Free resume template, built with AI

What is a resume?

A resume is a short document, usually one page, that sums up your work experience, skills and education for a specific job. Its only goal is to get you an interview. Recruiters often decide in seconds whether to keep reading, so a strong resume puts your most relevant results where the eye lands first: the top third of the page.

That’s why the layout matters as much as the words. This resume template gives you a proven structure, so you can spend your time on the content instead of fighting with margins and fonts.

Which resume format should you use?

There are three main resume formats. Choosing the right one depends on your experience and where you want to go next.

Chronological resume

Lists your jobs from most recent to oldest. It’s the format recruiters expect and the one most applicant tracking systems read best. Use it if you have a steady work history in the same field. This template uses the chronological format.

Functional resume

Groups your experience by skill rather than by job. It can hide gaps, but many recruiters distrust it for exactly that reason, so use it with care.

Combination resume

Opens with a skills summary, then lists your work history. It suits career changers who need to show transferable skills before their job titles.

How to write a resume, section by section

1. Contact details

Full name, phone number, a professional email address, city and a LinkedIn link. Skip your full home address, date of birth and photo unless the country you’re applying in expects them.

2. Resume summary

Two or three lines that name your role, your years of experience and your strongest result. For example:

“Marketing manager with 6 years in B2B SaaS. Grew inbound leads 140% in 12 months by rebuilding the content program.”

3. Work experience

For each job, list the title, company, location and dates, then three to five bullet points. Start every bullet with an action verb and end it with a result:

“Cut onboarding time from 14 to 5 days by automating account setup.”

Numbers make your impact easy to believe.

4. Resume skills

List hard skills and tools that match the job post, such as software, languages and certifications. Leave out vague soft skills like “team player” and show them in your experience bullets instead.

5. Education and certifications

Degree, school and graduation year. Recent graduates can add GPA, relevant coursework and projects, and should move this section above work experience.

How to make your resume ATS-friendly

Most employers screen applications with an applicant tracking system before a person reads them. An ATS resume uses a single column, standard section headings and plain fonts, and avoids tables, text boxes and icons that the software can’t read. Mirror the exact job title and key skills from the posting, and save the file as a PDF unless the employer asks for another format.

Common resume mistakes to avoid

• Sending the same resume to every job instead of tailoring it to each posting.
• Listing duties (“responsible for social media”) instead of results (“grew followers 3x in a year”).
• Going over one page with less than ten years of experience.
• Typos and inconsistent dates, which many recruiters treat as an automatic no.
• An objective statement instead of a summary. Recruiters want to know what you offer, not what you want.

Resume vs CV: what’s the difference?

In the US and Canada, a resume is a short, tailored summary for most jobs, while a CV is a longer, complete record used in academia and research. In the UK, Ireland and much of Europe, “CV” is the everyday word for what Americans call a resume. If you’re applying abroad, check which one the employer expects.

Who this simple resume template is for

The layout is plain on purpose, so it works at every stage. Students can use it as a student resume template or high school resume template by putting education first and adding projects and volunteering. Experienced professionals can keep it to one page by trimming older roles to a single line.

Resume questions