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 .

Early Careers>

THG · United States

Early Careers Go further, faster. Graduate Programme Year-in-Industry Apprenticeships Our graduate programme is designed to give you 360 insights into our business and our brands. During your first 12 months, you’ll get access to in-person networking events, career development workshops, and sessions from industry experts across the Group. Each role comes with real responsibilities, giving you the unique opportunity to make an impact from day one. You're not 'just an intern' at THG; you'll have the opportunity to make an impact from day one. Doing a placement year at THG is all about getting hands-on experience of working in a fast-paced environment, developing your commercial awareness, and soaking up everything the world of professional work has to offer before you return to university for your final year. From college leavers to career changers, our apprenticeship programme gives you an alternative route into industry. We’ll set you up for success by offering personalised advice and guidance, supporting your career growth and connecting you with some of the best in the business. Your browser does not support HTML5 video. Please upgrade your browser. This is an accordion carousel. Use arrow keys to navigate between slides. Press Enter or Space to expand or collapse accordion items. Early Careers What we look for Graduates + We’re not looking for the finished article; we’re looking for the next generation of entrepreneurs who are excited by the opportunity to work in a fast-paced environment with people who are motivated by delivering results. You don’t need a specific degree to apply for our graduate programmes, but you do need to be ambitious, innovative, and able to adapt to the ever-changing world of ecommerce. Interns + We’re looking for ambitious university students who want to get a head start on their career development and build their professional network. You need to be a second-year university student to apply for a year in industry at THG, but you don’t need to be studying a specific degree to apply. Apprentices + You need to be eager to learn and passionate about working for a global ecommerce business. You’ll need strong functional literacy and numeracy skills (A*-C/9-4 in GCSE English and Maths or equivalent). If you have good literacy and numeracy skills but lack formal qualifications, you’ll need to complete Level 2 Functional Skills qualifications alongside your apprenticeship. You also need to have been a UK resident for at least 3 years before the start of the programme or have pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme. Our roles This section contains flip cards. Press Enter or Space to flip a card and view more details. Marketing + You'll gain hands-on experience in various marketing channels, including Social Media Marketing, Brand Marketing, Content Marketing, Influencer Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, Paid Media Marketing, SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), and CRM (Customer Relationship Marketing). We offer graduate opportunities, 12-month internships, and apprenticeships in Marketing. - Ecommerce + You'll use analytics tools and our in-house reporting platform to understand the customer journey, optimise sales, measure performance, and define strategy.  You'll work with senior leaders, manage trading calendars, monitor key site metrics, plan and execute product launches and promotional campaigns, and collaborate with the digital marketing team to drive traffic. You'll also be responsible for reporting against team KPIs, forecasting stock, and providing insights on customer behaviour and trends. We offer graduate opportunities, 12-month internships, and apprenticeships in Ecommerce. - Finance + Our three year scheme aims to provide you with a varied and fulfilled in-house training programme, developing you into a confident and well-rounded finance professional.  Over the course of the programme, you will rotate through a minimum of three roles: Operations Finance, Central Finance, Transactional Finance, Group Finance, and Commercial Finance. You will be given real responsibility from day one, so it’s important that you can work confidently by yourself and within a team. You also need to be committed to your qualifications as you will  be required to study in your own time.  We offer graduate opportunities and apprenticeships in Finance. - Buying + You'll work across Skincare, Haircare, Cosmetics, and Tooling categories, build relationships with premium beauty brands, plan strategic campaigns, liaise with brands to review performance, and collaborate with trading and merchandising managers to ensure successful execution of brand plans and effective stock management. You'll complete two 6-month rotations to explore different areas of THG Beauty and enhance your skillset. We offer graduate opportunities, 12-month internships, and apprenticeships in Buying. - Merchandising + You'll collaborate with buying to maximise commercial opportunities and minimise risks, produce monthly stock and sales budgets, forecast demand planning at SKU level, and provide accurate seasonal forecasts. You will also develop activity plans with buying and marketing to achieve sales and profit targets, manage OTB with phased commitment for trading flexibility, build supplier relationships, analyse delivery performance, and evaluate customer and market information to support department planning.  We offer graduate opportunities, 12-month internships, and apprenticeships in Merchandising. - Data + You'll promote a data-driven culture, use SQL and Big Query for data projects, identify strategic opportunities with marketing and trading teams, support performance tracking with Python and Virtual Machines, manage stakeholder expectations, and mentor other analysts. You'll drive actionable business insights through data and manage data-driven projects across trading and marketing teams. Key areas include optimizing web conversion rates, using A/B testing for marketing initiatives, advising on marketing budgets, and automating reporting via email and Tableau. We offer graduate opportunities, 12-month internships, and apprenticeships in Data. - Procurement & Supply Chain + You'll negotiate and award contracts, develop THG’s supply base, manage existing contracts, communicate cross-functionally, support best Procurement practices, manage supplier approval processes, assist with NPD projects, ensure high stock availability, schedule product deliveries, generate production plans, and report on KPIs such as spend, savings, payment terms, availability, intake budgets, and production plan attainment. We offer graduate opportunities, 12-month internships, and apprenticeships in Procurement & Supply Chain. -