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 .

Start-up Associate

fortrea · Santiago

Job Overview:

Primary contact with investigative sites during study maintenance and -when assigned-, site startup activities, with responsibility for collection of the required investigator and regulatory essential documents to ensure EC/IRB/Third body/Regulatory Authority submissions are made within the timelines agreed with project management and Site Readiness team. Develop awareness of regulatory legislation, guidance, and practice in the assigned countries with the support from senior staff.

    Summary of Responsibilities:

    • Develop awareness of regulatory legislation, guidance, and practice in the assigned countries with the support from senior staff.
    • Assist senior staff to compile, prepare, submit, and obtain approval of the submission documents to IRB/IEC/Third body/Regulatory Authority in accordance with local requirements.
    • Liaise with internal and external vendors in the generation of Regulatory Authority submissions (as applicable).
    • Perform a review of final submission documents as applicable.
    • Organize communication related to the submissions/outcomes within Fortrea as applicable.
    • Escalate study issues appropriately and in a timely fashion.
    • Perform other duties as assigned by management depending upon country and situational requirements with proper supervision (if applicable).
    • In Country specific tasks (Global):
    • Serve as primary contact for investigative sites and ensure documents required are collected in a timely manner.
    • Collect and track all the necessary documents required and perform a quality review, formatting, and compilation of the final documents for effective and compliant site activation and maintenance.
    • Ensure that all assigned maintenance and Start-up activities are on track and in accordance with client expectations, ICH/GCP, SOPs, budget, quality and applicable laws and guidelines.
    • Update study documents when there are changes in study personnel/study amendments.
    • Ensure high quality documents are filed and systems are updated on an ongoing and timely basis, making Fortrea ready for an audit at any time.
    • Update status reports, applicable logs, and tracking systems as applicable for the projects with input provided by senior staff.
    • With guidance from line manager and experienced colleagues, adapt Informed Consent Forms and other patient facing material to country specific requirements.
    • May support / assist the contract negotiation process under supervision of an experienced colleague or line manager.
    • Proactively identifying and escalating to Submission Leads any risk to meeting deliverables.
    • Notify the Submissions Lead of hours identified as Out-of-Scope or over burn with the support of more senior specialists.
    • All other duties as needed or assigned.
    • Clinical Trials Information System (CTIS) tasks (specific centralized role for EU):
    • Upload of submission documentation to CTIS under supervision as applicable.

    Qualifications (Minimum Required):

    • University/College degree (life science preferred), or certification in a related allied health profession from an appropriate accredited institution (e.g., nursing certification, medical or laboratory technology).
    • Fortrea may consider relevant and equivalent experience in lieu of educational requirements.

    Experience (Minimum Required):

    • Minimum 0 – 2 + years of experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience to successfully perform the key responsibilities of the job.
    • Working knowledge of ICH, RA, IRB/IEC, and other applicable regulations/guidelines
    • Demonstrated basic understanding of the clinical trial process.

    Physical Demands/Work Environment:

    • General Office Environment.

    Learn more about our EEO & Accommodations request here.