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 .

Lead Engineer

J.M. Smucker · Scottsville, KY

Your Opportunity as the Lead Engineer  

This role sits at the center of manufacturing performance—turning data, process knowledge, and cross-functional influence into safer operations, stronger yields, faster throughput, and better product consistency. You’ll be a hands-on technical leader who translates problems on the floor into practical improvements, while also shaping how engineers and technicians learn, troubleshoot, and deliver results.

Location: Scottsville, KY  

Work Arrangements: 7 am to 4 pm Monday–Friday with flexibility to support operations during occasional evenings, nights, or weekends, based on operational and business needs.

In this role you will:  

  • Serve as Process Engineer onboarding lead, mentoring/managing engineers and interns, building skills in troubleshooting, project management, and effective use of Operations Excellence tools.
  • Can perform gap analysis on key production metrics and demonstrate deep understanding of the 7-Step Process.
  • Lead failure analysis using Operations Excellence tools.
  • Owns, executes, reports on, and can develop department and site Masterplan items.
  • Perform a key role in building the fundamental understanding within the operating technicians in pursuit of a high-performance culture.
  • Support technical efforts to evaluate and improve on processes and formulations in manufacturing plant to improve production rates, efficiencies, and yield while maintaining reliable and safe manufacturing systems by collaborating with production teams and leadership.
  • Provide technical guidance between operations and R&D/Engineering on new product/process development, act as liaison between R&D/Engineering and Operations for scheduling and conducting plant test runs.
  • Coordinate and lead plant trials to evaluate new ingredients and/or new processing parameters.
  • Identify, Develop, and Execute savings projects, can include developing the funding request, managing the capital and engineering through start up.
  • Provide technical leadership within cross functional teams to deliver initiatives and departmental projects.
  • Serves as an expert within the plant in a key business area or discipline.
  • Employs effective interpersonal time and resource management skills to complete projects assignments
  • Leads multiple projects simultaneously, using best practices and knowledge of internal or external business issues to drive improvements
  • Build and leverage strong internal/external network to gain insight, influence and information.
  • Solve complex problems; take a broad perspective to identify creative and innovative solutions.
  • Develop and improve process documentation.
  • Help organization stay current with applicable new technologies/ingredients.
  • Support and provide guidance to operations/engineering organizations on evaluation of new production opportunities, improving existing operations, cost-saving ideas, and troubleshooting of major problems.
  • Monitor new products trends/competitive trend and activities.

What we are looking for:  

Minimum Requirements: 

  • Bachelor’s degree in Engineering required, Mechanical, Chemical, or Industrial preferred
  • Manufacturing experience, preferably in food
  • At least 3 years of experience in project management/construction management is required

Additional skills and experience that we think would make someone successful in this role:  

  • Familiarity with food ingredient chemistry, food processing and packaging equipment is desirable
  • Willingness to have a workload balance that includes systems tasks as well as laboratory, pilot plant, and manufacturing plant tasks.
  • Problem solving ability
  • Strong inter-personal skills
  • Ability to teach and lead others, working independently, with guidance in only the most complicated situations
  • An understanding of the Capital Delivery Process is desired
  • Open to managing operating teams as needed (as backup or future assignment)
  • Can support off shift or weekends as needed

#LI-TJ1

#INDSA

The Right Place for You 

We are bold, kind, strive to do the right thing, we play to win, and we believe in a strong community that thrives together. Our culture is rooted in our Basic Beliefs, and we believe in supporting every employee by meeting their physical, emotional, and financial needs. 

Stay connected with us on LinkedIn® 

We're an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, age, national origin, disability status or protected veteran status. 

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