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 User Experience Researcher

Shift4 · Atlanta, Georgia, United States; Center Valley, Pennsylvania, United States; Tampa, Florida, United States; Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Overview

Shift4 (NYSE: FOUR) is boldly redefining commerce by simplifying complex payments ecosystems across the world. As the leader in commerce-enabling technology, Shift4 powers billions of transactions annually for hundreds of thousands of businesses in virtually every industry. For more information, visit www.shift4.com.

 

Senior UX / User Experience Researcher

Shift4 (NYSE: FOUR) is boldly redefining commerce by simplifying complex payments ecosystems across the world. As the leader in commerce-enabling technology, Shift4 powers billions of transactions annually for hundreds of thousands of businesses in virtually every industry.

What we’re looking for

The Merchant Experience team is building a research practice within Shift4 Labs™ a customer-led product incubator purpose-built to design products that propel our Merchants forward. We are looking for an experienced, human-centered User Experience Researcher to support current product initiatives and establish the foundations of the Shift4 Labs design research practice. 

Our initial phase will be focused on establishing a nimble usability evaluation processes and formalizing our customer insights.  Ultimately, we hope to grow the research practice within Shift4 Labs to incorporate more generative research activities.  

The ideal candidate for this role is a highly skilled product researcher with a deep understanding of the role customer research plays in creating best-in-class experiences with an equal mix of usability and desirability. The candidate should have a balanced view of the relationship between customer needs and business goals and be able to articulate clear and practical insights to internal stakeholders.  

This role is onsite and can be based at any of the following Shift4 locations: Tampa, FL (preferred location) / Atlanta, GA / Center Valley, PA / Las Vegas, NV / Toronto, Canada

Relocation assistance may be available. 

Responsibilities

  • Plan and implement necessary research initiatives based on product roadmaps and organizational initiatives.  
  • Author and conduct various types of usability evaluations, including moderated, unmoderated, and prototype testing which may include  experiments, t-tests, A/B tests, and other data analysis.
  • Apply diverse research methods such as interviews, surveys, contextual inquiries, ethnography, and diary studies to address key questions.  
  • Facilitate workshops and collaborative sessions to assist customers in articulating business needs. 
  • Create process flows, wireframes, mockups and functional prototypes to effectively communicate design strategies and detailed interaction behaviors. 
  • Synthesize findings into clear, actionable insights and influence key stakeholders through storytelling and evidence-based recommendations.
  • Help build product metrics measurement programs, platforms and reporting mechanisms to scale growing organizational needs.
  • Develop and maintain a repository of research findings and standard methodologies to promote organizational learning and drive continuous improvements. 

 

Qualifications

  • 7+ years hands-on of experience in UX research with a focus on usability testing and mixed-method studies.
  • Excellence in evaluative research (e.g., usability testing, prototype validation, A/B testing).
  • Excellent written communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills in English; the ability to communicate complex concepts clearly and persuasively across different audiences and varying levels of the organization.
  • Focused interest in growing into the generative research insights arena of UX. 
  • Ability to independently drive multiple concurrent projects in an agile environment.
  • Experience in complex B2B SaaS or enterprise platforms with multiple personas.  
  • A robust portfolio showcasing prior research projects with both desktop + mobile research outcomes. 

Preferred Skills (Additional skills that are a plus to have):

  • Working knowledge of Figma. 

#LI-BN1

 

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any other federal, state or local protected class.

 

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