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 .

Engineering Lead

Stonekite · Seattle, WA

Engineering Lead

Stone Kite is a world building studio that thoughtfully develops heroic universes across games, film, TV, comics, audio, and more. Built by veterans from game and entertainment studios such as Marvel, Disney, Pixar, Bungie, and Riot, our team leverages expertise and passion to build worlds that matter. 

We’re looking for an experienced engineer to lead a small gameplay engineering team while contributing deeply to the design and implementation of game systems. The ideal candidate brings broad experience across a variety of game engineering areas, deep expertise in at least one domain, and a track record of supporting and mentoring engineers in a collaborative development environment.

This role involves a high degree of creative autonomy. You will need to be able to take initiative and work independently, seek out information and feedback to validate your decisions, and pursue alignment with your team, with other teams, and with the project director. Empathetic communication and feedback skills and a spirit of curiosity are essential for success.

This role is a remote based position. 

 

What You’ll Do:

Feature Implementation

  • Architect, implement, and maintain game features, systems, and tools in Unreal Engine using C++
  • Collaborate closely with Design, Art, and Production to translate creative goals into scalable game systems
  • Balance rapid iteration with thoughtful reduction of technical debt
  • Support team operations including build and deployment systems, server hosting, and internal tooling
  • Lead and mentor a small team of IC engineers; provide technical guidance, feedback, and support to help engineers grow and achieve their goals
  • In partnership with team and company leadership, implement processes for feedback gathering, goal setting, and performance evaluation for engineers on your team
  • Participate in and contribute to the development of engineering team practices including code reviews, documentation and standards to foster a culture of craft excellence

Creative Participation

  • Provide feedback for teams working across different forms of media
  • Engage in brainstorming, playtests, and feedback sessions to help shape gameplay direction

 

What You’ll Bring:

  • 8+ years of experience in game engineering with at least one shipped title is required
  • At least 2+ years of experience managing or formally leading engineers in a team environment is required
  • Deep experience with C++ and Unreal Engine or other proprietary C++-based game engines
  • Proficiency with Unreal Engine systems and workflows
  • Proficiency with source control and build systems used in game development
  • Strong collaboration skills and ability to work both autonomously and within a small creative team
  • Excellent communication and feedback skills with a passion for quality and excellence
  • Ability to adapt and problem solve in a fast-paced startup environment 

 

What You’ll Get:

  • Competitive medical, vision, and dental benefits
  • Generous PTO
  • Winter break
  • 401k Options
  • Monthly meals stipend
  • Opportunities for learning and development across multiple areas of media and forms of storytelling
  • Be a part of an early-stage, innovative team

 

The expected salary range for this position is $165,000 - $225,000 depending on level and qualifications. The compensation package will also include a range of generous medical, dental, vision and other perks & benefits. Compensation decisions are determined using a variety of job-related factors such as skill set, geographic location, market demands, experience, and education / certifications. If we extend an offer for employment, we will consider all individual qualifications.

Stone Kite provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.