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 .

Recruiter

Newlantern · San Francisco

Location: San Francisco, CA
Employment Type: Full-time, Mid-Level

🌟 About Us

The Role

We’re looking for our first Founding Recruiter to lead all things talent acquisition at New Lantern. You’ll own the full recruitment lifecycle across engineering, product, sales, and operations, while helping us build scalable recruiting processes from the ground up. You'd work directly with the CEO and leadership team, shaping how we find and close the people who will define this company.

🛠 What You’d Own

  • Full-cycle recruiting across engineering, product, sales, and operations — you own it end-to-end, from sourcing through close.

  • Partnering with hiring managers to define roles — you help shape job descriptions, set recruiting strategies, and align on what great looks like.

  • Building top-of-funnel from scratch — LinkedIn, referrals, creative channels — you figure out what works and double down.

  • Delivering an excellent candidate experience at every stage — you're the first impression of New Lantern for every person who enters our pipeline.

  • Tracking recruiting metrics and continuously improving — you measure what matters and use data to get better and faster.

  • Establishing foundational recruiting systems, processes, and tools — what you build here becomes the standard as we scale.

  • Running first-round screens and evaluating candidates directly — you're assessing for culture add, drive, and early-stage fit, not just passing resumes along.

  • Representing New Lantern's mission and culture to the talent market — you're our voice to the people we want to hire.

✅ What We’re Looking For

  • 2 -6 years of recruiting experience in a fast-paced startup or tech environment.

  • Proven success hiring across technical and non-technical roles — engineering, product, sales, operations — with a track record of closing strong candidates.

  • Strong sourcing ability and a creative approach to finding talent.

  • Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.

  • Highly organized and detail-oriented, with the ability to juggle multiple open roles simultaneously.

  • A passion for startups and excitement about building recruiting from scratch.

  • Experience scaling teams from 10 → 50+ employees — a plus, but not required.

  • Familiarity with ATS tools (e.g., Ashby, Greenhouse, Lever) — a plus, but not required.

  • Comfortable operating with ambiguity and making decisions without a complete picture.

  • Thrives in a fast-moving, early-stage environment where you're building the process, not following one.

🎯 Why Join Us?

  • Be the first recruiter. Shape recruiting culture, brand, and processes from day one.

  • Direct access. Work closely with the founder and leadership team on company-defining hires.

  • Real impact. The people you bring in will build the product that reaches radiologists doing real patient care.

  • Real business. Well-funded, growing, already generating enterprise revenue — you're here to scale something that works.

  • Room to grow. Clear paths into People Operations, Talent Leadership, or HR.

New Lantern is an equal opportunity employer that values inclusion and diversity across our team. We are committed to equal opportunity for all applicants regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristic.

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