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 .

Consultant, Private Equity

Northern Trust · Pune, India

About Northern Trust:

Northern Trust, a Fortune 500 company, is a globally recognized, award-winning financial institution that has been in continuous operation since 1889.

Northern Trust is proud to provide innovative financial services and guidance to the world’s most successful individuals, families, and institutions by remaining true to our enduring principles of service, expertise, and integrity. With more than 130 years of financial experience and over 22,000 partners, we serve the world’s most sophisticated clients using leading technology and exceptional service.

  • Establishes and develops plans that are thorough, realistic, and effective in meeting goals; Incumbent will be responsible for managing available resources and work allocation.
  • Responsible for maintaining high standard of accuracy and timeliness for all deliverables.
  • Shows a sense of urgency; drives to closure; persists despite obstacle; strives to achieve results; pursues challenging goals and works hard to achieve them.
  • Coordinating with the onshore team on Migrations, working closely  with Managers for on-boarding new transitions.
  • Must have strong subject matter expertise along with thorough understanding of Investran application
  • Support and drive system changes and strategic initiatives - Elicit, analyse, outline and develop requirements by coordinating with business and technology teams.
  • Formulate application testing strategies and test plans, execute test cases (manual or automated) and troubleshoot defects.
  • Analyse operational procedures and processes, working with the PCA business to identify areas for automation, to reduce risk and improve efficiency.
  • Develop subject Matter Expert for REIF and Private Equity products and business by documenting and developing knowledge base and cross-training team members across regions.
  • Serve as a Change Advocate; establish trust within the corresponding business teams; gain enthusiasm within the teams.
    • Performing quality assurance checks on information received internally from other supporting functions.
    • Maintain accounting system, reviewing all fund transactions and reclassifications of journals.
    • Handling client, audit and internal queries and acting as face of the process.
    • Coordinate with operational teams, internal groups and external counterparties to resolve discrepancies in a timely and efficient manner; also ensure full and proper reporting to the manager of any operational issues.
    • Maintain internal volume and review logs, ensuring all administrative and IT records are entered and updated correctly.
    • Trouble shoot process issues, assist and answer queries of junior and new staff.
    • Training and coaching new team members as the group grows.
    • Contributing to process development and productivity, implementing new initiatives; Identify efficiencies and area’s for improvement to reduce risk and become more efficient.
    • Assist managers in business development, client specific reporting / analysis request and special projects.
    • Act as a back up for Team Lead and manage the work in his/her absence

Working with Us:

As a Northern Trust partner, greater achievements await. You will be part of a flexible and collaborative work culture in an organization where financial strength and stability is an asset that emboldens us to explore new ideas.

Movement within the organization is encouraged, senior leaders are accessible, and you can take pride in working for a company committed to assisting the communities we serve! Join a workplace with a greater purpose.

We’d love to learn more about how your interests and experience could be a fit with one of the world’s most admired and sustainable companies! Build your career with us and apply today. #MadeForGreater

Reasonable accommodation

Northern Trust is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please email our HR Service Center at [email protected].

We hope you’re excited about the role and the opportunity to work with us. We value an inclusive workplace and understand flexibility means different things to different people.

Apply today and talk to us about your flexible working requirements and together we can achieve greater.

About Our Pune Office

The Northern Trust Pune office, established in 2016, is now home to over 3,000 employees. The office handles various functions, including Operations for Asset Servicing and Wealth Management, as well as delivering critical technology solutions that support business operations across the globe.

Our Pune team takes our commitment to service to heart. In 2024, they volunteered more than 10,000+ hours into the communities where they live and work. Learn more.