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 Manager UK Government Relations

Trainline · London

About us

We are champions of rail, inspired to build a greener, more sustainable future of travel. Trainline enables millions of travellers to find and book the best value tickets across carriers, fares, and journey options through our highly rated mobile app, website, and B2B partner channels. 

Great journeys start with Trainline 🚄 

Now Europe’s number 1 downloaded rail app, with over 125 million monthly visits and £5.9 billion in annual ticket sales, we collaborate with 270+ rail and coach companies in over 40 countries. We want to create a world where travel is as simple, seamless, eco-friendly and affordable as it should be. 

Today, we're a FTSE 250 company driven by our incredible team of over 1,000 Trainliners from 50+ nationalities, based across London, Paris, Barcelona, Milan, Edinburgh and Madrid. With our focus on growth in the UK and Europe, now is the perfect time to join us on this high-speed journey. 

Introducing UK Government Relations at Trainline 👋

We’re looking for an ambitious and politically astute UK Government Relations Manager to join our Corporate Affairs function.

As part of the UK Government Relations team, you will represent Trainline externally championing our core business priorities and key policy positions, while clearly articulating the value we bring to consumers and the wider rail and technology ecosystems.

With Trainline at the centre of rail reform and digital ticketing innovation, this role sits within a fast-moving political and regulatory environment. You’ll help shape the conditions that enable growth and innovation, safeguard and enhance our reputation, and ensure the role of technology in delivering a better rail experience is well understood.

Blending public affairs, policy and project management, you will support senior colleagues on stakeholder engagement developing briefing materials, coordinating engagement activity and strengthening relationships across Parliament, government, regulators and industry.

This role is based in London with a hybrid working model (3 days per week in the office).

What you’ll be doing 🚅

  • Monitor and analyse UK political, legislative and regulatory developments across rail, technology and consumer policy, providing clear, commercially focused advice on risks and opportunities

  • Support the development and delivery of Trainline’s UK Government Relations strategy, aligned to corporate priorities

  • Draft high-quality policy papers, consultation responses and parliamentary briefings that advance Trainline’s objectives

  • Project manage stakeholder engagement activity, including roundtables, dinners and reception events

  • Build and maintain strong relationships with parliamentarians, government officials, regulators, trade associations and industry partners

  • Represent Trainline externally at meetings, industry forums and political events

  • Work cross-functionally with Legal, Industry Relations, Product, Commercial and Communications teams to ensure aligned and effective responses to policy and regulatory developments

What we are looking for 🔍

  • Significant experience in public affairs, government relations or public policy (in-house, consultancy or trade association)

  • A strong understanding of UK regulatory and legislative processes

  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with experience producing high-quality policy briefings and consultation responses

  • Strong relationship-building skills, with the ability to operate credibly with a wide range of stakeholders, including senior colleagues

  • Proven ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, politically sensitive environment

  • A proactive, collaborative and solution-oriented mindset

Desirable:

  • Background in technology or transport policy

  • Experience working in or with digital platforms or tech businesses

More information:

Enjoy fantastic perks like private healthcare & dental insurance, a generous work from abroad policy, 2-for-1 share purchase plans, an EV Scheme to further reduce carbon emissions, extra festive time off, and excellent family-friendly benefits. 

We prioritise career growth with clear career paths, transparent pay bands, personal learning budgets, and regular learning days. Jump on board and supercharge your career from day one! 

We're operate a hybrid model to work and ask that Trainliners work from the office a minimum of 60% of their time over a 12-week period. We also have a 28-day Work from Abroad policy.

Our values represent the things that matter most to us and what we live and breathe everyday, in everything we do: 

  • 💭 Think Big - We're building the future of rail 

  • ✔️ Own It - We focus on every customer, partner and journey 

  • 🤝  Travel Together - We're one team 

  • ♻️ Do Good - We make a positive impact 

We know that having a diverse team makes us better and helps us succeed. And we mean all forms of diversity - gender, ethnicity, sexuality, disability, nationality and diversity of thought. That's why we're committed to creating inclusive places to work, where everyone belongs and differences are valued and celebrated.

Interested in finding out more about what it's like to work at Trainline? Why not check us out on LinkedIn, Instagram and Glassdoor