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Why You Should Use Our Templates
Getting a good job requires a good resume, but creating a resume from scratch can be challenging. Instead of winging it, use our free resume templates to build a document that catches an employer’s eye and presents your credentials in crisp, organized fashion. Just choose a design, and create your resume in minutes.
- Name the job, we’ve got your template. Our layouts come in a variety of styles, fitting every job opportunity from traditional industries to more creative ventures.
- Our designs are employer and ATS-ready. We’ve engineered our templates to make them easy for recruiters (and the applicant tracking systems (ATS) they often use) to scan.
- They’re easy to customize. Create and save different versions of your resume for different jobs. You can even use as many different templates as you like.
More Templates You Can Use
Professional
It’s always a safe bet to go with this classic design. Acceptable in any industry and for just about any role, this well-crafted template always makes you look sharp.
Best for: Traditional industries, such as law, banking and finance, as well as government positions.
Modern
Use this template when applying to organizations with strong brands, and for jobs where you’re expected to have up-to-the-minute knowledge of business, technology or culture trends.
Best for: Highly visible jobs in retail, tech and customer service, as well as entertainment and sports industries
Emphasized
This layout helps make a strong first impression for jobs in creative fields. For these positions, your resume will be treated as a work sample; if its appearance fails to impress, you fail.
Best for: Creative professions, including design, UX/UI, visual merchandiser, art teacher, fashion, digital arts and game design.
Managerial
Using a strong design that accentuates your experience, this template is a good fit for job candidates who want to show why their accomplishments qualify them for a managerial job.
Best for: Consulting, financial, scientific or technical services.
Pacific
Stand out from a sea of black-and-white resumes with this template’s striking color header. Each section is also organized for easy skimming and customization.
Best for: Education, sales, human resources and medical professionals.
Refined
Clear and crisp, this organized design uses simple borders and headers to highlight each section, making it perfect for job seekers in almost any industry, particularly experienced professionals.
Best for: Jobs in established industries, such as construction, transportation and agriculture.
Standout
As its name implies, this layout separates itself from the crowd with eye-catching design elements which “connect the dots” from your summary to your skills and work history.
Best for: Most sales and marketing roles, especially those involving close contact with customers.
Remarkable
This straightforward layout draws attention to skills and professional accomplishments, allowing for fast customization. The headers are arranged in the left margin, making it easy to locate vital information.
Best for: Academic, engineering and similar jobs where a solid educational background is beneficial.
Blueprint
This template utilizes color fonts and generous spacing to give your resume a unique feel, while still accommodating all your qualifications. It’s ideal for job seekers in industries where you want to stand out.
Best for: Job seekers seeking creative positions in fields such as software development and social media.
Bold
This clean design features the job seeker’s name in a strong font for extra impact. The layout allows you to pack in plenty of information, making it ideal for experienced job candidates in all career fields.
Best for: Public relations, promotions and advertising positions.
Distinguished
This elegant, classic resume layout works for jobs in traditional industries. Information is laid out neatly and logically, making this template easy for applicant tracking systems (ATS) to scan.
Best for: All types of professional and business services, especially for job seekers with moderate to high levels of experience.
Accentuate
The side-by-side presentation of work experience and skills in this template highlights both your qualifications and achievements, while the subtle shade of color in the header provides an elegant touch.
Best for: Job seekers who need a flexible layout for presenting their work history.
How To Use Our Templates
- Select the template you want to use from our selection of 20+ designs.
- Follow our step-by-step guidance to fill out each section of your resume. We provide you with tips and suggestions on how to best present your skills and work experiences.
- Save your resume in the format you need (Word or PDF), and submit it to the job you want. You can always return to your resume and edit it, or customize it for a different job.
Resume Do’s and Don’ts
DO make sure your resume is completely machine-readable.
Remove any unusual fonts, tables or layouts that could throw off an applicant tracking system (ATS) and cause your resume to get filtered out. You should also save your resume in a standard format such as PDF or Microsoft Word. Using our templates will solve these issues for you automatically.
DO customize your resume for the job description.
Every job has different requirements — make sure your resume addresses them. More often than not, this means a few tweaks rather than a major rewrite. Sometimes you just need to reorder a few bullet points, drawing attention to skills and accomplishments most relevant to the job. Other times, you may need to rewrite your summary statement to better fit the job description, or revise your work history section to include specific job accomplishments that fit what the new job needs.
