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 .

Investing Associate

Evergreenservicesgroup · San Francisco, CA

Evergreen Services Group is a San Francisco-based holding company that acquires and operates B2B services companies across North America. Since its founding in late 2017, Evergreen has completed 100+ acquisitions across Managed IT Services, Cybersecurity, ERP Software Partners and Government Services. We are driven by a people-first mission to be the best home for businesses and their leaders, by marrying capital allocation with inspired operations.

The Evergreen holding company team is comprised of 40+ professionals based in San Francisco who are focused on capital allocation, M&A, executive level hiring, strategic board leadership, and finance and accounting. Evergreen is a uniquely long-term oriented holding company that seeks to hold and grow businesses indefinitely rather than follow the 5-7 year holding period of a typical private equity fund. This allows us to take a truly long-term view on performance and people. Evergreen is backed by Alpine Investors, a leading private equity firm focused on the services and software industries with $16B+ in AUM. 

The Role:

We are looking to add an Associate to our Investing team. The perfect candidate is someone who can hit the ground running by slotting directly into deal teams, supporting the execution of deal processes from start to finish, and supporting the evolution of our capital allocation strategy. This position is based in San Francisco.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to: 

  • Perform due diligence, analysis and execution across multiple simultaneous acquisitions 
  • Prepare investment memos and letters of intent; present investment opportunities/findings to team and investors
  • Construct detailed financial models and returns analyses
  • Coordinate the execution of investment transactions across all parties involved (i.e. due diligence providers, counsel, investors, portfolio company management, etc.)
  • Mentor and support junior analysts through early career development

Qualifications:

Successful candidates will have the following attributes:

  • 2 years of investment banking or private equity investing experience
  • Outstanding financial modeling and analytical skills
  • Strong understanding of accounting and finance
  • Passion for investing and learning about new industries
  • Strong communication skills
  • Demonstrated ability and interest in working in a small, entrepreneurial team

You would be a great fit for this role if:

  • You have a strong will-to-win and get excited by ambiguous, challenging situations
  • You are resourceful and can find a means to resolution in unfamiliar environments
  • You value relationship-building and are excited about working with small business owners
  • You share Evergreen’s values, particularly in the following areas:
    • Coachable: actively pursues feedback & development
    • Accountable: takes ownership for business performance; answers for challenges/failures
    • Selfless team-player: puts the mission and teammates ahead of themselves
  • You are excited about Evergreen’s mission to build the best home for businesses and their leaders

Other Information

  • Location: San Francisco (Hybrid)
  • Compensation: $195k (base and bonus) plus PIUs (Profit Interest Units)

We encourage you to apply even if you feel that you do not meet all of the above qualifications. Frequently cited statistics show that women and underrepresented groups apply to jobs only if they meet 100% of the qualifications. Evergreen encourages you to break that statistic and to apply. No one ever meets 100% of the requirements. We look forward to your application!

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, & INCLUSION AT EVERGREEN

At Evergreen, we acknowledge that an emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DE&I”) is essential to hiring phenomenal people. To create the best home for businesses and spark success at our firm and throughout our portfolio, we aim to establish an environment where every person is welcomed, accepted, and empowered to excel in their role. These beliefs run true to our People-first philosophy, which emphasizes attributes over experience, we strive to recruit and work with those from a range of backgrounds, which drives creativity and innovation. At Evergreen, we recognize that we must continue to improve and expand and we are enthusiastic about maintaining Evergreen as one of the best places to work by ensuring a culture of inclusion and allowing everyone an unbiased opportunity to grow.

Compensation

A competitive compensation package will be offered alongside a benefits package including full medical and dental coverage, unlimited PTO, 401(k) match, family planning support, and much more.

Evergreen Services Group is proud to be an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion (including religious dress and grooming practices), sex (including pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions, breastfeeding, and conditions related to breastfeeding), gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, ancestry, age (40 or over), physical or medical disability, medical condition, marital status, registered domestic partner status, sexual orientation, genetic information, military and/or veteran status, or any other basis prohibited by applicable state or federal law. As an equal opportunity employer, we offer competitive compensation packages, robust benefits and professional growth opportunities aimed at helping to improve our employees' lives and careers.

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