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 .

Hometap Talent Community

Hometapjobs · Boston

Here at Hometap, we’re collaborative, passionate, and always ready to roll up our sleeves to create solutions that help people get more out of homeownership — and out of life. Our first product, a home equity investment, gives homeowners the opportunity to quickly access the equity they’ve built in their home to pay for what’s most important to them, from handling debt to finally making much-needed renovations, without taking on debt.  

We work hard, and have some fun along the way, too. You don’t have to take our word for it: The Boston Globe and Forbes have recognized us as a great place to work, and we’ve been honored for our commitment to innovation in the fintech space by Inc., HousingWire, and more! 

In case you need any more convincing, we also provide competitive compensation, healthcare coverage, generous PTO, a meaningful equity package, and a strong culture with plenty of opportunities for team-building and camaraderie.

Interested in joining us on our mission to make homeownership less stressful and more accessible? We’d love to talk.

Join our Talent Community:

Interested in joining Hometap, but don’t see an opportunity listed that’s quite a fit? Hometap is growing and regularly adding new roles. If you’d like to stay in touch with us, please submit your application to our Talent Community – we’ll keep you updated on news at Hometap, and reach out if we open up an opportunity that’s a fit for your experience. We look forward to staying in touch!

Hometap is on a mission to make homeownership less stressful and more accessible. Our home equity investment product provides homeowners with a fast, simple, and straightforward way to access the equity in their home without taking out a loan or having to sell. By investing alongside homeowners, Hometap offers debt-free cash in exchange for a share of their home’s future value — all without any monthly payments over the life of the investment. Through a combination of financial innovation and best-in-class customer service, Hometap enables people to get more from homeownership so they can get more from life.
 
Hometap believes that our differences are what bring us together, and one of our biggest priorities is creating a diverse workplace that welcomes and values each team member’s unique perspective, background, and ideas. All roles here are filled based solely on candidates’ qualifications and our business needs.
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