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, France

BCG France · Paris, France

Who We Are

Boston Consulting Group partners with leaders in business and society to tackle their most important challenges and capture their greatest opportunities. BCG was the pioneer in business strategy when it was founded in 1963. Today, we work closely with clients to embrace a transformational approach aimed at benefiting all stakeholders—empowering organizations to grow, build sustainable competitive advantage, and drive positive societal impact.

 

Our diverse, global teams bring deep industry and functional expertise and a range of perspectives that question the status quo and spark change. BCG delivers solutions through leading-edge management consulting, technology and design, and corporate and digital ventures. We work in a uniquely collaborative model across the firm and throughout all levels of the client organization, fueled by the goal of helping our clients thrive and enabling them to make the world a better place.



What You'll Do

Within our teams, you support our clients in France and abroad to help them develop their strategic orientations and solve their most complex problems.

 

As a consultant, you are responsible for your modules and work hand in hand with our project managers, partners, international network of experts and client management to:

 

  • Identify, define and prioritize the challenges they face
  • Build and conduct relevant analyses to develop with them the best solutions
  • Develop strategic recommendations for our clients, support them in their implementation and create a significant impact
  • Actively contribute to the development of our sectoral and functional centers of expertise

 

Because our customers operate all over the world, in all industries, and their challenges arise in all functional areas, your missions allow you to intervene on a wide variety of issues. With each new project, you step out of your comfort zone, greatly expand your field of expertise, and quickly develop your learning curve and responsibilities. As you develop, you focus on the sectors and areas that motivate you most.

 

Throughout your career at BCG, you benefit from the monitoring and development of your career with your HR Talent Coordinator who supports you on a daily basis through your staffing and our various training programs adapted to each level of seniority. Your senior mentors and career Development Advisor, a member of the Bureau’s Officer Group, support you in your career progression at BCG.

 

You will be based in France. Travel is expected and will vary based on project needs.



What You'll Bring

We’re looking for exceptional talents to join us. You would typically:

  • Have a master's degree level education or more (business school or engineering, political science, university)
  • Have already acquired a first experience of at least 3 years or hold a PhD
  • Show active listening and strong analytical rigor
  • Demonstrate energy and creativity which naturally lead you to problem solving
  • Enjoy working as a team and know how to contribute by proactively provide ideas and recommendations
  • Have the interpersonal skills to partner with executive management teams as they implement a new vision and passion for enabling leaders to drive change within organizations set you apart
  • Be a collaborative team player with positive attitude, high ethical standards and experienced in international work
  • Have excellent verbal and written communication skills in French and English, in addition to a strong presence and leadership skills. Vous êtes issu(e) d’une formation Bac+4/+5 minimum (école de commerce ou ingénieur, sciences politiques, université)


Additional info

 

    • Excellence & impact: By joining BCG, you become part of the leading strategy consulting firm in France, notably on the main challenges of tomorrow's world: climate & sustainable development as well as digital & artificial intelligence – the opportunity to have a significant and concrete impact on the major economic and societal transformations!

     

    • The intellectual challenge and continuous learning: You take part in the resolution of ambitious, innovative, and stimulating projects. Each new mission will give you the opportunity to discover a new sector or a new business function, to work and connect with colleagues and clients in France and internationally.

     

    • An ideal work environment to learn and grow: As a full member of human-sized teams, you will be mentored and supported by our project leaders and partners. Throughout your journey and thanks to real HR support, you will have the opportunity to steer your career according to your desires: specialization options, training, international experience, and more!

 



Boston Consulting Group is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity / expression, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under national, provincial, or local law, where applicable, and those with criminal histories will be considered in a manner consistent with applicable state and local laws.
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