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 .

Manager, Strategy & Analytics

Beyondfinance · Chicago, IL

At Beyond Finance, we've made it our mission to help everyday Americans escape the endless cycle of crippling debt and step into a brighter financial future. Through compassionate, individualized care, a culture focused on compliance and ethics, supportive user-centric technology, and customized financial solutions, we've helped over 1 million clients on their path to a brighter future.

While we're proud of what we've already accomplished, we're searching for new collaborators to help us get to the next level! If you're looking to join a forward-thinking, rapidly growing organization with helping people as its number one goal, we want to hear from you.

 

About The Role

The Manager of Strategy & Analytics will conduct analyses focused on optimizing and understanding marketing channel performance, client retention, and lifetime customer value. The role will collaborate cross-functionally with marketing, operations, product and sales to deliver actionable insights that help meet company goals. 

A successful manager will quickly build a deep understanding of the business and be able to effectively communicate results and present recommendations to executives. The ideal candidate will be a results-driven, strategic thinker able to thrive in a dynamic, rapid-growth environment. Exceptional candidates will have best-in-class data skills including SQL, Excel, dataset manipulation, data visualization, and presentation.

What You'll Do

  • Dive into data and processes to understand major operational challenges and opportunities
  • Present findings to stakeholders and recommend actionable solutions for non-analytical partners including Senior Leadership
  • Re-define and challenge company KPIs that are critical to achieving company and business unit goals
  • Work closely with the product and operations teams in defining tests and experimental design

What We Look For

  • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in business, STEM, or other analytical field
  • 2-4 years professional experience in marketing, product, strategy, or business analytics
  • Prior experience in Strategy Consulting, Financial Services, or Start-up environments
  • Familiarity with doing analysis in Excel and coding in SQL
  • Experience in Python or R is not required but a plus
  • Looker or Tableau experience is a plus
  • Quick learner; willing to dive in and get her/his hands dirty
  • Demonstrated ability to deliver results in a fast-paced environment
  • Desire to work in an ambiguous environment and solve open ended problems

Beyond Finance is a Chicago based company and is looking for candidates in the Chicagoland area. Candidates from other markets may be considered if they have proven success working in a fully remote environment.

#LI-AW1

The base annual salary range is listed below. This role is eligible for additional incentives, including an annual bonus.

Base Salary Range
$118,830—$162,636 USD

Why Join Us?

While you make a difference for others, we’ll work to make a difference for you, providing an uplifting, collaborative work environment and benefits that reflect your value to us. For eligible full-time employees, we offer:

  • Considerable employer contributions for health, dental, and vision programs
  • Generous PTO, paid holidays, and paid parental leave
  • 401(k) matching program
  • Merit advancement opportunities
  • Career development & training

And finally, our team spirit and culture! We cultivate an environment of community, connection, and belonging across our entire organization.

Beyond Finance does not accept unsolicited resumes from individual recruiters or third-party recruiting agencies in response to job positions.  No fee will be paid to their parties who submit unsolicited candidates directly to Beyond Finance employees or the Beyond Finance HR team.  No placement fee will be paid to any third party unless such a request has been made by the Beyond HR team.

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