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 .

Buyer, Digital

Dentsu Group · Toronto

Job Description:

Our mission is to Drive Business Performance. We use data to create personalized and connected experiences that deliver transformative business outcomes. Our role is to ensure our clients meet their quantifiable business goals every day, consistently, in every market. We are entirely focused on delivering better business results through optimization, creation and analysis across all digital platforms. Our scope ranges from recommending how to use content more effectively to optimizing daily media channel performance and maximizing visibility in eCommerce platforms.

The Digital Buyer supports clients in delivering best in class digital strategies and performance-driven media solutions to answer client briefs and objectives. Under the guidance of the Digital Media Manager, the Digital Buyer manages paid search and social programs for major clients plus supporting other teams as necessary. The role includes management of Search and Social evergreen campaigns, plus recurring promotional campaigns throughout the year. The Digital Buyer will execute campaigns from end to end, including strategy, execution, optimization, reporting and billing.

Performance Media:

• Execute social and digital campaign strategies, analyze campaigns performance and perform optimizations

• Make credible strategic recommendations that drive clients’ business objectives, and identify and resolve problems in a client-centric environment

• Provide accountability for pacing and managing account budgets

• Providing regular input of ideas for best practices and adoption of new features or processes

• Helping to create and deliver campaign overview reports in a timely fashion

• Proactively find new ways to build the client’s business and grow the account

• Master and maintain knowledge of client’s business, competition, and latest industry news and trends

• Continually learn and enhance skills related to performance media methodologies and platforms Account Management:

• Supports media team in management of client digital media – delivering key data / budgets / details as needed

• Builds relationships with clients where relevant; sets and manages expectations of client and internal teams, especially to ensure optimal time scale to deliver quality work and service

• Responsible for ensuring all digital campaigns are invoiced to the client in an accurate and timely manner, understanding and communicating under/over delivery to Digital Media Manager and Account Team

Research:

• Knowledge of key platforms and how to utilize effectively to put together insights which can aid wider team and client planning

• Building relationships with key platform partners and attending industry events as needed to stay up to date with new media / trends / technology / test features

Qualifications

• Post-secondary Degree or Diploma in Media, Advertising, Business Administration, Marketing, or related field.

• A minimum of 2 years of media planning and/or buying experience focused on digital channels – Social, Display and Programmatic. Search is a bonus, but not a requirement.

• Knowledge and hands-on experience with social platforms, media planning and buying tools

• Strong to advanced level MS Office skills: Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, etc.

• Must be able to work with cross functional teams and multiple stakeholders.

• Aptitude for priority management where it concerns managing multiple deliverables/work streams.

• Ability to organize ideas and present back information logically and sequentially.

• Understanding of how Paid Search / SEM interacts with Display Media, Paid Social, and other traffic types

• Google Analytics and AdWords, Bing Ads Certifications and understanding of Display, Mobile, Video and Shopping advertising

• Familiar with using Google Campaign Manager for trafficking and troubleshooting campaigns, and IAS for brand safety

Additional information

Vacancy: Is this posting for the purposes of filling an existing vacancy [Y/N]

The salary range for this position is $50k-$55k. Actual salary within the salary range will be based on a variety of factors including relevant experience, knowledge, and skills. A range of medical, dental, RRSP, paid time off, and/or other benefits also are available to all permanent employees.

AI Disclosure: [dentsu] utilizes artificial intelligence tools as part of its recruitment process, as during the sourcing and screening stages. All other parts of the dentsu application and hiring processes do not utilize artificial intelligence tools

We know through experience that different ideas, perspectives and backgrounds foster a stronger and more creative work environment that delivers better business results. We strive to create workplaces that reflect the clients we serve and where everyone feels empowered to bring their full, authentic selves to work. We are committed to working with our candidates from all ability levels throughout the recruitment process to ensure that they have what they need to be at their best. If you need accommodation during the application or interview process, please contact [email protected] or to begin a conversation about your individual accessibility needs throughout the hiring process

Location:

Toronto

Brand:

Dentsu Media

Time Type:

Full time

Contract Type:

Permanent