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 .

Clinical Research Fellow

University of Southampton · Southampton, Hampshire

Salary: AMNL £46,675 to £80,081 (for those below ST3 on 3 August 2016); CADT £65,048 to £73,992 (for those at or above ST3 on 3 August 2016).

The University of Southampton Faculty Of Medicine is offering an appointment to be based within the Southampton Clinical Trials Unit (SCTU) at Southampton General Hospital.

This post holder will work within SCTU supporting a range of clinical studies. The post will provide practical training for a middle grade doctor in the conduct of clinical trials, focussing on supporting clinical trials through all stages including implementation and supporting sites in recruitment, regulatory approvals, data collection and integrity, data presentation and working with translational samples. The post is intended to provide valuable training in research governance and regulation for future clinical and translational researchers.

The appointee will provide day to day medical support for SCTU under supervision from the main supervisor, Professor Simon Crabb (Professor of Experimental Cancer Therapeutics). They will have responsibility for trial development and implementation and involvement in study protocol amendments and implementation including ethics committee documentation and R&D submissions. Training in clinical trials methodology including Good Clinical Practice will be provided.

The post will be at registrar level and will require a medical qualification. It would be suitable for a trainee with relevant experience in cancer clinical research as out of program experience or for someone wishing to pursue a career in these specialties prior to obtaining a training number.

The post will be a University appointment and does not have any direct clinical work. Duration of post to be discussed with the potential candidate but is up to 12 months in the first instance.

For further information or to arrange an informal discussion about the role, please email Professor Simon Crabb at [email protected].

The Faculty of Medicine holds an Athena SWAN Silver Award demonstrating commitment to equal opportunities and gender balance in the workplace. The Faculty recognises that applicants may seek flexible working patterns which will be considered as part of the recruitment process. For further information including key benefits designed to help maintain and support employees' well-being and work-life balance, please see our working with us website pages. 

As a university we aim to create an environment where everyone can thrive and are proactive in fostering a culture of inclusion, respect and equality of opportunity. We believe that we can only truly meet our objectives if we are reflective of society, so we are passionate about creating a working environment in which you are free to bring your whole self to work. With a generous holiday allowance as well as additional university closure days we are committed to supporting our staff and students and open to a flexible working approach.

Apply by 11.59 pm GMT on the closing date. For assistance contact Recruitment on +44(0)2380 592750 or [email protected] quoting the job number.
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