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 .

Senior Security Engineer

Brale · Des Moines

Senior Security Engineer

As a Security Engineer at Brale, you will work within an experienced, security-focused engineering team to help bolster existing defenses and use your industry experience to identify and reinforce weaknesses in applications, systems, and processes.

You enjoy threat modeling, designing security protocols, discovering vulnerabilities in software systems, and working closely with the team to document and resolve known issues. Staying up to date on the latest threats and trends enables you to evolve the company's security posture.

Your background in cryptography and secure coding will help Brale protect both on and off-chain assets by defining and building systems that leverage multi-party authorization and follow sound processes. (Bonus points if you have previously worked with blockchain technologies!)

As a security engineer at a small startup, you will need to wear a lot of hats. Your responsibilities will include:

  • Maintain threat models and other security-related system documentation.

  • Coordinate penetration testing with independent test team and triage and drive resolution of any identified issues.

  • Perform white-box security testing of security-critical features.

  • Participate in the design process for application features and AWS platform infrastructure by defining security requirements and reviewing designs to ensure requirements are met and best practices are followed.

  • Participate in the design and implementation of controls for regulatory and standards compliance.

  • Define internal best practices for secure development and data handling, including key material management.

  • Identify SIEM tooling needs and help select suitable solutions for our scale and budget.

  • Maintain the security incident response plan and lead incident response in case of a security event.

  • Understand the threat environment and establish and maintain monitoring for endpoints and application systems.

  • Share knowledge with other engineering roles to improve overall understanding of security topics.

Qualifications:

  • Five or more years experience in a security engineering or related role

  • Proven experience with a wide variety of different of aspects of security engineering, including network security, incident response, threat modeling, and identity and access management.

  • Ability to identify and lead initiatives to improve information security without direct oversight.

  • Strong communication skills for communicating with both technical and non-technical audiences in a remote environment.

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