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 .

Sr. Backend Software Engineer (Python)

Terakeet · Remote

Why Terakeet?

At Terakeet, we’re comfortable with the uncomfortable. We live in the future of marketing and are revolutionizing how the world’s most valuable brands connect and build trust with their audiences. We are experts who deliver exceptional outcomes. Together, we win.

What We Do

Terakeet controls online reputation and visibility for global brands. We proactively build, protect, and repair brand narratives and perception to drive trust across organic and AI-powered search using patented technology and decades of expertise.

Where We Hire

We are a remote-first organization hiring specifically within 60 miles of Chicago, IL., Dallas, TX., Austin, TX., Charlotte, NC.,  Atlanta, GA., Phoenix, AZ., Minneapolis, MN., and Syracuse, NY to help create opportunities for connectivity and collaboration in-person as you see fit. Learn more about our hiring hubs on the Careers blog.

Where You Fit:

Terakeet is looking for a Senior Backend Software Engineer who is excited to build scalable, high-impact systems that solve complex, real-world challenges. We’re seeking someone who combines strong backend development and database expertise with a passion for clean, reliable, and maintainable code. The ideal candidate is collaborative, solutions-driven, and energized by working with large data sets, modern technologies, and a team that values innovation, quality, and continuous improvement.

What We Need:

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the following essential functions:

  • Designing, building, and maintaining backend services and APIs using Python and related frameworks.
  • Ensuring database architecture, data flow, and system performance scale effectively with growing demand.
  • Applying strong database fundamentals to real-world systems, including indexing strategies, partitioning approaches, and concurrency considerations for large and complex datasets.
  • Advocating for best practices in code quality, system design, and documentation, including participation in code reviews and architectural discussions.
  • Collaborating with the team to standardize processes and improve long-term maintainability of backend systems.
  • Evaluating and responsibly leveraging AI-assisted development tools while adhering to sound engineering principles (e.g., SOLID, single-responsibility design).
  • Contributing to a culture of testing, reliability, and continuous improvement.

The above description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Other duties, responsibilities, and activities may change or be assigned at any time with or without notice. 

How We Evaluate:

Must-Have Qualifications

    • 8–10 years of professional software development experience.
    • Expert-level proficiency in one or more enterprise-level backend languages such as Python, Ruby, Java, or C#, with a strong preference for Python and Django.
    • Deep, practical knowledge of relational databases (RDBMS), independent of a specific engine.
    • Ability to reason about and design systems that handle millions of rows and complex data relationships.
    • A strong architectural mindset with demonstrated experience building maintainable, well-documented systems.

Should-Have Qualifications

    • Experience building and optimizing REST and/or GraphQL APIs in high-concurrency, data-intensive environments.
    • Familiarity with containerized and cloud-native infrastructure, including Docker and managed database services such as AWS RDS, Snowflake, or equivalent platforms.
    • A consistent practice of writing, maintaining, and documenting automated tests, including unit and integration testing (e.g., Pytest, Vitest, Cypress).

Nice-to-Have Qualifications

    • Direct experience scaling and optimizing PostgreSQL for large, data-heavy applications.
    • Familiarity with browser automation tools such as Playwright or Selenium, particularly in support of internal tooling, scraping architectures, or test automation.

Pay Transparency

The salary range for this role is $127,000 to $192,000. *This salary range is based off of the market pay for all of the United States; Terakeet applies a multiplier to this range based upon the specific geographic location of a job candidate*

EEO Statement

Terakeet provides equal employment opportunity to all individuals regardless of their race, color, creed, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by state, federal, or local law.