Resume Templates

Companies get hundreds (if not thousands) of applicants for each job. It's pretty unfeasible to expect a hiring manager to manually review each and every application, including those that may not have the right experience for the job. This is why companies use ATS or Applicant Tracking Systems. They are automated software that electronically parse and process your resume, reducing the number of resumes hiring managers have to manually review.

Knowing that companies use resume screening software, you need to ensure that your resume is properly parsed by them. Some guidelines include:

• Label your work experience and education sections correctly
• Consistent date formats
• Don't use tables — these often aren't read properly by ATS
• No pictures, diagrams, etc.
• No scanned documents — text can be copied; document is highlightable and readable

We have a checklist here, which summarizes most elements of what a good resume looks like. You can also use our resume scanner like Scan My Resume, which is a state of the art resume review tool. If your resume can be properly scanned by our tool, then you can be confident that it will also be read by ATS software that companies use.

Learn more about how to beat the ATS.

The templates we've brought to you are vetted by recruiters and hiring managers at top companies, and follow all the right resume standards/advice. This includes no objective sections, no images, no graphs, no fancy designs/colors, no tables, meet whitespace requirements and use the right margins/font sizes. They've been used by candidates to get into companies like Google, McKinsey, and Goldman Sachs.

We strongly recommend using one of our standard templates we've provided to you above (unless maybe you are applying for an extremely creative role!). The main reason for this is that most companies use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), which are effectively resume screening software to process your resume. Most multi-column fancy/colourful templates are not properly parsed by these ATS systems, which hurts your chances significantly of getting an interview. This is why all the templates we've provided to you are rigorously passed through ATS systems to ensure they are read correctly.

We advise against this. As a follow on to the above question, "creative resumes" waste a ton of space, aren't bulleted in the right way, make it hard for recruiters to skim through, aren't readable by resume screening software, and are costing you interviews.

We recommend using PDF format when submitting your resume. PDFs preserve your formatting across different devices and operating systems, ensuring your resume looks exactly as you intended. However, some older ATS systems may have trouble parsing PDFs, so if a job posting specifically requests a Word document (.docx), use that format instead.

For most professionals with less than 10 years of experience, a one-page resume is ideal. If you have 10+ years of experience or are in academia/research, a two-page resume may be appropriate. The key is to be concise and only include relevant information. Every line on your resume should serve a purpose and demonstrate your value to potential employers.

In the United States, Canada, and the UK, you should NOT include a photo on your resume. This is to prevent unconscious bias in the hiring process. However, in some countries like Germany, France, and parts of Asia, including a professional photo is common practice. Always research the norms for the country and industry you're applying to.