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 .

GTM - AI Native Sales

Workos · San Francisco

About WorkOS 🚀

WorkOS builds modern developer tools and APIs that make it easy for companies to become Enterprise Ready. Our platform powers authentication, identity, authorization, and other critical infrastructure that developers need to securely scale their products to large organizations.

We recently raised a $100M Series C, valuing the company at $2B, led by Meritech and Sapphire with participation from Greenoaks, Craft, Abstract, and Audacious. WorkOS powers enterprise features for many of the fastest-growing AI companies, including OpenAI, Cursor, and Perplexity, Vercel, and Plaid.

As AI reshapes software, WorkOS is at the frontier of Human and Agent Authentication, Identity, and Access Control—helping companies answer a new critical question: who are your agents, and what are they allowed to do? Our fast-growing customer base includes hundreds of modern software companies building the next generation of enterprise-ready products.

About the role

WorkOS has a strong bottoms-up, developer-first GTM motion and we’re building the next chapter of our sales team. As an Account Executive, you’ll own pipeline and revenue from end-to-end, selling to product-minded developers and technical leaders at fast-growing companies.

This role is designed for high-agency sellers who thrive in early GTM environments, love being in the market, and want to experiment with new ways to build pipeline, especially with AI-native workflows. You’ll work closely with Solutions Engineers and customer-facing engineers to deliver a technical, consultative buying experience.

Responsibilities ✔️

  • Own the full sales cycle: prospecting, qualification, discovery, demos, closing, and expansion

  • Build pipeline through a mix of outbound, inbound follow-up, and in-person events (especially in SF and New York)

  • Develop internal champions by selling to a technical audience with a developer-first approach

  • Run experiments to improve conversion across top-of-funnel, evaluation, and close (messaging, targeting, tooling, events, sequences)

  • Partner closely with Solutions Engineers to drive evaluations forward and create delightful technical buyer experiences

  • Maintain rigorous pipeline hygiene, forecasting, and reporting

  • Share feedback from the field to improve product, positioning, and GTM strategy

Qualifications

  • Experience in SaaS sales or a strong foundation in a quota-carrying role; comfort operating in ambiguity

  • Strong communication and relationship-building skills with technical stakeholders (engineers, PMs, CTOs)

  • High agency and competitiveness, you create momentum rather than waiting for it

  • Comfort using modern tools (AI, automation, enrichment, workflow builders) to increase output and quality

  • Excited to spend meaningful time in-person with customers and prospects (events, meetings, community)

Benefits (US Only) 💖

At WorkOS, we offer resources that emphasize personal and familial well-being. We offer healthcare coverage for you and your family, including medical, dental, and vision. We offer parental leave, paid-time off and fully remote working arrangements.


Benefits include:

- Competitive pay

- Substantial equity grants

- Healthcare insurance (Medical, Dental and Vision) for you and your family

- 401k matching

- Wellness and fitness monthly allowances

- PTO + paid holidays + unlimited sick leave

- Autonomy and flexibility with remote work

Please inquire directly with our recruiting team for benefits available to those working outside the US.


Equal Opportunity Employer

WorkOS is an equal opportunity employer, committed to diversity and inclusiveness. We will consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, nationality, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, disability or age.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.