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 .

Deployment Strategist, Integrated Systems

Arenaai · New York

Who we are:

Arena is on a mission to accelerate hardware innovation that powers human progress. Our name is inspired by Theodore Roosevelt's 'Citizenship in a Republic' speech. To us, entering the Arena means committing fully and accepting the risk of failure in pursuit of an audacious, worthy cause. We believe the future belongs to those brave enough to build it.

Our team of 50 combines AI engineering and applied physics expertise with deep experience in enterprise deployments. We're headquartered in NYC with presences in San Francisco and Los Angeles, backed by $62M from Initialized, Founders Fund, Goldcrest Capital, Fifth Down Capital, and Shield Capital.

If you're ready to do the most important work of your career, join us in the Arena.

What we do:

At Arena, we're building foundational intelligence for modern hardware. Our AI platform Atlas operationalizes physics-grounded intelligence to verify, debug, and optimize hardware across its lifecycle. Atlas is already trusted globally by the world's most advanced hardware companies, including AMD and Bausch & Lomb, for applications across R&D, integration testing, production assembly, and field repair.

About the role: 

As a Deployment Strategist, you will own the success of an Atlas deployment from end to end—from use case identification and workflow mapping to new feature development that accelerate hardware innovation.

Working on fast timelines, you'll collaborate closely with customers, users, and Arena's engineering, and GTM teams to successfully deploy Atlas, while measuring and demonstrating real-world value. Your responsibilities include building a deep understanding of your users, their organizations, and their workflows, then identifying how new or existing Atlas features will transform their processes. You'll work directly with customers to remove technical and organizational blockers, making you a key player in their success.

In close collaboration with our engineering team, you'll work with Arena's product leadership to identify and develop new features that deliver maximum value to users in real-world scenarios. This is a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience driving innovation across some of the world's most vital industries—ideal for those aspiring to become founders or product leaders.

How you will contribute:

Deployment ownership - own deployment execution for a customer accounts from technical strategy to stakeholder management, and develop deep understanding of our users. Ensure deployment success through consistent on-site presence and deep understanding of the problem. 

Drive user adoption - drive usage of Atlas with our customers, and provide structured, technical product feedback.

Foster and grow relationships with users  - Own the relationships with our users, becoming an expert on their pain points and the solution.

Travel domestically and internationally (up to 50% of your time)

Work in person at Arena's NYC headquarters when not traveling

You Have:

  • 3+ years of professional experience, with experience or deep interest in computer engineering, automotive, aerospace, or manufacturing
  • Full-stack technical literacy - you are well versed across a wide range of technical topics with deep expertise in select areas, and you are eager and able to pick up new depths easily
  • Product-fluency - you understand the user journey, have written PRDs, and brought a product feature from 0 to 1
  • A strong ability to understand and articulate how AI-native products create commercial value
  • Strong written and verbal communication & storytelling – you can communicate your ideas clearly and concisely in a medium of your choosing to a wide variety of stakeholders 

Benefits & Perks Include:

  • 100% of the monthly premium for Aetna medical insurance, plus vision and dental coverage
  • 401(k) Retirement Plan
  • Unlimited PTO
  • Lunch every day from local restaurants via Sharebite
  • Relocation support provided 

The base salary range for this position is $140,000 - $190,000 yr. However, base pay offered may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. In addition to base salary, we also offer competitive equity and benefits packages.

 

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