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 .

Solutions Consultant

Sona · Hybrid - New York

3 billion people across the world work in frontline jobs. Yet, despite rising costs and staff shortages, frontline organisations are still left to choose between paper, Excel, and WhatsApp, or decade-old workforce management solutions to take care of the most important part of their businesses - their people.

Enter Sona: the next generation of AI-native, frontline workforce management. We’ve built an end-to-end platform covering Scheduling, HR, Payroll, and Communications that gives the largest frontline organisations everything they need to staff more intelligently and empower their teams.

In under 5 years, we've already made a deep impact on the lives of over 100k frontline workers and the operation of their organisations, grown the team to 140+, and secured over $100M in funding from notable VC's, including our Series B led by N47 alongside Felicis, Northzone, and Gradient Ventures (Google).

It’s a hugely exciting time to be joining the team as we’re still small enough that you’ll have a significant impact on the company’s growth trajectory and culture, yet large enough to have a great structure, experienced leaders and world-class benefits in place. More on working at Sona here.

About the Role

We're hiring our first US-based Solutions Consultant to join the commercial team and support Sona's expansion into the North American market. Reporting to the Director of Solution Consulting in London, you'll be the go-to technical and solution-led partner for our growing US sales team, working primarily across the Hospitality and Retail sectors.

This is a founding role. You won't be slotting into an established playbook - you'll be building one. That means shaping how Sona sells in the US, creating demo flows and assets tailored to the market, and partnering closely with Account Executives to turn complex workforce challenges into confident buying decisions. You'll also work alongside Product and Implementation to feed insights back from the US market and ensure seamless customer handovers.

To do that well, you'll need deep familiarity with the workforce management, labor optimisation or HR tech space, the ability to lead discovery and demos that are consultative rather than feature-led, and the self-sufficiency to operate effectively with half your day running ahead of the UK team. The solution consulting function at Sona has real influence - this isn't a demo-on-demand role, it's a seat at the table in how we win enterprise deals.

Responsibilities 

  • Own the technical and solution-led side of the US sales process, from discovery through to proof-of-concept engagements and RFP responses.

  • Partner with Account Executives to tailor and lead product demonstrations that connect Sona's capabilities to customer pain points and business outcomes.

  • Build deep expertise in the Sona platform and become a trusted advisor to US prospects and customers across Hospitality and Retail.

  • Develop and refine US-specific technical sales assets, including demo environments, competitive positioning, and sector-specific playbooks.

  • Collaborate with Product, Engineering, and Implementation to relay US market feedback and ensure seamless handovers post-sale.

  • Contribute to building Sona's US go-to-market capability - shaping processes, sharing insights, and raising the bar for how we sell.

 

Requirements

  • Experience as a Solutions Consultant, Sales Engineer, or in a technical pre-sales role - we're also open to implementation backgrounds with strong commercial exposure.

  • A background in scheduling, workforce management, HR tech, payroll, or adjacent products. For this founding role, knowing the space matters - you'll need to be credible in conversations from day one.

  • You've worked in a startup or scaleup environment with a complex, modern product that changes frequently. You learn fast and thrive on ambiguity.

  • Strong discovery and storytelling skills - you lead with problems and outcomes, not features, and you can adapt your narrative to different personas and sectors.

  • You're self-starting and proactive. You'll be the first SC in the US, which means building process, seeking out what you need, and operating independently across timezones.

  • Experience with AI-powered products, or a genuine interest in applied AI.

  • Bonus: you've been in an early-stage solutions role and know what it takes to build the function, not just run it.

Benefits

  • Salary: Base salary $170,000 - $200,000 + 25% team-based bonus

  • New York City, 2-3 days a week. Travel to London and customers across North America expected

  • Share options

  • 20 days PTO + sick days

  • 401k contributions, employer match up to 2%

  • Comprehensive health insurance available from day one (Cigna)

  • Enhanced parental leave & pay

  • Co-working space stipend

  • Bi-annual all expenses paid team retreats

  • The latest Macbook and equipment budget for your home office

  • Professional development budget

  • Unlimited free books

Note: this represents a typical benefits package for a US-based, full-time employee. Exact details may vary based on location and employment type but we try to be as fair as possible to all of our team members. Please ask your contact in the Talent team to clarify the available benefits for you.