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 .

Business Development Representative (BDR)

Gravityclimate · San Francisco

Business Development Representative (BDR)

Who We Are

Gravity Climate is a venture-backed Series A stage startup that helps industrial businesses and their supply chain partners manage and reduce their carbon footprint. We’re building a software platform that makes it easy and cost-effective for companies to measure their emissions, decarbonize their operations, and promote their sustainability efforts. Together with our customers, our mission is to rapidly accelerate industrial decarbonization. Visit our team page for more about our company and values.

The Opportunity

Gravity is looking for a hyper entrepreneurial, high-energy, intelligent and resilient BDR to drive our outbound sales motion. This role will be the tip of the spear when it comes to engaging and educating new customers who will benefit from Gravity’s climate management and decarbonization platform. This role will work directly with an experienced and passionate team of BDRs and AEs laser focused on driving rapid, scalable adoption of our climate transition platform in the sectors of the economy most in need.  If you are tenacious seller and problem solver who is looking to work and learn in a dynamic environment with a team inspired by tackling enormous challenges, then this is the role for you.

You will

  • Unlock opportunity. Combine the data-driven approach with an unrelenting work ethic, building pipeline in proven and new segments alike.

  • Seek to understand and educate. Our customers sometimes have different and unique perspectives on climate. We want to meet them where they are, while also educating them on the positive business drivers climate strategy can unlock.

  • Operate like an owner. Creatively solve problems, find new avenues to engage customers and operate with a scrappy and all hands on deck outlook. This is a role designed for overachievers that aren't afraid to drive new approaches.

  • Develop expertise in both climate and our customers' operations. Climate is hard. The only way we can make it easier for our customers is to understand their pain points and help them build better businesses with a climate strategy.

Qualifications & Skills

  • You have at least 1-2 years of experience in sales or sales development in a SaaS or similar environment and a consistent record of over-achievement.

  • The customers you've worked with would have only outstanding things to say about you.

  • You creatively and independently solve problems, you communicate clearly, you're not afraid to ask for help when you need it, and you're inherently curious.

  • You are a pragmatic optimist eager to rapidly grow personally and professionally.

  • You believe our biggest challenges are also our biggest opportunities.

  • Experience working at a startup or other fast-paced organization. Growth at gravity is measured in revenue multiples and change comes fast.

Nice to Have

  • Expertise in corporate decarbonization efforts or the climate space in general.

  • Knowledge of industrial customers' systems, emissions profiles, and/or business needs.

Gravity provides

  • Foundational impact at a company transforming industrial sustainability.

  • Competitive salary.

  • Outstanding health, vision, dental, and life insurance.

  • Meaningful equity.

  • Unlimited PTO.

Thank you for your interest in Gravity!

View full listing