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 .

Account Executive

Backflip · United States

Overview

We are seeking a high-energy, results-driven Account Executive (AE) to join our sales team at Backflip. This role will be focused on aggressively expanding market share through a metrics-driven outbound sales motion.

As an Account Executive, you will be responsible for the full sales-cycle to prospect, qualify, and close business purpose loans with real estate investors.

The ideal candidate has a proven track record of exceeding quotas in a full-cycle sales role, with direct experience in outbound sales of lending products. You are a resilient, data-driven operator who thrives in a fast-paced environment and is excited to build, test, and scale effective sales playbooks.

Key Responsibilities

  • Drive origination volume by managing the sales process from initial prospecting and qualification through term sheet execution

  • Master and execute a high-velocity outbound sales strategy (including calls, emails, text, social media, and in-person events) to build a robust, self-sourced pipeline of qualified real estate investors

  • Develop expertise in Backflip's capital products and credit parameters, ensuring a focus on high-quality borrowers and long-term loan performance

  • Manage and forecast your pipeline and conversion rates with high accuracy using our CRM, ensuring all activities and opportunities are tracked

  • Partner closely with Loan Operations, Servicing, and other departments to ensure a best-in-class borrower experience

  • Act as the voice of the borrower, providing market-driven insights to leadership to help refine product-market fit, pricing, and competitive positioning

  • Help recruit, hire and train peers to join our team and contribute to our mission

Qualifications + Preferred Experience

  • 2-4+ years of sales experience in a full-cycle closing role, with an emphasis on outbound prospecting

  • Direct experience originating loan products (e.g., hard money, fix-and-flip, DSCR) to residential real estate investors

  • Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with a strong ability to build rapport, negotiate, and close deals

  • Strong technology and process orientation, with experience managing a pipeline in a modern CRM (HubSpot)

  • Personal or professional experience as a real estate investor is preferred

  • An existing network of real estate investors, brokers, or industry partners is preferred

  • Experience selling home equity products (HEI, HELOCs) is a bonus

Success in This Role Looks Like…

  • Consistently meeting and exceeding funded loan volume quotas

  • A high percentage of your funded pipeline is self-sourced through your own outbound efforts

  • A high-quality loan portfolio from your originations, reflecting a commitment to sustainable lending

  • A 3-month ramp-up time to full productivity through a mastery of our products and sales process

People That Thrive at Backflip Have…

  • A desire to learn and grow with the company; propensity to “think like an owner”

  • An execution-oriented “one-team” mindset with motivation and scrappiness to achieve objectives

  • The ability to multi-task with exceptional time management, prioritization and attention to detail

  • An entrepreneurial mindset, a passion for innovation, and a burning desire to build

  • A bias for action; inclined to deploy rapid testing and iteration cycles

  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills with appropriate urgency to various audiences

  • Strong self-motivation, are coachable and highly collaborative; take ownership of tasks and pride in work product

  • High integrity; are dependable, accountable, humble and respectful

Total compensation for this role includes a competitive base salary and a performance-based bonus, and is based on a variety of factors including prior experience, geographic location, stock option grant, and other factors. In addition to a competitive market salary, Backflip employees receive equity stock options, paid health care, and a 401K + company match, among other industry-leading benefits.

Backflip is an equal opportunity employer. We know that building a world-class organization is not possible without an intentional focus on recruiting, empowering, promoting and rewarding the best and brightest people of all backgrounds. Backflip focuses on hiring individuals that align with its Core Values and consistently display a high ethical standard, both personally and professionally.

This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship.