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 .

Middle School Humanities Teacher (26-27)

Alphapublicschools · San Jose, California, United States

Started by Families, Focused on Students

Developing Scholars in East San José

We were founded by families in East San José who wanted stronger academics and more support for their children. Alpha is a free, TK-12 public charter school system on a mission to prepare the next generation of leaders in East San José.

Alpha Public Schools is a network of four public charter schools committed to providing access to an outstanding education. Join us as we prepare students in TK-12th grade for success in college and career. 

Who we are:

Alpha Public Schools is a public charter school network of four schools educating approximately 1,900 scholars in east San Jose. Guided by the belief that our students belong in college, we ensure safe, inclusive, and student-centered learning environments to help our students thrive. What sets us apart is the very thing that makes us who we are– our community. Alpha was founded by a group of mothers on the eastside of San Jose who sought better educational opportunities for their students. We maintain a strong connection to our community and engage families in a collaborative approach to offer a holistic education to our students. 

A successful Alpha Teacher: 

The successful Alpha teacher believes that ALL students are capable of success. They uphold high expectations for students and they utilize student data to drive their instruction, ensuring that our scholars are achieving growth. The successful Alpha teacher is excited to receive coaching and feedback, understanding that their growth as an educator is an ever-evolving process. We seek educators who are committed to amplifying and celebrating the diverse experiences and cultures of our scholars and their families; educators who are excited to be a member of a vibrant school community; and, educators who provide access to instruction for all students by responding to socio-emotional needs, supporting literacy development across all classes and content areas, using culturally responsive instructional strategies, and accommodating individual learning differences.

Our humanities classes include: 5-6th grade humanities, 7/8th grade English, 7/8th grade History.

Alpha teachers are expected to:

  • Develop lesson plans and supplementary materials to teach standards based curriculum
  • Operate a classroom that includes sound classroom management practices and engaging lessons and that produces strong academic results.
  • Maintain open lines of communication with staff, families, and the greater Alpha community
  • Participate in regular and on-going professional development, observations, and feedback sessions

What we offer:

At Alpha we care deeply about our scholars and staff. To support our team (and hopefully you!) we offer: 

  • Competitive salary commensurate with experience and credential status (as well as compounding retention incentives for returning Alpha teachers)
  • Health benefits plans for medical, vision, and dental insurance coverage for staff and their families
  • Retirement matching options
  • Paid time off for holidays and breaks (6 weeks throughout the school year in addition to 6 weeks during the summer)
  • Generous paternity/maternity leave benefits including 4 weeks of paid parental leave in addition to the state and federal leave allowances
  • Paid tuition for Induction and reimbursement for passing scores on credential required exams
  • Employee Assistance Program that provides access to professional services for workplace, life, and wellbeing support and services 
  • Relocation assistance for teammates moving from 250+ miles away
  • Signing bonus for our hard-to-fill roles (math, science, special education) 

You Possess…

  • A Bachelor’s degree
  • A valid (or eligible for) California teaching credential- Multiple Subject or Single Subject Social Science and/or English (dependent on specific teaching assignment)
  • Subject matter knowledge and strong classroom management skills (or willingness to learn)
  • A commitment to working with students in traditionally underserved communities. Approximately 80% of Alpha’s students are from under-resourced communities and will be the first in their families to go to college. The majority of our students are Latinx and/or Vietnamese.

 

Join our team…

To apply for this position, please submit a resume.

Alpha Public Schools is a network of four public charter schools founded by a group of East San José mothers dedicated to helping transform their community. We have a strong growth mindset – as individuals, as an organization, and on behalf of our students and families. We want to be better tomorrow than we are today. 

As an equal opportunity employer, we hire without consideration to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status or disability. We are strongly committed to hiring a diverse and multicultural staff and encourage applications from traditionally under-represented backgrounds.

Salary is competitive and compensation includes a comprehensive benefits package.

Questions? Contact us at [email protected]