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 .

Data Operations Associate

Enigma · New York, NY

The Opportunity

We believe that the future of the small business economy runs on data. At Enigma, we’re building a one-stop shop for data on SMBs- the single, most reliable source of data about businesses to unlock access to capital.

By engineering better data from hundreds of public and third-party sources, we aim to tell the complete story of every business, so that companies of every size can access the financial services they need to grow and thrive. That's why financial leaders like Capital One, Truist, and many other top companies are using Enigma’s data to better serve their small business customers.

We are looking to hire a Data Operations Associate who is excited and driven to play a key role in supporting our GTM and Product activities. As we pursue our mission of providing customers with unique insights on small businesses, your work will own customer-related data operations and customer onboarding projects, establish and improve data processes, and ensure high-quality data services for our customers.

The Role

As a Data Operations Associate, you will be on the front lines helping us meet our company’s mission of being the most reliable and accessible source of data and intelligence on small businesses. You will work closely with Enigma’s Customer Success and Product teams and use your scrappy process management and data analysis skills to showcase the power of our SMB data to our customers and prospects. 

We stand by the power of our data and you will create impact by driving efficient processes and delivering high-quality products to our customers. The ideal candidate is motivated by seeking out the business value of data and gaining experience in go-to-market efforts, looking deeply into the specifics of data products and distilling problems down to their simplest solvable core.

What You'll Do

  • Fuel GTM activities at a fast paced startup environment from an operations perspective
    • Scale and manage data and onboarding operations to streamline customer lifecycle end-to-end
    • Own and lead data analysis projects, and generate the insights that help drive customer conversations forward
    • Prepare regular reports to communicate data quality metrics and improvements to stakeholders
  • Conduct thorough data quality checks to ensure accuracy, consistency, and completeness of datasets, and investigate issues
  • Generate and maintain detailed documentation of data operations processes and data dictionaries
  • Work hand-in-hand with the CS and Product teams to inform the product roadmap and data tooling investments
  • Gain experience and train in developing tools and reports using best-in-class tech stack and infrastructure 
  • Make an impact on Enigma’s growth from day one

What Makes This Role Exciting?

  • Exposure: You will be situated at the cutting edge of data, GTM and product at Enigma and there will be many mentorship opportunities in this role.
  • Learning opportunity: You will learn first-hand how financial institutions make crucial business decisions with our data and drive the operations to help them do so. 
  • Impact: You will be at the core of Enigma’s customer service engine, providing value to customers starting from day 1.
  • Market-Changing Technology: Enigma is changing the way underwriting, risk monitoring, and marketing is done for small and medium businesses. 

Our Ideal Candidate

  • Is a self starter with the ability to manage multiple tasks and prioritize effectively
  • Has strong analytical and quantitative skills and the ability to extract, manipulate and analyze data with a keen eye for detail
  • Has proficiency in one or two data wrangling tools for tabular data, incl. SQL
  • Brings strong business intuition to make sense of complex business data
  • Has project management experience owning complex, custom deliverables and onboarding workflows end-to-end
  • Has passion for data-driven decision-making and an eagerness to learn and adapt to new technologies and tools
  • Has excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to work collaboratively in a team environment and communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
  • Is curious, coachable, reliable and driven for growth

Bonus Points If You

  • An undergraduate degree in engineering, statistics or a data-related field
  • Prior experience in data analytics, data operations or business analytics positions
  • Prior experience with data products and/or strong understanding of machine learning concepts
  • Familiarity with the world of enterprise software, data-as-a-service, or business intelligence tools
  • 0-2 years experience working with data

About Us

At Enigma, we’re building the single, most reliable source of data on businesses to power the future of financial services. By engineering better data from hundreds of public and third-party sources, we aim to tell the complete story of every business, so that companies of every size can access the financial services they need to grow and thrive. Our core values – generosity, curiosity, ingenuity, & drive – guide everything we do, from how we make our most important product decisions to how we work with and support one another on a daily basis. We’re a team of curious, driven individuals with diverse backgrounds and skills, but we’re all passionate about engineering deeper understanding through data—together. If this resonates, we would love to hear from you!

We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status.

Salary Range: $80,000-150,000

A note on salary ranges: we pride ourselves on paying competitively for our size and industry. Salary is one piece of a total Enigma compensation package that includes additional benefits and opportunities. All of our compensation packages include equity because we believe 100% of Enigma employees should have the option to purchase ownership in the company and benefit from the value we’re creating together