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 .

HR Manager

Rocketsciencegg · London, UK

The Space Rangers team are recruiting a HR Manager to join a London based Game Studio!

Location: London (on-site)

ABOUT THE ROLE:

Reporting to the VP of People, the HR Manager is the most senior HR practitioner in the studio. You’ll play a central role in supporting the people who make our games. From helping managers navigate tricky situations to making sure our processes are clear, fair, and easy to work with, you’ll help ensure the studio runs in a way that supports both our teams and the work they do.

This is a hands-on generalist role with significant autonomy. You’ll work closely with studio leadership and the VP of People to ensure HR practices are practical, supportive, and continue to evolve as the studio grows.

Our studio environment is informal, collaborative, and fast-moving. Success in this role requires someone who is comfortable navigating ambiguity, exercising sound judgement, and building trusted relationships across the studio rather than relying on heavy process or large HR structures.

This role focuses on delivering strong day-to-day HR support for the studio, while helping evolve our people practices over time.

WHAT YOU’LL DO:

  • Own day-to-day HR delivery - Lead the delivery of core HR activity across the studio, including employee relations, performance management, onboarding and off-boarding, and development initiatives.

  • Partner with studio leadership - Act as a trusted advisor to the leadership team, providing pragmatic advice and guidance on people decisions.

  • Lead employee relations matters - Handle employee relations issues with sound judgement and empathy, escalating complex or high-risk cases where appropriate.

  • Support and coach managers - Equip people leaders with the confidence and tools to manage their teams effectively, including feedback, performance conversations, and difficult situations.

  • Deliver company-wide People processes - Support the delivery of key HR and reward processes, ensuring they are applied clearly, fairly, and consistently across the studio.

  • Maintain compliance and sound practice - Ensure HR policies and processes remain aligned with UK employment law and good practice.

  • Improve how we work - Identify opportunities to improve HR processes, documentation, and ways of working as the studio continues to evolve.

  • Support studio culture and engagement - Help maintain a collaborative, supportive working environment where teams can do their best work.

WHAT WE VALUE:

  • CIPD Level 5 or 7 qualification, or equivalent professional experience.

  • Strong experience in a senior HR generalist role with responsibility across the employee lifecycle.

  • Proven experience managing employee relations matters with sound judgement and a solid understanding of UK employment law.

  • Experience advising and coaching managers on people management, performance, and difficult conversations.

  • Experience supporting teams in a smaller, fast-moving, or project-driven environment where pragmatism and strong working relationships matter more than heavy processes

  • A practical, solutions-focused approach and the ability to build trust and credibility across different levels of the studio.

WHAT WE CAN OFFER:

Competitive Salary and Benefits Package: Your health and wellbeing is important to us, so we offer a variety of benefits including:

  • Enhanced Private Pension Scheme

  • Private Medical Insurance

  • Group Life Assurance

  • Competitive holiday + studio wide closures in summer and winter

  • Gym Membership Allowance

  • Free Eye Tests

  • Free on-site parking

  • Electric Car Scheme

  • Season Ticket Loans


A FRIENDLY NOTE FROM THE RECRUITMENT TEAM:

Let us do the work for you: Even if your profile isn’t an exact match for all of the qualifications listed above, we still want you to apply. Our team members come from a variety of different industries, not all of which are immediately relevant to game or software development, and we welcome all candidates of similarly varied backgrounds, communities, and identities.