The three main resume formats are chronological, functional, and combination, each serving different career needs. The chronological resume is the most common and preferred by employers, listing work history in reverse order to highlight steady progress and recent roles. A functional resume focuses on skills and expertise rather than job history, making it ideal for career changers or those with significant employment gaps. A combination resume merges both approaches, allowing candidates to emphasize skills while still providing a chronological work history.
Key Resume Format Types
Chronological Resume: Best for candidates with a consistent work history in the same field. It places the most recent job first and is straightforward for employers to read.
Functional Resume: Suited for those changing careers, with long employment gaps, or who want to highlight transferable skills from internships or volunteer work.
Combination Resume: Offers flexibility by balancing skill highlights with work experience, useful for mid-career professionals.
Formatting Best Practices
Use reverse-chronological order for work experience unless otherwise needed.
Keep the layout clean and ATS-friendly with simple fonts like Arial, Calibri, or Garamond.
Limit content to one page for most candidates; two pages may be acceptable for those with 10+ years of experience.
Avoid complex tables, graphics, or images that may hinder ATS readability.
Use clear section headings and bold fonts for headers to improve scannability.
Include 4–5 bullet points per role, focusing on achievements and impacts rather than duties.
Downloadable Templates
Free resume templates in Microsoft Word (.docx) and PDF formats are available from sources like Resume.io, Microsoft Word, Harvard FAS, BeamJobs, and Zety. These templates are designed to be ATS-compatible, professional, and easy to customize for various industries and experience levels.
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How do I write a resume summary?
A great resume summary will contain a combination of positive adjectives describing your character, your most impressive accomplishments, and any qualifications or experience required for the role.
How many pages should my resume be?
We recommend keeping your resume to one page in virtually all situations. However, exceptions may apply for executive level candidates, those with particularly impressive careers, or candidates applying in countries outside of the U.S. and Canada.
Do employers like resume templates?
Employers want to see resumes that are easy-to-read and quickly convey the information they are looking for. While resume templates are a useful tool for creating a professional application, recruiters will not favor copy-paste resumes that have not been customized for the job description.