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 .

HGR Specialist

Iqvia · Shanghai, China

Job Overview
Under moderate supervision, executes the feasibility, site identification regulatory, start-up, and maintenance activities in accordance with regulations, SOPs, and project requirements  at the regional, or country level.
Prepares and manages site documentation; reviews and negotiates site  documents and contracts with sites and sponsors; maintains, reviews, and reports on site performance metrics; serves as the primary point of contact for investigative sites; tracks completion of appropriate documents for sites; ensures contracts are fully executed; and establishes project timelines.  With moderate oversight and supervision, perform tasks at a country/region level associated with site activation activities in accordance with  applicable local and/or international
regulations, standard operating procedures (SOPs), project requirements and contractual/budgetary guidelines. May also include maintenance activities.

Essential Functions
• With moderate oversight and supervision, werve a Single Point of Contact (SPOC) to perform feasibility, site activation and some maintenance activities in assigned studies for investigative sites, according to applicable regulations, SOPs and work instructions, working closely with the  Site Activation Manager (SAM), Project Management team, and other departments as necessary. Review documents for completeness, consistency and accuracy, under guidance of senior staff.
• Prepare site documents, reviewing for completeness and accuracy.
• Inform team members of completion of regulatory contractual. and other documents for individual sites.
• Distribute completed documents to sites and internal project team members.
• Update and maintain internal systems, databases, tracking tools, timelines and project plans with accurate and complete project specific information.
• Review, track and follow up the progress, the approval and execution of required documents such as questionaires, CDAs, regulatory, ethics, Informed Consent Form (ICF) and Investigator Pack (IP) release documents. Requires advanced knowledge within a specific discipline typically gained through extensive work experience and/or education.

Qualifications
• Bachelor's Degree Life sciences or a related field Req And
• Other 1 - 3 years’ clinical research or other relevant experience; or equivalent combination of education, training and experience. Req
• With 3 years’ experience in a healthcare environment or equivalent combination of education, training and experience.

IQVIA is a leading global provider of clinical research services, commercial insights and healthcare intelligence to the life sciences and healthcare industries. We create intelligent connections to accelerate the development and commercialization of innovative medical treatments to help improve patient outcomes and population health worldwide. Learn more at https://jobs.iqvia.com

IQVIA is committed to integrity in our hiring process and maintains a zero tolerance policy for candidate fraud. All information and credentials submitted in your application must be truthful and complete. Any false statements, misrepresentations, or material omissions during the recruitment process will result in immediate disqualification of your application, or termination of employment if discovered later, in accordance with applicable law. We appreciate your honesty and professionalism.

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