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 .

Sales Development Representative

Snowflake · Shanghai

Snowflake is about empowering enterprises to achieve their full potential — and people too. With a culture that’s all in on impact, innovation, and collaboration, Snowflake is the sweet spot for building big, moving fast, and taking technology — and careers — to the next level.

We are looking for a motivated and enthusiastic Sales Development Representative to come aboard to focus on the China market! Our SDRs will work hand in hand with Inside Sales to generate leads and build customer pipelines. This is an entry-level role with a dedicated growth path and the training to be a great technical sales professional. We are looking for self-starters with a passion for technology and people.

AS A SALES DEVELOPMENT REPRESENTATIVE AT SNOWFLAKE YOU WILL:

  • Generate appointments by means of proactive outbound prospecting and lead activity management in an effort to qualify and market our solutions to potential customers.

  • Work directly with marketing to discover opportunities from leads, and set appointments from those leads.

  • Use of strong selling and influencing skills to set up qualified appointments.

  • Understand the Snowflake Database enough to provide a high level introduction.

  • Leverage taught sales techniques to maximize customer interactions.

  • Log, track, and maintain outbound activity.

  • Work closely with Sales Directors and attend customer meetings as required.

  • Operate with a ‘builder mentality’, embracing a broad scope of responsibilities and proactively building the systems and processes needed to scale our China GTM footprint.

  • Attend sales meetings, vendor training, and local trade shows to keep current with technology.

OUR IDEAL SALES DEVELOPMENT REPRESENTATIVE WILL HAVE:

  • 2+ years of experience in prospecting roles and a university degree from an accredited institution.

  • Fluent verbal and written communication in English and Mandarin

  • Strong in-person, phone, and written customer communication skills.

  • Must be able to interact and communicate with individuals at all levels of the organization.

  • Understanding of workflow systems and their application to customer business process improvement.

  • Ability to make formal and informal presentations to staff and clients.

  • Ability to prioritize work assignments and shift work efforts based on the needs of the department or business goals.

  • Knowledge of Salesforce.com a plus.

  • Ability to manage time effectively, work independently, and be self-motivated.

  • Prior track record of achievement in positions with significant accountability.

  • Interested in pursuing a career in technology.

  • Ability to thrive in a fast-paced startup environment.

  • Pro-active, independent thinker with a positive attitude.

Snowflake is growing fast, and we’re scaling our team to help enable and accelerate our growth. We are looking for people who share our values, challenge ordinary thinking, and push the pace of innovation while building a future for themselves and Snowflake.

How do you want to make your impact?

For jobs located in the United States, please visit the job posting on the Snowflake Careers Site for salary and benefits information: careers.snowflake.com

The following represents the expected range of compensation for this role:

  • This role is eligible to participate in Snowflake's commission plan and it is common for employees in this role to receive total on-target earnings of . The estimated base salary for this role is .

The successful candidate’s starting salary will be determined based on permissible, non-discriminatory factors such as skills, experience, and geographic location. This role is also eligible for a competitive benefits package that includes: medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance; 401(k) retirement plan; flexible spending & health savings account; at least 12 paid holidays; paid time off; parental leave; employee assistance program; and other company benefits.
Our Human Resources Department may use artificial intelligence to support its administrative processes.
This role is available and may represent a new position