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 .

Troubleshooting Cloudflare Errors

Indeed

Troubleshooting Cloudflare Errors

Quick summary

Cloudflare is a service that helps protect and accelerate websites. Getting a Cloudflare error usually means your connection to the site was blocked or interrupted due to security settings or network issues. While you can't opt out of Cloudflare, following these steps in order may help fix the problem.

Desktop and mobile browsers

Step 1: Disable your browser extensions.

  1. Disable all browser extensions, including privacy-related ones.
  2. Reload the page.

Step 2: Turn off the VPN or proxy.

Switch off any VPN or proxy services you're using.

Step 3: Disable ad blockers.

Switch off any ad-blocking extensions or software.

Step 4: Check your browser settings.

  • Make sure you're using your browser's latest version.
  • Enable JavaScript and cookies.
  • Clear your browser cache. Find out how to do this for mobile or desktop browsers.

Step 5: Try incognito mode.

Open your browser in incognito or private mode.

Step 6: Try a different browser.

  1. Open a different web browser.
  2. Ensure there are no extensions for this browser.
  3. Enter the website address to check if it loads.

Mobile app

Step 1: Delete and reinstall the app.

  1. Reinstall the app on your device. See the Apple or Android Help Centers for more info.
  2. Restart your phone after reinstalling the app.

Step 2: Turn off the VPN or proxy.

Switch off any VPN or proxy services you're using.

Step 3: Clear your cache and cookies.

Check our Mobile Apps Help Center article for instructions on clearing app files and data.

Next steps

If you're still experiencing issues after following the steps above, you can:

Step 1: Use a different network.

Switch to another Wi-Fi network in your device's settings. You can also use your mobile network.

Step 2: Reset your router.

Follow your router's instructions to reset it.

Step 3: Use a different device.

Switch between mobile and desktop.

Contacting us

Step 1

Need more help? Let us know what steps you tried.

Step 2

Include the following information:

  1. Where on the site are you experiencing the issue (signing in, searching, applying)?
  2. What happens after you select Verify you are human?
  3. Include a screenshot or recording with a recent (Cloudflare) Ray ID.
  4. If you're using a browser:
    1. Provide console errors by exporting the console log. Here are instructions on how to do this.
    2. Include a screenshot of enabled browser extensions.
    3. Does the issue happen in incognito mode?

Step 3

Click or tap Submit a request. Include the information from step 2 to help us review the issue.

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