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What Is an ATS Score? (And Why It's Killing Your Job Search)

4 min read

You applied to 50 jobs. You heard back from 3.

Your experience is solid. Your resume looks good. So what's going wrong?

The answer, for most people, is the ATS score.

What Is an ATS?

ATS stands for Applicant Tracking System. It's software that companies use to manage job applications — and it's the first thing that sees your resume, before any human does.

Companies like Google, Amazon, and even most mid-sized businesses use ATS software to filter hundreds of applications down to a manageable shortlist. The most common systems are Workday, Greenhouse, Lever, and iCIMS.

Here's the uncomfortable truth: 75% of resumes are rejected by ATS before a recruiter ever reads them.

Not because the candidates aren't qualified. Because their resume failed the filter.

What Is an ATS Score?

An ATS score is a measure of how well your resume matches what the system is looking for. It's calculated based on several factors:

1. Keyword matching The ATS compares your resume against the job description. If the job requires "project management" and your resume says "managed projects," the system might not make the connection. Exact and near-exact keyword matches score higher.

2. Resume structure ATS systems parse your resume into sections — work experience, education, skills. If your formatting is unusual (tables, columns, headers), the parser can misread or skip entire sections.

3. Section completeness Missing a summary? No skills section? Incomplete dates? These all lower your score.

4. Contact information If your email or phone number is in a header or footer element, many ATS systems will miss it entirely.

Why Most Resumes Fail

Here are the most common reasons resumes score poorly on ATS:

Tables and columns — They look great to humans but confuse ATS parsers. A two-column layout often gets read as a jumbled mix of left and right column text.

Contact info in the header — PDF headers are often skipped by parsers. Put your contact information in the body of the document.

Skills buried at the bottom — Many systems weigh skills sections heavily. Putting yours after 3 pages of experience means it gets less attention.

Generic bullet points — "Responsible for managing a team" scores lower than "Led a team of 8 engineers to deliver X project 2 weeks ahead of schedule." Quantified, action-oriented bullets match more keywords.

Wrong section titles — "Work History" instead of "Experience," or "Abilities" instead of "Skills" — ATS systems look for standard section headings.

How to Improve Your ATS Score

1. Read the job description carefully Make a list of the key skills, tools, and phrases mentioned. Make sure those words appear in your resume — naturally, not stuffed.

2. Use a clean, single-column layout Or if you want two columns, use a template specifically designed to be ATS-safe (where the HTML order is logical even if the visual layout looks two-column).

3. Put your skills section near the top Right after your summary is ideal. ATS systems often weight this section heavily.

4. Quantify your achievements Numbers help both ATS systems and human recruiters. "Increased revenue by 23%" is better than "grew revenue significantly."

5. Match job titles If the job posting says "Senior Product Manager" and you were a "Senior PM," consider spelling it out. ATS keyword matching is often literal.

6. Check your score before applying This is the most important step. Upload your resume to an ATS checker, see your score, read the suggestions, and fix the issues before you send.

What a Good ATS Score Looks Like

Scores vary by tool, but generally:

The goal isn't a perfect score — it's getting past the filter so a human can evaluate you on your actual merits.

Check Your ATS Score for Free

anothercv has a free ATS checker built in. Upload your resume and get an instant breakdown of your score, your strengths, your weaknesses, and specific suggestions.

Try it now →

Resume tips, ATS guides, and career advice from the team at anothercv.