and events

About You

This role will be a great fit if you have the following:

  • JD with 5+ years of experience within a restructuring, special situations, and/or leveraged finance team at a top-tier law firm

  • Experience drafting, reviewing and negotiating high yield bond and/or leveraged loan documents, restructuring support agreements, and Chapter 11 documentation

  • Keen commercial awareness of leveraged finance and restructuring markets

  • Strong technical understanding of how leveraged finance covenants and definitions operate

  • Existing network of relationships within the leveraged finance community

  • Excellent relationship building skills

  • Effective written and verbal communication skills, able to explain complex covenant concepts to non-lawyers concisely

  • Ability to work both independently and collaboratively

Our benefits

We’re a scaling start up and we enjoy sharing our success, when the company succeeds, we always reinvest that in our people. We also offer huge amounts of responsibility, an abundance of opportunity for growth and a platform to truly excel.

Financial & Insurance

  • Competitive Salary: $250,000-$275,000 (our salary bands are benchmarked at 75-90th% of market)

  • Equity

  • 401(k) (9fin pay 3%, employee contributions are uncapped)

  • Private Health Insurance, with Dental and Vision

  • Paid sick leave

  • Disability Insurance (New York)

  • Commuter Benefit

Time off

  • 25 vacation days per year

  • Local public holiday

  • Hybrid working model, to allow you the flexibility to decide how, where and when you do your best work

  • Work abroad for up to 3 months a year

  • 1 month paid sabbatical after 5 years of service

  • Enhanced parental leave & flexible working arrangements available

Training & Culture

  • Professional learning and development budget

  • Bi-annual team socials

  • Summer and Winter company social events

9fin is an equal opportunities employer

At 9fin we are dedicated to building and promoting a fair and inclusive workplace where everyone can reach their full potential and truly belong. We recognize that building diverse teams enables a more creative and productive environment. If you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t perfectly align with the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You might just be who we’re looking for — either for this role, or perhaps another.