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 .

Careers

Scaled Agile

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Careers

Join the Scaled Agile Team

We are honored to be recognized as BuiltIn’s prestigious 2026 Best Places to Work List.

Scaled Agile is the originator of the Scaled Agile Framework® (SAFe®), the world’s leading framework for business agility. As an organization, we not only promote the values of innovation, collaboration, and flexibility—we promote the people who embody them.

The Scaled Agile team is made up of engaged, empowered professionals with a dedication to helping enterprises the world over find new and better ways of working. We come from diverse backgrounds and disciplines, and bring our unique talents to work every day, looking for an opportunity to build something better.

Do you know what else we’re looking for? More of us. If you value continuous improvement, transparency, and having fun with your coworkers, we’d love to hear from you.

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Culture

At Scaled Agile we believe that employees’ passion and creativity flourish when they know their efforts make a difference. We are committed to creating and maintaining a workplace in which all employees have an opportunity to participate and contribute to the success of the business and are valued for their skills, experience, and unique perspectives.

We Value Every Voice

At Scaled Agile, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEI&B) are not just words, but a way of life. DEI&B is integral to our culture and critical to our success, and we hold ourselves accountable by continually assessing our policies, practices, and programs through a DEI&B lens.

Our commitment to DEI&B informs all aspects of our employee experience, from our recruiting and hiring practices to our benefits, training, and advancement opportunities.

Our People Leaders are trained to recognize and address unconscious bias. We actively seek out diverse perspectives and foster a culture of radical candor where all voices are welcomed and heard. We aim to build teams that reflect the diversity of our customers and the world around us.

Every member of our team deserves to experience a workplace where they feel safe, respected, valued, and empowered to be their true selves. By cultivating a workforce that reflects the diversity of our customers and communities, we drive innovation and create better solutions.

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