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 Fullstack Engineer (Payments)

Topstep · United States

Summary:
As a Senior Full Stack Engineer at Topstep, you’ll play a key role in building the distributed systems that power our trader experience. You’ll help define and evolve the architecture that serves as the backbone of our payments and purchasing platform, ensuring reliability, scalability, and clarity as our ecosystem grows.

You’ll work primarily in TypeScript and React, building cloud-native applications that support high-throughput, low-latency workloads. In addition to shipping features, you’ll influence coding standards and engineering patterns adopted across teams, and help ensure the platform scales safely as usage and complexity increase.

This role is ideal for someone who wants to contribute to key systems in our ecosystem, delivering elegant solutions that scale with intention. Join us and help shape what engineering excellence looks like at Topstep.

Key Responsibilities

  • Design, build, and operate cloud-native applications with an emphasis on reliability, safe deployments, and operational simplicity.
  • Embed automated testing, observability, and operational ownership into every stage of feature delivery.
  • Proactively identify and resolve issues, helping ensure our platform remains stable, performant, and ready to grow.
  • Collaborate with product engineering teams to champion event-driven best practices and deliver scalable, resilient solutions.

Required Qualifications and Key Competencies

  • 5+ years of experience building and operating production-grade systems with user-facing APIs, with demonstrated impact on scalability and reliability.
  • A solid full-stack foundation, with strength in backend API design (TypeScript, GraphQL, REST) and modern frontend development (React, Next.js, TypeScript).
  • Deep expertise in designing and operating scalable, distributed systems, including event-driven architectures, message queues, eventual consistency, and race condition handling, with a strong focus on performance, security, and maintainability.
  • Strong database fundamentals, including experience with PostgreSQL or SQL Server—schema design, migrations, indexing, and query optimization.
  • Excellent communication skills, with the ability to distill complex technical concepts for a range of audiences.
  • A production mindset and bias toward action—embracing metrics, logging, tracing, on-call participation, and end-to-end ownership of delivery.

Company Culture & Perks 

  • Topstep is an engaging working environment that ranges from fully remote to hybrid. We foster a culture of collaboration by keeping cameras on during meetings and maintaining a robust Slack environment for communication. 
  • 7 Company-paid Holidays and generous Family Leave. Paid time off is front-loaded.
  • Competitive 401(k) matching, health, dental, and vision insurance are offered for full-time employees. 
  • Vacations are encouraged with a bonus for taking 5 consecutive days. Topstep offers a food and groceries budget and contributes towards health and wellness. 

New Hire Base Salary Range 

  • $157,000 - $193,000 annually.
  • Bonus: This position is eligible for a performance-based bonus as provided by the plan terms and governing documents.
  • The compensation offered will take into account the internal compensation structure and may vary depending on the candidate's geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience, among other factors.

Equal Opportunity Employer 

Topstep is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where all employees and applicants are valued. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status, in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws.

Interested in the role? Apply today with your resume!