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 .

Enterprise Solutions Engineering Manager, Canada

Verkada · Toronto, Canada

Who We Are

Verkada is transforming how organizations protect their people and places with an integrated, AI-powered platform. A leader in cloud physical security, Verkada helps organizations strengthen safety and efficiency through one connected software platform that includes solutions for video security, access control, air quality sensors, alarms, intercoms, and visitor management.

Over 30,000 organizations worldwide, including more than 100 companies in the Fortune 500, trust Verkada as their physical security layer for easier management, intelligent control, and scalable deployments. Founded in 2016, Verkada has expanded rapidly with 15 offices and 2,200+ full-time employees.

About the Role

The Solutions Engineering team is looking for an additional SE leader to join our Enterprise team. The SE Manager is responsible for leading and developing a high performing Enterprise Solutions Engineering team in Canada. The candidate should be a proven technical leader in a fast-paced environment who’s highly motivated, entrepreneurial, with excellent follow-up and follow-through.

This position is remote.

What You'll Do

  • People Leader: Hire, develop and lead inclusive, engaged, and high performing Global Enterprise Engineering teams
  • Technical Leader: Technical coach, mentor, and problem solver helping with technical escalations and navigating complex technical solutions
  • Builder: Identify gaps, show initiative, and take ownership to build out programs and processes in support of the SE team
  • Connector: work cross-functionally to drive improvements and increase communication and collaboration across departments e.g. sales, product, support, enablement, marketing, etc
  • Career Champion: develop and grow the team’s skills through coaching, mentoring, and enablement
  • Travel Requirement: Up to 50%

What You Bring

  • Demonstrated leadership success as a technical presales Manager for the last 3+ years within a similar company
  • Experience working at a cloud and network infrastructure focused company with hardware / software exposure required
  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Networking, Information Technology, Information & Computer Technology, Cybersecurity, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, IT Security or similar from an accredited university
  • Proven track record in leading high performing sales engineering teams and working closely with sales teams and product teams
  • Experience building and scaling technical pre-sales teams
  • Ideally located in Greater Toronto Area

Canada Employee Benefits

Verkada is committed to fostering a workplace environment that prioritizes the holistic health and wellbeing of our employees and their families by offering comprehensive wellness perks, benefits, and resources. Our benefits and perks programs include, but are not limited to:

  • Healthcare programs that can be tailored to meet the personal health and financial well-being needs - Premiums are 100% covered for the employee under most plans and 70% for family premiums
  • Medical, vision and dental coverage
  • Paid parental leave policy & fertility benefits
  • Time off to relax and recharge through our paid holidays, firmwide extended holidays, generous time off and personal sick time
  • Professional development stipend
  • Wellness/fitness benefits
  • Healthy meals provided daily

Additional Information

  • You must be independently authorized to work in Canada and travel to the US. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa for this role, at this time.

Annual Pay Range

At Verkada, we want to attract and retain the best employees, and compensate them in a way that appropriately and fairly values their individual contribution to the company. With that in mind, we carefully consider a number of factors to determine the appropriate starting pay for an employee, including their primary work location and an assessment of a candidate's skills and experience, as well as market demands and internal parity. A Verkada employee may be eligible for additional forms of compensation, depending on their role, including sales incentives, discretionary bonuses, and/or equity in the company in the form of restricted stock units (RSUs)

Below is the annual on-target earnings (OTE) range for full-time employees for this position, comprised of base compensation and commissions (if applicable).

Estimated Annual Pay Range
$210,000$280,000 CAD

Verkada Is An Equal Opportunity Employer

As an equal opportunity employer, Verkada is committed to providing employment opportunities to all individuals. All applicants for positions at Verkada will be treated without regard to race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, marital status, veteran status, pregnancy, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.

Your application will be handled in accordance with our Candidate Privacy Policy