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 .

Account Executive

Motherduck · San Francisco

About MotherDuck

Don’t let the quirky name fool you: At MotherDuck, we’re on a mission to make data warehousing fun, frictionless, and ducking awesome for developers and data practitioners building blazing fast internal and customer-facing analytics experiences. We're building a cloud-hosted version of DuckDB, working hand-in-hand with the creators of the fastest-growing and fastest-improving query engine on the planet. Unlike other databases, MotherDuck was architected to unify local development with cloud operations to bridge the gap between software and data engineering workflows. Our team is a mix of thoughtful, passionate, and empathetic data industry veterans.

What you'll do:

At MotherDuck, we're reimagining cloud-based data analytics with a delightful, developer-first experience powered by DuckDB. We're a team of curious, driven, and thoughtful people who believe simplicity can be powerful, and that selling software should be just as magical as building it.

As we grow, we're looking for an Account Executive who can do more than just run a sales motion, we want someone who helps shape it. The best AEs we've met bring authentic confidence, real urgency, and the kind of entrepreneurial ownership that comes from genuinely believing in what they're selling. If you've spent time in the data analytics, database, or developer tooling space and you light up when a customer finally connects the dots on a hard problem, you might be just the duck we're looking for.

This isn't a role where you'll be handed a polished playbook and told to execute. You'll be selling to data engineers, analysts, and technical decision-makers who will absolutely ask hard questions... and you'll need to love that part of the job. Our deal teams are collaborative by design (AE, customer engineer, support engineer, and manager all working together), so you'll never be going it alone. But you do need to show up with curiosity, grit, and the ability to read the room and adjust appropriately.

This role will be based out of either our New York City, Seattle, or San Francisco office. 

Key Responsibilities:

  • Drive new revenue: Prospect, engage, and close new business across a mix of inbound and outbound opportunities.

  • Own the full sales cycle: From first touch to signed contract, you’ll guide prospects through the buying process and ensure they feel the value of MotherDuck at every step.

  • Understand the problem space: You’ll connect with data engineers, analysts, and decision-makers to understand their challenges and communicate how we solve them—clearly and convincingly.

  • Collaborate cross-functionally: Work with product, marketing, and customer success to share feedback, align on messaging, and continuously improve how we go to market.

  • Contribute to the playbook: Help refine sales strategies, positioning, and processes so we can scale efficiently (and delightfully).

  • Build relationships, not just pipeline: Focus on long-term partnerships and helping customers get the most value out of their data.


Requirements

  • Proven experience in SaaS sales, ideally within the data analytics, database, or developer tooling space.

  • Strong product and technical curiosity... you don’t need to be an engineer, but you should enjoy learning how the tech works and how it solves real problems.

  • A consistent track record of meeting or exceeding quota and helping build revenue in a fast-moving environment.

  • Drive and resilience... you push through setbacks, learn quickly, and stay focused on the goal.

  • Coach-ability and self-awareness... you seek feedback, act on it, and grow from it.

  • A strong alignment to our values:

    • Agency: You take initiative and act like an owner.

    • Thoughtfulness: You consider the “why” behind every decision.

    • Unorthodoxy: You’re open to creative approaches and fresh thinking.

    • Flexibility: You adapt quickly and stay calm in ambiguity.


What we provide

  • Feather-ruffling compensation – competitive salary and stock options so you have a stake in our flock’s success.

  • Top-notch healthcare coverage – 100% paid medical, dental, and vision for employees, plus 85% coverage for dependents (because we care about your whole nest).

  • Flexible PTO – take the time you need to recharge, explore, or just have a lazy day by the pond.

  • 401k plan – because even ducks need to plan for the future.

  • Legendary company events – we bring the whole flock together twice a year for unforgettable summits in fun locations, plus 1-2 team gatherings a year to keep our bonds strong.

  • Flexible work environment - spend most of the week in the office collaborating with the flock, and work from wherever you're most productive the rest of the time. Specifics are role dependent and as agreed upon with your manager.

Please Apply

Does this role sound appealing to you, but you’re missing some of the requirements or don’t quite think you’re qualified?  Please apply anyway. Research has shown that underrepresented groups in technology often shy away from roles which aren’t a 100% match. We aim to build a diverse team and will strongly consider applicants who bring many of the requirements plus have other experiences which round out their qualifications.

MotherDuck is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. MotherDuck is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with physical and mental disabilities.