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 .

Sr. Application Security Engineer

Materialsecurity · Remote

Material Security is a security company, which means the bar for our own application security is exceptionally high. We are looking for a Senior AppSec Engineer who is a "builder" first. You won't just be pointing out vulnerabilities; you will be writing code to eliminate entire classes of bugs.

In this role, you will have a high degree of autonomy to shape our security culture. You’ll spend your time partnering with engineering to ensure we’re building products and systems the right way and building internal tools that make it easier for our engineers to move fast without sacrificing safety. If you enjoy diving deep into complex codebases and building infrastructure that scales security, we want to talk to you.

Responsibilities

  • Lead AppSec Strategy: Own the end-to-end security of the Material application, from design and threat modeling to deployment.

  • Vulnerability Management: Secure our dependency supply chain while working directly with engineering.

  • Build Security Tooling: Develop internal automation to detect and block abuse patterns and streamline security workflows (e.g., JIT access, dependency scanning).

  • Code & Architecture Review: Perform deep-dive security audits and code reviews for new and existing product features.

  • Infrastructure Security: Partner with the infrastructure team to harden our Kubernetes deployments and cloud environments (GCP).

What We’re Looking For

  • Technical Depth: 5+ years of experience in application security, including significant time spent writing and reviewing code.

  • Software Engineering Skills: Proficiency in more than more than one major coding language. Preferably (but not required), that set would include Javascript/Typescript. You should be comfortable contributing directly to the codebase.

  • Cloud & Containers: Practical experience securing cloud environments (GCP preferred) and a strong understanding of Kubernetes security.

  • Systems Thinking: A deep understanding of identity and access management (SAML, OAuth, IAM) and how to protect sensitive data at rest and in transit.

  • Pragmatism: The ability to balance security risks with business velocity. You should be able to propose creative "middle ground" solutions that reduce risk without blocking progress.

  • Versatility: A willingness to jump into areas adjacent to traditional AppSec—e.g data analysis in BigQuery or learning about protecting against prompt injection —to get the job done.

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Material Security is a remote-first workplace with an office in San Francisco, California.


By clicking "Apply for this Job", you acknowledge that you have read the California Candidate Privacy Notice Regarding Use of Personal Information and hereby agree to its terms.

Compensation at Material Security is determined by a range of factors, including but not limited to the individual’s particular combination of knowledge, skills, competencies, and experience. The projected compensation range for this position is $170,000-220,000.

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement

Material Security is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or any other legally protected status. All employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit, and business needs.

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