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 Analyst, Evaluation & Research

Southernpovertylawcenter · Atlanta, GA; Jackson, MS; Miami, FL; Montgomery, AL; New Orleans, LA; Washington D.C.

The SPLC is seeking senior analyst for evaluation and research who is committed to racial justice and passionate about democracy and researching civic engagement!


The Senior Analyst, Evaluation and Research designs processes and criteria for organizational learning to measure progress towards strategic impact goals.

Who You Are

Experienced. Demonstrated experience in field experiments and studying civic engagement or election turnout.  

Database-savvy. Skilled in using a voter database for identifying, contacting, and tracking focal voter populations

Thoughtful and analytical. Ability to use data, conduct analyses, and communicate findings to lay persons and experts. 

Collaborative. Values teamwork and community engagement – can facilitate meetings with staff from multiple departments and community stakeholders for organizational performance reporting and continuous quality improvement. 

Efficient. Ability to effectively manage time while working in a fast-paced environment, often juggling multiple assignments. Must be able to pivot from one assignment to another to accomplish goals and complete assignments. 

Committed to equitable research. Knowledge of culturally responsive and equitable evaluation approaches. 

Effective communicator. Skilled in articulating ideas, data analysis methods, and findings, in both written and oral presentations, to decision-makers and lay audiences. 

Mission, vision & values alignment. Demonstrates an understanding of and a commitment to SPLC's mission, vision and values. 

What You'll Do

 

Produce and deliver MEAL training, materials, and supporting tools for staff, managers, and leadership.

Facilitate collaborative discussions with staff, management, and leadership to identify the most important impact metrics for their programs and the organization to measure progress towards impact goals.

Conduct or manage evaluations, analyses, and research studies to support tracking progress against our impact goals and major grants.

Ensure accountability to communities is built into our programmatic, evaluation, and learning efforts.

Facilitate staff training, develops analytical tools, and writes supporting documents to enable staff to use Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL).

Design appropriate, ethical, and culturally responsive research and evaluation methodologies.

Identify, collaborate, and strengthen relationships with external community partners, researchers, evaluators, and higher education institutions.

Perform other duties as required or assigned which are reasonably within the scope of the duties in this job classification.

Minimum Qualifications 

We are committed to equitable hiring practices, therefore you must meet the minimum qualifications to be considered for the role.

  • Minimum seven (7) years experience designing, conducting, and managing evaluation studies, and research in non-profit organization; and 
  • Bachelor's degree in Political Science, Sociology, Measurement & Evaluation, Social Work, Education, Public Policy or related fields.

Compensation & Benefits

This is an exempt role and the minimum starting salary is $84,905 annually. Salary will be commensurate with experience.

Click here to view the benefits available to SPLC staff.

Where & How You'll Work 

This role has the following work designations options: 

  • Local Remote: Will work remotely but is expected to attend work-related activities that occur at the SPLC offices or in the states in which the SPLC operates.
  • Telework: Will work at an SPLC office at least three days per week and may work two days per week from an alternative work location.
  • This role reports to the Director, Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability & Learning.

Other Special Considerations 

 

This job is performed under general office conditions and is not subject to any strenuous physical demands or dangerous conditions. 

This position is represented by the Washington-Baltimore News Guild. 


 

Disclaimer:

The statements herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by the employee in this position. These statements are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of a person in this position.

An Equal-Opportunity Employer with a Commitment to Diversity

Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and as an organization committed to diversity and the perspective of all voices, we consider applicants equally without regard to age, caregiver status, color, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, gender identity, marital status, national origin, on the basis of genetic information, political affiliation, pregnancy, or veteran status.