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 .

Associate Principal Analyst, Beauty & Personal Care

Mintel · Chicago

Mintel is an international leader in providing consumer market research and competitive intelligence tools as well as in delivering customized consulting solutions to top-tier organizations. With group headquarters in the United Kingdom, and U.S. headquarters in Chicago, Mintel has been a market leader for over 50 years.

The Associate Principal Analyst, Beauty & Personal Care (BPC) will support our BPC client portfolio through creating and delivering expert insight and exceptional client service. The Associate Principal Analyst will ideally have 5+ years of experience and should have in-depth experience in the Beauty industry with a focus on skincare and ingredient trends along with an ability to combine that knowledge with strong data analysis skills to help our clients remain competitive in the future. 

This is a Hybrid position based in Chicago. 

What You Will Be Doing:

  • Identifying and predicting white space opportunities and industry trends for brands and manufacturers through written analysis covering:
    • Emerging ingredient, product, and marketing trends in the BPC industry with a focus on skincare and ingredient trends
    • Consumer needs and the opportunities they offer to manufacturers, suppliers and brands
    • Brand and retailer strategies
    • Technical expertise related to product development, ingredient functionality and baseline understanding of industry patents
  • Interacting with major Beauty & Personal Care industry players
    • Regularly speak with clients on global and regional trends and product development ideas
    • Develop and conduct on-site and over-the-phone client presentations, as well as emailed deliverables, in response to client requests, covering market and product insights and trends
  • Representing Mintel as an industry expert at tradeshows and with press
    • Present at tradeshows, conferences and professional events
    • Respond to journalists and other media requests

We Are Looking for People Who Are:

  • A Subject Matter Expert: You live and breathe CPG consumer insights. You follow blogs and industry resources and are well-versed in market innovators and disruptors. You are able to predict emerging trends in the industry. 
  • Commercially-Minded: You are dedicated to quality, ensuring accuracy and efficiency in your work to elevate Mintel as a top consumer insights company.
  • Naturally Curious: You are naturally curious and great at navigating internal and external data, asking second and third level questions to see the patterns behind data to craft expert analysis to be used by clients.
  • Self-Directed: You take initiative to solve problems and uncover opportunities. You have a self-sufficient work ethic; entrepreneurial in spirit and are naturally self-motivated. You welcome the ability to work in a fast paced environment and work autonomously to manage and prioritize multiple projects at once.
  • Great Communicator: You have extremely polished verbal and written communication skills, and can adapt your communication style to internal and external partners. You speak clearly, concisely, and present yourself with confidence. 
  • Tech-Savvy: You have excellent Microsoft Office skills. You are able to find creative ways to help clients digest and derive insights from large sets of data. You have experience working with syndicated consumer research such as Simmons/MRI and have worked with syndicated sales data such as IRI or Nielsen.
  • A Collaborator: You bring an energy to the table that encourages and develops internal relationships. You seek out opportunities to collaborate with peers in your department and across the organization to ultimately elevate our clients experience.

Equal Opportunity Employer: Race/Color/Sex/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity/Religion/National Origin/Disability/Vets

The below reflects the range of base salary for this role at the time of this posting. An employee’s position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to, skills, experience, and qualifications. The salary range for this role is: $85,000 USD to $105,000 USD. 

Alongside salary, Mintel offers a comprehensive benefits package including medical/dental/vision insurance, flexible spending accounts, health savings accounts, employer paid life and disability insurance, 401(k) with employer match and paid time off. We are invested in our employees' wellbeing which is why we also offer flexible working hours, ClassPass subsidy, mental health benefit through Modern Health, paid volunteer time off, paid birthday leave and paid parental leave.

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