How Screeners Work

What an ATS actually does

• It's recruitment software, not a human reviewer — think of it as a first-round interview conducted by a computer before anyone reads your CV.
• It collects and stores every application in a database, then parses each CV to extract structured fields like contact info, job titles, dates, and skills.
• It ranks candidates by keyword match and other criteria, then filters out anything that doesn't meet the minimum requirements the recruiter set.
• Nearly every large employer uses one — over 98% of Fortune 500 companies and roughly 75% of employers overall.

The systems you're actually up against

• Enterprise: Workday, Taleo (Oracle), SuccessFactors (SAP), and iCIMS — common at large and Fortune 500 companies.
• Mid-market: Greenhouse, Lever, SmartRecruiters, and Jobvite — common at tech companies and startups.
• Small business: BambooHR, Zoho Recruit, and Bullhorn — common at smaller companies and staffing agencies.
• Each has different parsing quirks — some handle formatting or synonyms better than others — which is exactly why a clean, standard-format CV maximizes compatibility across all of them.

How your score gets calculated

• Keyword match (40–60% of the score): how many required keywords appear, how often, and where — skills section, summary, and experience all count.
• Experience match (20–30%): your years of experience against what's required, and how closely your job titles match the role.
• Education & certifications (10–20%): whether required degrees or certifications are present and relevant.
• Other factors (10–20%): things like location match, salary expectations, and whether the application is complete.

The funnel doesn't stop at the ATS

1. 1ATS filtering. Automated keyword and requirement matching eliminates 50–75% of applications.
2. 2Recruiter quick scan. About 6–10 seconds, checking title, companies, education, and keywords — plus red flags like gaps or job-hopping.
3. 3Detailed review. 2–3 minutes, only for CVs that survive the scan, weighed against the rest of the shortlist.
4. 4Phone screening & interviews. 15–30 minutes to verify experience and fit before the final rounds.