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 .

Sales Director, Eastern US

Via · New York; Miami; Atlanta

Via is using technology to transform transportation around the world. From changing a single person’s daily commute to reducing humanity’s collective environmental footprint — we’ve got huge goals.

As Sales Director, you’ll take a hands-on approach toward building an inclusive, sustainable, and tech-enabled framework for mobility, leading regional sales efforts across both public and private sectors. You’ll be creative and entrepreneurial to identify opportunities, general new business, and manage all aspects of the sales cycle, from initial contact to closing and upsell. This is a quota carrying role.

What You’ll Do:

  • Identify prospective partners and build meaningful and durable revenue-generating relationships with a diverse group of prospective clients, from elected officials to private-sector business leaders. Lead execution and strategy for full-cycle Sales efforts across your territory, working to make transit better for your community, and your region’s communities. 
  • Strategically navigate your market’s unique buying landscape using research strong analytical skills to build compelling, data-driven business cases for our platform and demonstrate our value proposition across a range of verticals.
  • Be a thought partner to prospective clients by educating and consulting with them to develop regional transit plans and find funding mechanisms within your market. 
  • Champion our mission and technology as the “face of Via” by leading local marketing campaigns, speaking at conferences, and providing consistent thought leadership in the mobility space.

Who You Are:

  • You have a minimum of 10+ years of client facing experience with a record of achievement in the Sales, Business Development, Consulting, or similar space with preference for candidates who have worked with the public sector. 
  • An educator, collaborator, and thought partner: you enjoy consultative sales processes, and know how to use data to build a compelling narrative
  • Intuitive communicator; whether in customer conversations, product presentations, or written proposals, you always strike the right tone and communicate persuasively.
  • Superb commercial intuition and exceptional judgment -- you know when to push and when to yield in maximizing the value of a potential deal.
  • A reliable, motivated self-starter with a passionate growth mentality. You enjoy fast-paced environments, aren’t deterred by setbacks or pivots, and thrive in roles requiring a very high degree of responsibility.
  • An excellent team player; you’re a meaningful individual contributor, and a mentor to others on your team. You view successes as team efforts, and enjoy working with others.
  • Expertise in prospecting, cross-selling, and developing relationships with senior level officials and executives
  • Must be willing to travel 25-50% as needed

Compensation and Benefits:

  • Final salary will be determined by the candidate’s experience, knowledge, and skills.
  • Salary reflected does not include equity or variable pay, where applicable
  • Salary Range: $150,000-$210,000

There has never been a more exciting time to be on the cutting edge of public mobility. Ready to join the ride?

Via is an equal opportunity employer.

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