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 .

Performance Management Lead

Lusternational · Fresno, California, United States

About the Position 

We’re seeking a Performance Management Lead to support large, complex rail and transit capital programs, as well as other heavy-civil infrastructure efforts including highways, bridges, and airport projects delivered through both traditional and alternative methods. This role is responsible for stewarding the program capital baseline and integrating cost, schedule, and risk information to assess performance, identify trends, and provide forward-looking insight to support informed decision-making across major capital programs. 

This is a long-term, full-time, on-site or hybrid position located in Fresno, CA. 

Responsibilities may include, but are not limited to, the following: 

  • Serve as the lead steward of the program capital baseline, including ownership of the underlying technical documentation, systems, and data structures that support performance tracking and governance. 
  • Coordinate across cost, schedule, and risk functions to ensure integrated, consistent, and accurate program-level performance reporting against the approved baseline. 
  • Define, maintain, and continuously improve methodologies for measuring progress and performance against the capital baseline. 
  • Manage and enforce baseline change control processes, ensuring adherence to established governance, approval, and documentation requirements. 
  • Assess cost forecasts, schedules, and risk updates across the program to evaluate alignment with the capital baseline and identify emerging variances, trends, and potential impacts. 
  • Lead or support development of annual budgets and multi-year forecasts, including clearly documenting and explaining year-over-year changes, drivers, and assumptions. 
  • Analyze trends, risks, and variances relative to original estimates and budgets, and identify mitigation opportunities to support alignment with baseline assumptions and funding expectations. 
  • Drive continuous improvement of performance management processes, procedures, systems, and data structures in coordination with the broader project controls organization. 
  • Lead the development and maintenance of scalable work breakdown structures, asset breakdown structures, and related data frameworks to enable effective rolled-up program reporting. 
  • Partner with reporting teams to shape monthly and annual reporting outputs, ensuring information is accurate, timely, appropriately detailed, and tailored to executive and stakeholder needs. 
  • Operate as a program-level subject matter expert on capital baseline integrity, data quality, and consistency across cost, schedule, and risk reporting. 

Attributes 

  • Excellent written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills. 
  • Strong analytical mindset with the ability to synthesize complex, multi-source data into clear, actionable insights. 
  • Highly organized with strong attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple priorities under time pressure. 
  • Collaborative approach that fosters trust and effective partnerships across multidisciplinary and cross-functional teams. 
  • Proactive problem-solver with a continuous improvement mindset and comfort operating in complex program environments. 

Minimum Qualifications 

  • Bachelor's degree in construction management, engineering, business management, project management, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience. 
  • 10+ years of experience in program controls or performance management supporting large, complex rail or transit capital programs. 
  • Strong knowledge of project controls principles, including cost management, schedule management, risk management, and capital baseline governance. 
  • Demonstrated experience integrating cost, schedule, and risk data to support program-level performance assessment and executive decision-making. 
  • Experience leading or coordinating project controls or performance management teams on major capital programs.