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 Associate, Engineering Sciences

Secretariatadvisorsllc · Atlanta, Georgia, United States; Chicago, Illinois, United States; Denver, Colorado, United States; New Orleans, Louisiana, United States

Chart Your Journey at Secretariat

From a collaborative culture to teammates who will always be by your side, find a career that will grow with you. Deliver your impact at Secretariat.

 

 

ABOUT THE FIRM

Secretariat professionals are trusted in the highest-stakes legal, risk, and regulatory matters around the world.

When you join Secretariat, you become part of a rapidly growing elite team of bright minds and passionate problem-solvers. Your skills and expertise will be utilized on day one – working with the world’s most renowned law firms, leading corporations, and influential institutions to answer complex questions that shape critical financial, economic, and strategic business decisions.

Our globally integrated teams are united by the ambition, energy, and commitment they bring to every challenge. We inspire and empower an open, collaborative culture that embraces ongoing professional development, recognition, diversity, and – most importantly – you.

Make your impact at Secretariat.

ABOUT OUR ENGINEERING SCIENCES TEAM

As part of our expanding Global Engineering and Scientific consulting team, you will work at the forefront of today’s most complex engineering challenges. You will be engaged in analyzing failures of a myriad of products from a variety of industries, but with a heavy focus on large industrial facilities like power plants, Oil & Gas facilities, chemical processing plants, construction and similar. Outside of that work, you will be engaged in automotive, consumer products, consumer electronics and medical devices.

Secretariat leverages our diverse technical expertise, and industry knowledge of a variety of structures and products to provide clients with world-class value to identify solutions that drive performance and safety.

Secretariat is a diversified international expert services firm with more than 500 professionals in 20+ cities around the globe. Furthermore, Secretariat was recently ranked as the #1 firm in Global Arbitration Review’s prestigious GAR 100 Expert Witness Firms’ Power Index, and more than 90% of Secretariat’s leading experts are recognized as leading experts in their field by the independent Lexology rankings.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Exceptional analytical skills, problem solving, communication skills, and creativity are the foundation for successful professionals at Secretariat.

Conducting hands-on failure analysis investigations
Performing laboratory tests
Assisting with field inspections
Assisting with client communications in all time zones
Performing technical analysis and drafting report sections
Analyzing technical reports offered by others, and developing rebuttal points
Developing positive relationships with colleagues, peers and clients
Demonstrate excellent analytical skills with acute attention to detail to successfully achieve project milestones.
Manage workload to achieve simultaneous project milestones while maintaining project schedules and budgets.

QUALIFICATIONS

Requisite professional designations and work experience:
Bachelor’s degree in Material Science Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Chemical Engineering or of similar designation. Advanced degree preferred.
2+ years of prior experience in forensic/root cause analysis.
Pursuing PE credentials is a plus
Strong expert report writing skills to complement analytics
Able to quickly assimilate relevant information in unfamiliar situations and develop creative approaches and solutions necessary to resolve complex problems
The ability to manage and prioritize your time and your team’s time, potentially against a backdrop of competing deadlines
The ability to manage external stakeholders
The ability to work independently whilst knowing which issues and risks need to be highlighted to senior staff, ideally accompanied by suggested viable solutions
Excellent analytical and problem resolution abilities
Excellent listening, verbal, written, technical, and presentation skills
The desire to join in with, and/or lead, auxiliary tasks associated with a growing practice within a rapidly growing firm
Highly proficient with Microsoft Office products, including Excel and PowerPoint
The ability to travel as needed
Working proficiency in a second non-English language is a plus

 

A rewarding career above all

There are a lot of fine consulting firms out there. But when everything is on the line, it takes a unique combination of skill and savvy to succeed under pressure.

Our culture and people are driven by passion, pride, and performance. Passion for the clients we serve, the work we deliver, and the communities we live in. Pride in our cohesive team recognized for excellence and trusted to perform in the most challenging situations. And our track record of outstanding performance across all of our disciplines speaks for itself.

Our people are motivated to be the best in everything they do – from our approach to making the complex simple to the way we mentor our up-and-coming talent to become trusted experts early in their careers.

To learn how Secretariat collects, uses, and protects your personal information during the recruitment process, please review our Privacy Policy