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 .

Consultant

Appian · Milan, Italy

Experienced Hire Customer Success

Here at Appian, our values of Intensity and Excellence define who we are. We set high standards and live up to them, ensuring that everything we do is done with care and quality. We approach every challenge with ambition and commitment, holding ourselves and each other accountable to achieve the best results. When you join Appian, you’ll be part of a passionate team dedicated to accomplishing hard things, together.

 

 

Are you looking to combine your passion for technology with your penchant for strategic problem solving? Appian Customer success is obsessed with great customer outcomes. We deliver mission-critical business impact fast, and are directly responsible for partnering with our customers to bring their best ideas to life. Joining the Customer Success team will provide you with the support and growth you need to strengthen and evolve your skills within the consulting field.

We are seeking a Technical Consultant to join our Customer Success team. In this role, you will be engaging with our customers post-sales to develop software solutions on the Appian platform. These applications help companies drive digital transformation and competitive differentiation. Your primary responsibility will be to work throughout the entire project life-cycle  to define, design, develop and implement custom software solutions using Appian’s platform for our commercial clients. This includes working within an agile environment to understand our client’s business processes and technical needs, launch new relational data models in production, and developing APIs to integrate with multiple systems. You will also collaborate with client’s technical teams and business users as needed throughout the entire software and development life cycle and drive adoption by empowering clients to become self-sufficient with building process applications on their own.

To be successful in this role, you need:

  • The ability to work with clients to define business processes and gather functional and technical system requirements
  • Excellent communication skills, passion for technology and continuous learning, and an affinity for asking “why” and solving the right problems
  • History of success on cross-functional teams; experience building products using agile methodologies (pair programming, stand-ups, planning sessions, and sprints)
  • Knowledge of software testing practices (test-driven development, automated test suites within a continuous integration framework); integrations experience using APIs such as REST and SOAP, JDBC connections, and web services; familiarity with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Analytics, Machine Learning, Google Cloud, Application Integration, Database, Developer Tools, Management & Governance, and Elastic Containers (preferred)

Basic qualifications:

  • 1+ years of experience with hands-on software development or technical consulting
  • Experience with object oriented programming, experience working with relational databases and database design/data modeling, and SQL skills (writing queries, joins, views, etc)
  • B.S./B.A. in Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, Mathematics or related field/degree
  • Willingness to travel; 20% to support customer engagement 
  • Fluent Italian and English language skills.

 

Tools and Resources 

  • Training and Development: During onboarding, we focus on equipping new hires with the skills and knowledge for success through department-specific training. Continuous learning is a central focus at Appian, with dedicated mentorship and the First-Friend program being widely utilized resources for new hires. 
  • Growth Opportunities: Appian provides a diverse array of growth and development opportunities, including our leadership program tailored for new and aspiring managers, a comprehensive library of specialized department training through Appian University, skills based training, and tuition reimbursement for those aiming to advance their education. This commitment ensures that employees have access to a holistic range of development opportunities.
  • Community: We’ll immerse you into our community rooted in respect starting on day one. Appian fosters inclusivity through our 8 employee-led affinity groups. These groups help employees build stronger internal and external networks by planning social, educational, and outreach activities to connect with Appianites and larger initiatives throughout the company.

Benefits

Appian offers a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your health, wellbeing, and financial future. Benefits may include health coverage, Employee Assistance Program (EAP) with free mental health support, life and disability insurance, an Employee Stock Purchase Program (ESPP), a retirement/pension plan, wellness dollars, tuition reimbursement, family-forming benefits and more. Benefits vary by country—please ask your Talent Acquisition contact for details specific to the location you are applying to.

About Appian

Appian provides process automation technology. We automate complex processes in large enterprises and governments. Our platform is known for its unique reliability and scale. We’ve been automating processes for 25 years and understand enterprise operations like no one else. For more information, visit appian.com. [Nasdaq: APPN]

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Appian is an equal opportunity employer that strives to attract and retain the best talent. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. 

Appian provides reasonable accommodations to applicants in accordance with all applicable laws. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please contact us by email at [email protected]. Please note that only inquiries concerning a request for reasonable accommodation will be responded to from this email address.

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