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 .

School Psychologist

Lansingschools · Lansing, MI

The Lansing School District serves over 10,000 PreK-12 students across 25 school buildings in the increasingly diverse urban community of Lansing, MI. We are unique compared to other districts because of the wide variety of exciting and innovative educational options from which families and staff members can choose. All of Lansing School District’s team members are dedicated to our mission to provide an excellent education to all students in a safe and nurturing environment.

In the pursuit of our mission, we are hiring a School Psychologist to service a bundle of schools across our district. School Psychologists apply expertise in mental health, learning, and behavior to help students succeed academically, socially, behaviorally, and emotionally. The School Psychologist also participates in problem-solving meetings to design systems, programs and services that maximize students' social, emotional, and educational success. 
In the pursuit of our mission, we are hiring a School Psychologist to service a bundle of schools across our district. School Psychologists apply expertise in mental health, learning, and behavior to help students succeed academically, socially, behaviorally, and emotionally. The School Psychologist also participates in problem-solving meetings to design systems, programs and services that maximize students' social, emotional, and educational success. 
At Lansing School District, we champion diversity, equity, and inclusion, providing equal opportunities to all qualified applicants regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or sexual orientation. We foster a rich environment for professional growth and student experiences by valuing diverse perspectives. As an equal opportunity employer, we invite passionate individuals dedicated to educational excellence to apply for our positions.

We value internal mobility and list "Strong Internal Candidate" when considering an internal candidate before posting a job. We still encourage all candidates to apply.

Complete the attached online application at your earliest convenience. If selected, we will contact you to set up an interview. While we strive to provide prompt feedback, the high volume of applicants may limit our ability to do so. All of our jobs will be posted for at least 10 days (unless otherwise noted), but we will review applications on a rolling basis.

External candidates interested in multiple positions within the same department need only apply to one posting and can indicate other roles of interest in the final question. We will consider your application for various roles based on your qualifications.

Internal candidates should apply using their SSO email address and submit separate applications for each role of interest.
Thank you for your interest in joining our mission-driven team. We look forward to meeting you!

This job description is intended to outline the general responsibilities and qualifications for the position. It is not an exhaustive list of duties, and the Lansing School District reserves the right to modify job responsibilities as needed. Due to the evolving needs of the District, additional job responsibilities may be assigned (depending on funding sources).
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