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 .

Associate, Policy & Government Affairs

Silicon Ranch · Remote

 

Silicon Ranch is a fully integrated provider of customized renewable energy, carbon, and battery storage solutions for a diverse set of partners across North America.

 

  • We are known for putting community partnerships first, and are the only renewable energy company in the U.S. that owns and operates all of its solar ranches and has a 100% track record for successful delivery.

 

  • We have the largest utility scale agrivoltaics portfolio in the country under Regenerative Energy®, our nationally recognized holistic approach to project design, construction, and land management. Our model incorporates regenerative ranching and other regenerative land management practices to restore livelihoods and soil health, biodiversity, and water quality.

 

  • Through our subsidiary, Clearloop, we are able to help businesses of all sizes reclaim their carbon footprint with a direct investment in building new solar projects while also helping bring renewable energy and economic development to distressed communities.

 

By joining Silicon Ranch, you will be joining a team of experienced and dedicated individuals who have proven time and again that it is indeed possible to not only “make solar do more”, but to make the promise of carbon-free, renewable energy that benefits people right where it comes from a tangible, measurable, and replicable reality. 

 

Silicon Ranch is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace that is reflective of the communities in which we work and serve. We are an equal opportunity employer and will consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics.

 


 

Job Description

Position: Associate, Policy & Government Affairs

 

Location: Remote

 

Overview: This position plays a key role in keeping management informed of state and federal policy developments in priority markets that could impact the company’s development and operational capabilities. The role requires a proactive, detailed-oriented self-starter with an entrepreneurial drive. This position will support and inform deal origination, legislative engagement, and coordination with stakeholders across the entire organization to support the company’s growth strategy.

 

Main Responsibilities: The primary responsibility of this role is to support the Business & Project Development team members by proactively identifying key legislative and regulatory developments that impact company’s origination and development efforts. This includes but is not limited to:

  • Track, analyze and report on pending state and federal legislation, policies, and regulations that impact the company’s origination, development or operational strategies.
  • Perform comprehensive research and provide strategic insights to inform the company’s legislative and government relations strategies.
  • Facilitate the effective distribution and accessibility of relevant policy information for internal stakeholders across the company.
  • Identify coalition-building opportunities presented by relevant state and federal policy issues.
  • Evaluate and analyze policies that could be viable for replication in other jurisdictions
  • Assist the Manager, Policy & Government Affairs in legislative engagement & coordination with third parties, including contract lobbyists and state agencies on strategic policy issues as needed

The individual will represent the company with professionalism, integrity, and discipline to achieve goals and develop relationships for the Company.

 

Qualifications:

Education: Bachelor’s Degree


Experience: 1-3 years of work experience in state or federal legislative affairs, public policy, or energy policy, with a preference for candidates familiar with renewable energy or infrastructure-related policy.


Technical: Exposure or experience to the US renewable energy market, project development or interconnection is desirable.

 


Our interview process:

A typical interview process at Silicon Ranch might include the below stages. Please note that we may make changes to these steps as needed, and details will be provided to you early on in the process.

  1. Introductory Interview with our recruiter
  2. Hiring Manager Interview to dive into technical skills and behavioral questions
  3. Panel Interview to assess cross-functional skills and dive deeper into technical skills
  4. Executive Interview to answer high-level questions about SRC and the team