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 .

Contract Senior Data Scientist

Yld · EU Remote

Location: EU based, GMT timezone

Department: Engineering/Data

Employment Type: Contract (B2B)

Contract Length: 6 months (with potential for extension)

About YLD:

Everything we do is to empower our clients to move forward. Our purpose is to help our clients develop the capabilities they need to outperform their competitors. Our success is a consequence of ensuring our clients are successful. Our company is built on extraordinary people; we aim to attract, inspire, develop and retain them. YLD is a software engineering and design consultancy; we create digital capabilities for our clients that last beyond our engagement. We have offices in London, Lisbon, Porto.

About the role:

As a Data Scientist, you will take responsibility for data, insights, and models that help our clients grow quickly. You’ll have Machine Learning Engineering experience and use this to build data capabilities that integrate well with software products. You'll work closely with the clients' cross-functional innovation team to build new and novel products that serve the Broadcast Media industry.

Your day-to-day responsibilities will look like this:

  • Collaborate with stakeholders to identify and understand business problems and define data-driven solutions;
  • Lead end-to-end data science projects, from problem formulation and data exploration to model development, validation, and deployment;
  • Apply advanced statistical modelling and machine learning techniques to derive actionable insights and drive strategic decision-making;
  • Develop and implement predictive and prescriptive models to solve complex business challenges;
  • Collaborate with software and data engineers to integrate data from multiple sources and ensure data quality and integrity;
  • Communicate complex analytical concepts and insights to technical and non-technical stakeholders in a clear and compelling manner;
  • Stay up-to-date with the latest advancements in data science, machine learning, and AI technologies, and proactively identify opportunities to apply them to business problems.

Technical competencies:

  • Proven experience as a Data Scientist, with a strong focus on developing and deploying machine learning models in a production environment.
  • Expertise in programming languages such as Python, with proficiency in data manipulation, analysis, and model development libraries (e.g., pandas, NumPy, scikit-learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch).
  • Proven experience with machine learning algorithms, such as supervised and unsupervised learning techniques, time series analysis, and natural language processing.
  • Strong statistical modelling skills and familiarity with statistical analysis tools.
  • Proficiency in SQL and working with relational databases.
  • Solid understanding of data engineering concepts, data preprocessing, and feature engineering techniques.
  • Strong problem-solving and analytical skills, with the ability to think creatively and develop innovative solutions.
  • Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively in cross-functional teams.
  • Strong project management skills, with the ability to prioritise tasks and meet deadlines.

Non-Technical competencies:

  • Experience in a professional engineering role iteratively shipping software with a team of close collaborators;
  • Problem-solving skills that balance innovation with pragmatic technology choices to solve business needs;
  • Comfortable working in a dynamic production environment and taking care of client expectations effectively;
  • Distinct customer focus and quality mindset;
  • An exemplar of YLD’s brand and safeguarder of our reputation;
  • Good communication skills (both verbal and written).

What you’ll get in return:

  • The chance to work with a forward-thinking, ethical, and fun group of people and to develop and grow your skills in a fast-moving business

Our typical Recruitment Process looks like this:

  • 1st Interview with someone from the Talent team (30/45 mins)
  • Technical Interview with our Senior Developers (1h30)
  • Meet and discuss with a Client Partner (15/30mins)

We live and breathe our values, and know you will too:

  • Growing every day
  • Including everyone
  • Relationships built on honesty and ethics
  • Inspiring solutions
  • Winning together

We’re an equal-opportunity employer and value diversity of all kinds. We don’t discriminate based on race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, pregnancy or maternity, age, marital status, or disability status. We also believe in work-life balance and offer flexible working around our core hours.