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 .

Lifecycle Marketing Lead

Vsco39 · San Francisco, CA

About VSCO

VSCO (pronounced vis–co) is a platform that equips photographers with the tools, community, and exposure they need to expand creatively and professionally. VSCO maintains a rich and authentic creative environment that serves photographers at all levels – preserving a home for creative opportunity, inspiration, and connection. Our mission is to champion photographers so they can make it. We empower photographers to connect with other creatives and businesses with our suite of creative tools that spans from mobile to desktop and across our global community. 

We are looking for people who are driven and demonstrate initiative in taking our company mission to the next level. Employees here have the opportunity to make a big impact, and believe that when we build together, we achieve stronger outcomes than we could alone. 

Our values are critical pillars to our team culture and shape the way we hire. Read more about what you can expect when working at VSCO on our Careers Page

About The Role

We’re looking for a Lifecycle Marketer to own, define, and drive lifecycle marketing programs that deepen engagement, retention, and deliver value across the creator journey. Reporting to the Director of Growth Marketing, you’ll own and develop the end to end holistic lifecycle marketing strategy that bridges VSCO’s surfaces and products (VSCO Capture, VSCO Photo Editor, VSCO Workspace, and more), supporting creators along their journey from photography enthusiast to working pro.

This role blends strategy, hands-on execution, and agency management. You’ll partner closely with Product, Creative, UX Design, and Growth teams to build cohesive experiences that educate, inspire, and activate our global community of photographers.

The Day to Day

  • Develop and execute VSCO’s lifecycle strategy across email, in-app surfaces, and other owned channels.
  • Own end-to-end lifecycle campaigns, including planning, segmentation, copy development, QA, deployment, and performance reporting.
  • Maintain lifecycle content calendars and evergreen nurture campaigns across VSCO’s product surfaces and user bases, ensuring timely, relevant, and intelligently targeted communication throughout the customer journey.
  • Leverage insights, data, and experimentation to continually optimize messaging, improve engagement, and drive conversion and retention outcomes.
  • Contribute to building documentation, frameworks, and best practices that raise the bar for lifecycle marketing excellence.

Qualifications

  • 5 years of experience in lifecycle marketing or a related field.
  • Hands-on experience managing lifecycle campaigns (segmentation, copy, deployment, analytics).
  • Familiarity with marketing automation platforms (e.g., Braze, Iterable, HubSpot, Customer.io).
  • Ability to translate product value into simple, intuitive messaging tailored to different audiences.
  • Comfort working cross-functionally with Creative, Product, and PMM partners.
  • Data-driven mindset — you look for insights to inform decisions and iterate.
  • Highly organized, detail-oriented, and capable of operating in a fast-moving, creative environment.
  • Passionate about creativity, photography, and helping creators thrive.

Job Perks

  • Hybrid work with an office in San Francisco, CA
  • Regular in-person events events to connect and collaborate
  • Competitive salary & equity 
  • Medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees and families
  • Flexible Time Off
  • Company-paid parental, medical and caregiver leave
  • Other perks including mental health resources and tech reimbursements

Compensation

The base salary for this position will vary based on several factors, such as relevant experience, location and your approved internal leveling assessed during the interview process. The base salary range for this role is $155,000 - $180,000. Salary is one component of our total compensation package. This position also qualifies for equity (i.e. stock options) and is eligible for discretionary bonuses based on performance. 

The benefits available for this position include flexible time off, a 401K retirement plan, insurance (medical, dental, vision, life/AD&D, short and long term disability), and 11 paid holidays. We also provide paid sick time as required by state and local law. Additional benefits and perks contained in our standard employee benefits package are also offered for this position.

Please note

The application window for this role will be open until at least 1/25/2026. This opportunity will remain online based on business needs which may be before or after the specified date.

Be careful of fraudulent job posts.

If you receive outreach from someone claiming to work for VSCO, please verify they are communicating through the proper channels (vsco.co email domain or through Greenhouse). 

Note that VSCO will never ask for financial information or sensitive personal information during the application process.