As the most popular and recognized choice, these chronological resume templates are the ideal choice for an experienced job seeker. You should use these templates if you have over 10 years of experience and want to demonstrate steady career advancement. This format is an especially strong choice for online applications — most major job boards like Workday or Greenhouse rely on applicant tracking systems (ATS), which are programmed to scan the same resume sections found in chronological resumes.
Academia
Accomplished
Black and Orange
Blue Pop Bold
Blue Side
Broad Appeal
Cascade
Cosmopolitan
Formative Traditional
Mono Shading
Point
Simple Red
Subtle Creativity
Tidy
Traditional Elegance
Upfront
Vibrant
The least familiar resume format, the functional resume, is ideal for job seekers with tons of technical skills and achievements but little formal work experience. This is perfect for careers in S.T.E.A.M (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics), if you have a direct connection to the hiring manager, or if you have significant work gaps in your employment history. However, this format is difficult for ATS to read and is best avoided in online applications.
Career Pitch
Cavalier
Foundation
Great Experience
Lists Expertises
Nonsense
Refined Columns
Two-Tone Color
The combination resume is also known as the hybrid resume: this format combines the strengths of the chronological and functional resumes to let you highlight both your skills and work history on the same document. This format prioritizes the skills section but leaves ample space for you to describe your past job experiences. This combined format is ideal for recent graduates or entrants to the job market, and works for anyone with less than 10 years of job experience.
Advertise
Bulletin
Call
Score Card
Substantial
We briefly explained the difference between chronological, functional and combination resumes. As the job market expanded and evolved, recruiters, hiring managers and resume writers understood that there are different kinds of job seekers. These resumes reflect those differences and help highlight your unique strengths in various ways. We break down the professional benefits of each resume format below.
Prioritizes work history
Provides a detailed timeline of work experience
Demonstrates career growth
ATS-friendly
Demonstrates work gaps
Highlights lack of experience
Less focus on skills
Job seekers with 10+ years of experience
This resume format celebrates career length and advancement. The focus on career growth makes sense for job seekers with previous promotions who are looking for the next step in their career.
Career changers
New graduates
Entry-level job seekers
The focus on past jobs is great if you have steady employment. But if you're an entry-level job seeker, the focus on previous work history puts you at a disadvantage. Your lack of formal work experience can end your job search before the crucial interview stage. The same can be said for career changers — the focus on past accomplishments in a different field could make you look like a poor fit for an open role.
Prioritizes skills and knowledge
Details all technical accomplishments and certificates
Demonstrates technical compatibility to job
Difficult to trace work history
Not an ATS-friendly format
Career changers Applicants with work gaps
This format helps job seekers apply for jobs in new fields or industries because it focuses on transferable skills and relevant work experience, rather than on a detailed job history in an unrelated industry.
10+ years of experience
If you have over ten years’ experience and are applying to a job in your industry, you’re probably looking for a mid- to senior-level position. If so, you want to demonstrate career growth and steady advancement in your previous roles. This format offers none of that; it prioritizes skills and technical abilities and could negatively impact your application.
Lends equal credit to work history and skill sets
Friendly to most job applicants
ATS-friendly
Can get lengthy
Entry-level employees Recent graduates
This format is similar to the chronological resume, but switches the placement of the skills and work history sections to highlight your skills first. Once a recruiter has a good idea of your technical skills, you can describe your related internships, coursework or entry-level jobs.
Career changers
Since this format has similar sections to the chronological resume, it holds several of the same pitfalls. Any work gaps or job descriptions that don’t relate to the open job posting could make you seem like a poor candidate.
Prioritizes work history
Provides a detailed timeline of work experience
Demonstrates career growth
ATS-friendly
Prioritizes skills and knowledge
Details all technical accomplishments and certificates
Demonstrates technical compatibility to job
Lends equal credit to work history and skill sets
Friendly to most job applicants
ATS-friendly
Demonstrates work gaps
Highlights lack of experience
Less focus on skills
Difficult to trace work history
Not an ATS-friendly format
Can get lengthy
Career changers
New graduates
Entry-level job seekers
Writing a resume requires some strategy. We published a detailed guide that helps you write each resume section easily. However, here are a few of our favorite quick writing tips to help you finalize the templates that you downloaded.
1. Scan the job post for repeat words or phrases.
Hiring managers often give you the tools to fit the job description. Their job posts tend to highlight the important aspects of the job — look for any repeated responsibilities or any sections that are highlighted, made bold or italicized. These are your resume keywords. If you have professional experience that matches those resume keywords, put them in your resume. You’ll score higher on ATS and increase your chances of moving to the next round of applicants.
2. Manage your font and size.
After you download your preferred template, check the font choice and style. You want a legible font size between 10-12, although your resume headings can be a bit larger. Keeping a consistent font size makes your resume look neater, but it’s also a friendly design choice that can keep a hiring manager interested in the content of your resume. When in doubt, use a familiar and traditional font like Times New Roman, Helvetica or Arial.
3. Be concise.
Your resume is a summary of your professional accomplishments — it should look like a summary. You’ll have plenty of time to elaborate on your experience in your cover letter or in your interviews, but you don’t want to overwhelm the hiring manager with your resume. Remember: the average job opening sees anywhere between 75-200 applicants. If your resume isn’t easy to skim, you won’t make it past the first round.
A professional resume template consists of several things, including:
1. Skills
2. Work history
3. Professional summary
4. Legible font
5. Strategic section placement
If any of those five are ignored or poorly deployed, the end result can negatively affect your job search. No hiring manager wants to squint at a micro font or wonder why you don’t list any previous jobs.
The exact sections that go into a professional resume depend on the format you choose. However, all resumes include the following sections: a summary statement quickly aligning your skill to the open job, a skills section and a detailed experience section. You can see how several of those mandatory resume sections exist in the format breakdown below.
Contact info
Summary statement
Work history
Skills
Education
Optional sections (certifications, relevant coursework, hobbies)
Contact info
Summary statement
General skills
Relevant skills
List of qualifications
Education
Optional Sections
Contact info
Summary statement
Skills
Work history
Education
Optional sections
Contact info
Summary statement
Work history
Skills
Education
Optional sections (certifications, relevant coursework, hobbies)
Contact info
Summary statement
General skills
Relevant skills
List of qualifications
Education
Optional Sections
Contact info
Summary statement
Skills
Work history
Education
Optional sections
The professional resume objective or summary is a short two-three sentence paragraph that sits near the top of your resume. This declaration explains how your experience or skills can align with the goals of the job at hand. For example, if you have ten years of fashion experience and spearheaded critically-acclaimed collections, you can inform the hiring company that you’d like to bring that experience and success to them.
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