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 .

Data Scientist - Post Sales

Sardine · UK - Remote

Who we are:

We are a leader in fraud prevention and AML compliance. Our platform uses device intelligence, behavior biometrics, machine learning, and AI to stop fraud before it happens. Today, over 300 banks, retailers, and fintechs worldwide use Sardine to stop identity fraud, payment fraud, account takeovers, and social engineering scams. We have raised $145M from world-class investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Activant, Visa, Experian, FIS, and Google Ventures.

Our culture:

  • We have hubs in the Bay Area, NYC, Austin, Toronto, and São Paulo. However, we maintain a remote-first work culture. #WorkFromAnywhere

  • We hire talented, self-motivated individuals with extreme ownership and high growth orientation.

  • We value performance and not hours worked. We believe you shouldn't have to miss your family dinner, your kid's school play, friends get-together, or doctor's appointments for the sake of adhering to an arbitrary work schedule.

Location:

  • Remote - UK/Germany/Spain/Ireland/Poland/Netherlands/Lithuania/Bulgaria

  • From Home / Beach / Mountain / Cafe / Anywhere!

  • We are a remote-first company with a globally distributed team. You can find your productive zone and work from there.

About the role:

We’re looking for a data-driven professional to help us measure, understand, and improve the performance of our risk strategies. In this role, you’ll analyze complex datasets, design metrics, build dashboards, and collaborate closely with stakeholders across the business to drive decision-making and optimize outcomes.

What you’ll be doing:

  • Develop and track metrics to measure and monitor the performance of our risk products and the effectiveness of risk management strategies.

  • Conduct in-depth analyses to uncover valuable insights contributing to fraud reduction and higher approval rates for our clients.

  • Serve as a client-facing partner by translating complex data insights into clear, actionable recommendations 

  • Build and experiment with ML models to identify fraudulent patterns and enhance fraud detection capabilities.

  • Work with engineers on data instrumentation.

  • Create and automate self-serve dashboards leveraging BI tools.

  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams (Business, Product, and Engineering) to understand and translate business requirements into actionable data-driven solutions.

  • Collaborate on implementing risk mitigation solutions, ensuring alignment with business goals.

What you’ll need:

  • Strong technical background with 7+ years of experience demonstrating high impact in a data-focused role such as product analytics, business analytics, or data science

  • Prior experience in the Fraud/Risk domain

  • Hands-on experience in SQL and Python

  • Expertise in BI tools such as Tableau/Sigma/Metabase

  • Exposure to building ML models to address business challenges

  • Ability to structure and analyze data, leveraging techniques like EDA and cohort analysis, transform them into understandable and actionable recommendations, and then communicate them effectively across the organization and clients.

  • Proficiency in defining, utilizing, and communicating performance metrics

  • Creative problem-solving, strong critical thinking, and a getting-things-done approach

Benefits we offer:

  • Generous compensation in cash and equity

  • Early exercise for all options, including pre-vested

  • Work from anywhere: Remote-first Culture

  • Flexible paid time off and Year-end break

  • Health insurance, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents - US and Canada specific

  • 4% matching in 401k / RRSP - US and Canada specific

  • MacBook Pro delivered to your door

  • One-time stipend to set up a home office — desk, chair, screen, etc.

  • Monthly meal stipend

  • Monthly social meet-up stipend

  • Annual health and wellness stipend

  • Annual Learning stipend

Join a fast-growing company with world-class professionals from around the world. If you are seeking a meaningful career, you found the right place, and we would love to hear from you.

To learn more about how we process your personal information and your rights in regards to your personal information as an applicant and Sardine employee, please visit our Applicant and Worker Privacy Notice.

View full listing