DO make every keyword count.
Yes, it’s true: both recruiters and applicant tracking systems will scan your resume for the right keywords. Assemble your keywords by looking at the job posting, and noting words and phrases that define the job’s requirements. Then present all the skills and work experiences you have that fit these keywords, giving specific examples of how you’ve used your skills successfully. But be careful not to just copy and paste a bunch of keywords into your resume — it might be enough to get past an electronic gatekeeper, but you’ll get stopped cold by a human one.
DON’T lie on your resume. Ever.
Sure, a lot of people stretch the truth on their resumes, including top executives. But these days it’s remarkably easy to detect a lie. Getting caught can cost you a dream job, tarnish your career, kill your professional reputation, and even have legal consequences. A good rule of thumb: Don’t include anything that you can’t verify if asked to do so.
DON’T ignore the details — any of them.
This includes punctuation, spelling, grammar, formatting and fonts. Nothing turns off a recruiter or hiring manager faster than a silly error in your resume. Our resume builder can solve most of these issues, as it offers a spell-checker, and corrects many formatting mistakes automatically.
DON’T get too fancy with your content.
We’ve taken care of your resume layout — now you should make sure that your content is straightforward and readable. Avoid business clichés and industry jargon that the reader might not know well. Don’t use flowery sentences to communicate something when a concise phrase or bullet point will do. Recruiters and hiring managers can be put off by words and phrases that are used just to sound clever or fill up space. Instead, come across as a real person who wants to talk with others, not at them. If you use our resume builder, we’ll help make sure you use the right words with our expert, job-specific suggestions.
Resume Template FAQ
- 1. What if I need help creating a resume in a different file format?
- 2. Should I include information about special interests, activities and hobbies?
- 3. What’s the right length for a resume?
- 4. How do you adjust your template to get the right resume format?
- 5. What are other ways to make my resume stand out?
1. What if I need help creating a resume in a different file format?
Most jobs will accept your resume in a Word document or PDF format, but in some cases, you may need to apply for a job by filling out a form on the company website with your resume details, or even submitting your resume within the body of an email. In these cases, you’ll need a text version of your resume. Don’t sweat it — our text resume format page will walk you through the process of creating a text document. We also have a guide to using our templates in Google Docs.
2. Should I include information about special interests, activities and hobbies?
Don’t include anything irrelevant to the job you’re applying for. That includes your marital status, children, hobbies, jobs from over 10 years ago and nonprofessional memberships. Everything on your resume must support your fit for the job you want. Save your outside interests for the job interview. The major exception is if you lack work experience but can demonstrate through your extracurricular activities and internships that you’ve had experience in areas that are important for the job.
3. What’s the right length for a resume?
Your length will depend on your specific skills and experiences, and what the job is looking for. If the job calls for extensive experience (more than five years), then two pages is a good limit to shoot for, with plenty of room to accommodate your job history. For less senior jobs, usually one page will be all you need to present all your qualifications. For more tips on resume length, see our article How to Write the Perfect Resume in Two Pages.
4. How do you adjust your template to get the right resume format?
First, figure out which resume format (chronological, combination and functional) is best for your needs. Based on our examples for each format, you can then arrange each section of your resume using our resume builder to fit the format. For example, if you’re creating a functional resume, simply move your skills section underneath your summary statement, and add additional skills subcategories if needed.
5. What are other ways to make my resume stand out?
- Be sure to use strong action verbs when describing your work achievements. Writing “managed” or “oversaw” makes more of an impact than writing “was responsible for” or “was tasked with.” For more tips to build up your work history section, see this article.
- Start your resume with a bang, by writing a summary statement geared to catch the recruiter’s attention. Think of your summary as your elevator pitch, in which you explain your strengths and why you’re a good fit with the potential job. For more guidance, read our How to Write the Best Resume Summary Statement article.
- If you’re changing career fields or applying for a job in an industry where you don’t have much experience, focus on transferable skills that you’ve learned at other jobs that you can apply to the new position. For example, if you’ve demonstrated good organization and collaboration abilities at an administrative assistant position, you can apply those skills to a career in construction management. For more on using transferable skills, see this article.