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 .

Backend Engineer (Golang)

Future · Remote

About Future

At Future, we believe that personal connection is the key to progress. Our mission is to make world-class coaching accessible to everyone, helping people unlock their full potential through expert guidance, motivation, and accountability. As a digital personal training platform, we deliver highly personalized coaching, tailoring workout plans and support to each individual’s goals - all through a seamless app experience.

Since launching in 2017, Future has grown from a brainstorm in a San Francisco cafe into the nation’s largest provider of personal training sessions. In January 2025, Future announced its merger with Autograph, the company founded by 7x World Champion and entrepreneur Tom Brady. We’re poised for massive growth as we expand our brand, forge new partnerships with some of the world’s most iconic athletes, and harness AI to enhance and scale our coaching experience.

As we continue to grow, we’re investing in cutting-edge technology, deepening our roster of elite coaches, and building new partnerships. If you're passionate about shaping the future of fitness, come join us - we’re just getting started.

About the Role

Backend engineers at Future operate at all levels -- building out core services, data pipelines, essential business systems, developer operations, and customer-facing features.  

We’re responsible for the entirety of product surfaces across user and trainer experiences, and the initiatives we drive span across foundational core infrastructure to rapid feature iteration. Backend engineers work closely with several engineering teams & product managers to deliver the APIs, infrastructure, and scalability needed for every initiative.

You will:

  • Design, implement, and test APIs for new products, features, and services
  • Maintain and optimize existing systems, with emphasis on database-related performance
  • Collaborate with other engineers across the stack as well as cross-functional stakeholders
  • Keep up to date with the latest technologies and industry best practices, and encouraging fellow engineers to do so
  • Serve as on-call engineer approximately one week per month, responsible for triaging incoming issues during non-working hour

You have: 

  • Great Product thinking. You think about the end user experience when you are building to consider whether the features you are building are not only meeting requirements but delighting users.
  • 4+ years of production development experience, specifically working on backend / API
  • Scrappiness and pragmatism. We are a small and fast-moving startup and value someone who can continually weigh tradeoffs to balance engineering excellence with velocity.
  • Strong knowledge of Go, AWS, Docker (ECS), Postgres (RDS)
  • Proven ability to employ software quality measures during development, such as unit/integration testing, monitoring, alerting
  • Experience managing Docker-based microservice architecture
  • Experience working in a fast-moving startup environment. You are adaptable to shifting priorities, and have a proven track record of cutting through asks to build what matters.
  • Nice to have: experience working with ETL, with keen intuition for optimized database performance

Compensation, Benefits & Life at Future:

  • Salary range: $160,000 - 215,000 / year + equity. The salary range is set based on multiple considerations including business needs, market demands, talent availability, experience, and unique skills and attributes. The base pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future.
  • Health coverage: All employees have access to comprehensive medical, vision, dental, and disability insurance + tax savings accounts
  • 401(k) plan
  • Flexible Paid Time Off
  • Future Membership: Enjoy our platform for free!
  • Health, Wellness & Development: Health and fitness monthly stipend contributes to our employees’ overall wellbeing, with access to a mental health platform, reimbursement for medical travel, and an annual learning & development stipend.
  • Remote First: Employment eligible to employees located anywhere in the continental US. No travel required.
  • Join a diverse, passionate & driven team of all backgrounds.

#LI-Remote