Resume Templates
Browse professional templates. Pick one, customize, download.
Modern
Tech · Design · MarketingClean two-column layout with subtle accent. Best for tech, design, and creative roles.
Use this template →Classic
Finance · Law · HealthcareTraditional single-column. ATS-safe and widely accepted in conservative industries.
Use this template →Minimalist
Senior roles · ExecutivesBlack-and-white, plenty of whitespace. Lets your content do the talking.
Use this template →Compact
Engineering · AcademiaDense single-page format. Perfect when you have a lot to fit and the bar is high.
Use this template →Which template should I pick?
- Big company, traditional industry? Classic. ATS won't trip on it and recruiters won't roll their eyes.
- Startup or modern tech? Modern or Minimalist. Visual polish signals you care about details.
- 10+ years of experience? Compact lets you show range without bleeding to page 2.
- Not sure? Start with Classic. It's the safest default and easiest to retheme later.
All templates are ATS-friendly. No tables, no images, no fonts that fall apart in parsers — just clean text the way applicant tracking systems expect to see it.
A template is a container, not a strategy. The right one gets your experience parsed cleanly by applicant tracking systems (ATS) and read quickly by a hiring manager who spends six to eight seconds on the first pass. The wrong one buries your strongest line in a sidebar the parser can't read, or wraps your title in a graphic the software drops entirely.
Browse our templates by format and seniority, then customize the content while keeping the structure intact. Below is how practitioners actually choose: which formats suit which careers, why a plain single-column layout outperforms a designed two-column one through software, and the narrow case where a creative template is the right call.
How to use the Resume Templates
- 1
Pick your format first
Decide between reverse-chronological, functional, or combination before you look at visual styles. Format is driven by your work history, not your taste.
- 2
Match the template to industry and level
Filter to a single-column layout for any role going through an ATS. Reserve visual flourishes for design and marketing roles you submit straight to a human.
- 3
Replace placeholder content with quantified results
Swap every bullet for an accomplishment with a number: percent saved, dollars earned, headcount managed, tickets closed. Keep the standard section headings as written.
- 4
Tailor to the job posting
Mirror the exact skills and tool names from the listing where they are true for you. ATS keyword matching is literal, so "JavaScript" and "JS" are not the same string.
- 5
Export to PDF and proofread the parsed version
Download as PDF unless the posting demands .docx. Copy-paste the text into a blank document to confirm nothing reordered or vanished.
Reverse-chronological vs functional vs combination
- Reverse-chronological lists jobs newest-first. It is the default and the safest: recruiters expect it, every ATS reads it, and it suits anyone with a steady track record in one field.
- Functional groups bullets by skill and de-emphasizes dates. It signals a gap or pivot to experienced eyes, and many ATS parse it poorly. Use only if you genuinely have no dated history to show, such as a first job after a long break.
- Combination opens with a short skills summary, then a full dated work history. It suits career changers and senior people whose competencies matter as much as their timeline, while keeping the chronology an ATS needs.
How to pick a template for your industry and level
- Entry level: one page, education near the top, reverse-chronological.
- Mid-career: one to two pages, experience-led, results quantified.
- Senior/executive: two pages, a combination format with a leadership summary up top.
Customizing a template without breaking ATS
- Keep standard headings: "Work Experience," "Education," "Skills." Clever labels like "Where I've Made Impact" confuse keyword matchers.
- Never put contact details in the header or footer of the document; some parsers ignore those regions entirely. Keep your name, email, and phone in the body.
- Avoid tables, text boxes, and images for anything that must be read, including skills grids and logos.
- Keep the original fonts and one accent color. Don't shrink type below 10pt or remove the margins to win space.
Quick tips
- ✓Name the file FirstName-LastName-Resume.pdf, not resume-final-v3.pdf. The recruiter sees the filename.
- ✓Use one accent color at most, and only on headings or rule lines, never on body text you need read.
- ✓If the application field accepts .docx and PDF, choose PDF unless told otherwise; it preserves your layout everywhere.
- ✓Delete the template photo. US, UK, and Canadian employers discard resumes with headshots for bias-screening reasons.
- ✓Match section order to relevance: a new graduate leads with Education, everyone else leads with Experience.
- ✓Run the finished file through a free ATS scan or just copy the text into a plain editor; if it reads cleanly there, the parser can read it.
Frequently asked questions
Are two-column resume templates bad for ATS?
Most parsers read left-to-right across the full page width, so a two-column layout can interleave your sidebar and main column into nonsense. Use single-column for any ATS application. Two columns are fine only when a human opens the file directly.
Can I use a colorful, graphic template?
Only for design, marketing, illustration, or front-end roles you submit directly to a person, where the visual is a portfolio sample. For everything else, and anything filtered by software, use a clean single-column layout.
Which format should I choose if I have an employment gap?
Use a combination format: lead with a skills summary that frames your strengths, then list dated roles. This addresses the gap without the functional format's downsides, which both recruiters and ATS tend to penalize.
Should a resume be one page or two?
One page for entry level and most candidates under about ten years. Two pages are acceptable for senior, executive, or technical roles with substantial relevant history. Never pad a thin resume to fill two pages.
What should I never change when customizing a template?
Keep the standard section headings, keep contact details in the body rather than the header/footer, and avoid moving any text into tables or text boxes. Edit the content freely; leave the parse-critical structure alone.