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 .

Senior Experience Strategy & UX Designer

Qualifieddigital · Remote

About the Role 

We’re seeking a Senior Experience Strategist & UX Designer to join our fast-growing CX team. This is a full-time, remote position.

The QD CX team focuses on the holistic, end-to-end digital experience. The team brings together inputs from the business, voice of customer, overall market conditions, technology, design, data, and brand to define the overall digital roadmap and solution for clients. We act as trusted advisors to our customers, inspiring them with expert strategic guidance and innovative ideas grounded by the knowledge of what it will take to bring them to fruition. We are driven by a passion for making the digital world easier, more equitable, and more enjoyable. 

The Senior Experience Strategist & UX Designer Lead will work in concert with other team members to help pin-point the client’s problem and identify, design, and test the right, best, and most viable solution to address it.  The ideal candidate for this role combines a thoughtful, strategic perspective with strong application of human-centered design methods in day-to-day work. They collaborate effectively with cross-disciplinary teams while managing their own design work and contributing meaningful insights to projects. They have a track record of strong UX and experience design deliverables and are continuing to deepen their strategic thinking and impact.

Responsibilities

  • Maintain the consumer’s best interests in mind at all times, while balancing user needs with client business objectives to create valuable, usable experiences. Understand the project goals and help identify what data or information we need to support those goals, contributing to insights that inform successful outcomes.
  • Help define and support research efforts needed to gain insights and drive the project strategy. Research could include: Voice of Customer (VoC) surveys and interviews, concept testing and market validation, stakeholder discussions and workshops, testing and optimization programs, and everything in between
  • With oversight, help create and facilitate workshops with client teams to achieve consensus, promote understanding, and gain buy-in
  • Help define user personas, journey maps, and experience flows based on research findings
  • With oversight, translate user insights / the experience strategy into design concepts, sketches, wireframes, and high-fidelity prototypes accompanied by annotations
  • Work within a design system; contributes to improvements by identifying functionality gaps and creating new UI/components to support
  • Contribute to defining or refining information architecture, navigation models, and to-be sitemaps
  • Work with cross-disciplinary teams to:
  • Work with our data team to inform a measurement plan that proves the value of the experience pre and post launch
  • Participate in usability and experience testing activities, helping synthesize findings and contribute to actionable recommendations. 
  • Have interest in and a working knowledge of the most current accessibility principles and guidelines
  • Give visual design feedback and critique to push and pressure-test the work 
  • Develop the ability to speak to QD’s core offerings and connect them to client business outcomes in conversations and deliverables.
  • Keep tabs on trends, best practices, and emerging standards in the digital landscape

Qualifications

  • At least 4 years of experience as a UX designer or professional at an agency
  • Complete familiarity and expertise in UX design, research, and testing deliverables and activities
  • Figma experience is required
  • Strong communication and collaboration skills; with an ability to communicate clearly and directly to clients
  • Ability to produce high-quality, key deliverables (such as wireframes, prototypes, and journey maps),incorporating feedback and guidance from project leads.
  • Ability to manage multiple tasks or project workstreams while maintaining organization and meeting deadlines.
  • Experience with Adobe Experience Manager or similar content management systems
  • Experience with healthcare organizations, hospitality, and B2B is a plus, as is experience with Service Design

Applicants who’d like to be considered for a full-time position must be US or Canada based.

The target range of base compensation for this role is $120,000 - $140,000. Actual compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, and location.

About QD

Qualified Digital (QD) is a full-service digital agency focused on imagining, building, measuring, and improving digital experiences across marketing ecosystems. We specifically focus on the integration of systems related to experience strategy and design, WCM/CMS strategy, and implementation, optimization and personalization, marketing automation, CDP, and data analytics.

QD is a team of experts who know the value of building connections for our clients – and ourselves too! Our mission is to advance the healthiest and most connected brands around. We’re looking for people with unique voices and talents, insatiable curiosity, and a desire to be recognized for all that you are and do to help us create and orchestrate experiences & operations that are connected, human and intelligent.

As a woman-owned and LGBTQIA+-owned business, we understand that diversity isn’t a box to tick or a quota to hit; it’s in the very fabric of the work we do. Even if you don’t feel you meet every single qualification listed above, we strongly encourage you to apply – especially if you are in a historically-disenfranchised group.  QD is dedicated to creating an inclusive, welcoming employee experience for all, regardless of gender identity, gender presentation, religion, sexual orientation, age, or disability.

Benefits & Culture

QD is a team of experts who know the value of building connections for our clients – and ourselves too! Our mission is to advance the healthiest and most connected brands around. We’re looking for people with unique voices and talents, insatiable curiosity, and a desire to be recognized for all that you are and do to help us create and orchestrate experiences & operations that are connected, human and intelligent.

Full-time employees of QD are eligible for a full benefits package. Here are some of the highlights:

  • Comprehensive Health Coverage: Choose from a wide range of medical, dental, and vision insurance plans available in your area, so you can find coverage that fits your needs.

  • Time Off That Actually Feels Like Time Off: Enjoy paid sick time, 10 paid holidays, and flexible vacation time—because rest and balance matter.

  • Financial Security & Protection: We offer a 401(k) plan, along with optional Life Insurance, AD&D Insurance, and Disability Insurance to help protect you and your loved ones.

  • Fully Remote Work: Work from anywhere. We’re a fully remote organization that values flexibility and autonomy.