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 .

Director, Analytical Research and Development CMC

Seaporttherapeutics · Boston, MA

Seaport Therapeutics is a clinical-stage therapeutics company advancing the development of novel neuropsychiatric medicines in areas of high unmet patient needs. The Company has a proven strategy of advancing clinically validated mechanisms previously held back by limitations that are overcome with its proprietary GlyphTM technology platform. All the therapeutic candidates in its pipeline of first and best-in-class medicines are based on the Glyph platform, which is uniquely designed to enable oral bioavailability, bypass first-pass metabolism and reduce hepatotoxicity and other side effects. Seaport is led by an experienced team that invented and advanced important neuropsychiatric medicines and are guided by an extensive network of renowned scientists, clinicians and key opinion leaders. For more information, please visit www.seaporttx.com.

Seaport Therapeutics is hiring a Director, Analytical Research and Development, CMC to oversee the analytical method development and phase-appropriate validation of analytical methods for drug substance and drug product in pre-clinical and clinical development. This role reports to the Senior Director, Analytical Research and Development, CMC. In the near term, the role will focus on method development and validation of Phase 1 Phase 2 and early Phase 3 drug substance and drug product candidates.  The role will assist with preparation and review of CMC Regulatory filings. This person will coordinate activities at various CDMO’s to achieve company objectives related to the analytical contribution of process and product development.

The ideal candidate will embrace a collaborative, innovative culture that embodies our values of service to patients impacted by mental health conditions, with a “we own it” mentality, demonstrating entrepreneurial spirit and technical excellence while fostering teamwork and continuous improvement. This position is based in Boston’s Seaport area, with a strong preference for being onsite 4 days per week.  Up to 25% travel to CDMO sites will be required.

Key Responsibilities

  • Oversee CDMO activites for drug substance and drug product analytical method development, validation and transfer for Seaport Therapeutics as assigned by the Senior Director of Analytical Research and Development
  • Represent the analytical CMC function at team meetings with CDMO’s and internal staff.
  • Provide strategic oversight and day-to-day governance of assigned CDMO’s including project scope, adherence to timelines, quality, and integrity of data.
  • Perform hands-on data review to ensure high-quality data reporting.
  • Ensure compliance with regulatory standards, industry guidelines, internal SOPs applicable to the role.
  • Support progress at CDMO’s via periodic onsite visits.
  • Create and maintain release and stability databases gathered from CDMO stability reports.
  • Work with ICH-compliant statistical stability software for stability data trending and shelf life predictions
  • Partner cross-functionally with Discovery, Program Teams, Regulatory Affairs, Quality Assurance to support data-driven decision-making and operational excellence at our partner CDMO’s.
  • Advise CDMO’s on the analytical tools required to successfully complete method development and validation to industry standards.
  • Plan and manage budgets, solicit quotes from vendors, create purchase orders and track spending.

Qualifications

  • MS/Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry or Physical Chemistry and 7+ years in early stage method development, method transfer, method validation for lipophilic drug substances and drug product.
  • Demonstrated expertise in analytical development with complex drug substances and drug product formulations
  • Experience with drug product formulations utilizing SEDDS in soft-gelatin dosage forms.
  • Demonstrated expertise in chromatographic techniques (for example: GC, LC, IC, GC, chiral separations,) employing the following (but not limited to) detectors: UV/vis, CAD, MS (SIM, MRM) fluorescence, FID, ECD.
  • Experience with management of CDMO’s for drug substance and drug product for multiple product lines.
  • Knowledge of global regulatory requirements, ICH and other relevant guidelines
  • Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office Suite products.
  • Excellent communication, collaboration, and leadership skills.
  • Comfortable with oversees travel approximately 25% of the time.

At Seaport, we believe transparency and fairness are key to building a culture of trust, respect, and collaboration. We care deeply about the happiness of our team and strive to ensure our total rewards (monetary and non-monetary) program reflects the value each person brings. The expected salary range for this role is $198,000-233,000, with the final offer based on experience, market data, and internal equity. We encourage open conversations with our talent acquisition team about compensation early in the process to ensure alignment from the start.