Resume Formats: Which One to Use and When

What are the three resume formats?

Why is reverse-chronological the default?

Because it answers the questions recruiters ask first: what are you doing now, what did you do before, and are you moving up? It also matches the fields applicant tracking systems expect, so your jobs, dates and titles land in the right places when the software reads the file.

The typical order of sections is:

1. Header with your name and contact details
2. Summary
3. Experience, newest job first
4. Education
5. Skills
6. Optional sections such as certifications, languages or projects

Students and recent graduates can move education above experience. Everything else stays the same. You can see both orders in our resume examples: compare the registered nurse with the student.

When does a functional resume make sense?

A functional resume groups your abilities under headings such as "Customer service" or "Project coordination" and lists your jobs only briefly, often without descriptions. It was designed to take attention away from gaps or unrelated jobs.

The problem is that recruiters know this, and many read a functional resume as a sign that something is being hidden. Applicant tracking systems also struggle with it, because the achievements are not attached to any job or date.

If you are tempted to use a functional format to hide a gap, use a chronological one and add a one-line entry for the gap instead: "Career break, caring for a family member, 2022 to 2024". It is honest, and it is usually read as such.

When should you use a combination resume?

The combination format keeps the full work history of the chronological format but adds a section at the top that pulls your most relevant achievements or skills together. It suits two groups of people.

• Career changers, whose most relevant experience may be spread across several jobs or come from projects and training.
• Experienced specialists, who want a reader to see their three biggest results before scrolling through fifteen years of history.

Keep the top section short, four to six lines, and make sure every claim in it also appears under a specific job below. Otherwise it reads like a functional resume with extra steps.

What layout should a resume have?

Once the order is settled, the layout decides how easy the resume is to read. A few rules cover most cases.

• Use standard section headings, such as Experience, Education and Skills, so both people and software know what they are reading.
• Keep body text between 10 and 12 points and headings clearly larger.
• Use margins of about half an inch to an inch and leave space between sections.
• Put dates in the same place and style for every entry.
• Use bold for job titles or employers, not for random phrases in your bullets.

One column or two?

A one-column layout is the safest choice when you apply through job portals, because every applicant tracking system reads it from top to bottom in the right order. Two-column layouts fit more on the page and can look more modern; most current systems read them, but some older ones mix up the columns. Use two columns when a person will read your resume first, such as after a referral or at a small company.

Our resume templates are each labeled with how well software reads them, and you can switch between designs in the builder without retyping anything.

Should you send a PDF or a Word file?

Send a PDF unless the posting asks for Word. A PDF looks the same on every screen and printer, and applicant tracking systems read text-based PDFs well. Scanned PDFs or resumes saved as images cannot be read by software at all.

Some recruiters and staffing agencies ask for Word because they edit resumes before sending them to clients. In that case, send a Word file and check that the layout survived.

Does the format change from country to country?

The order of sections is similar almost everywhere, but personal details and length differ. In the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, a resume or CV leaves out a photo, age and marital status. In parts of continental Europe, the Middle East and Asia, a photo and some personal details are still common. Academic jobs everywhere expect a longer CV. Our guide to the difference between a resume and a CV covers this in detail.

How do you format each part of a resume?

Header

Your name in the largest type on the page, then your headline and contact details on one or two lines below it. Keep the header short: a large block of contact information pushes your experience down the page.

Job entries

Give every job the same shape: title, employer, city and dates, followed by bullet points. Choose one date style, such as "Mar 2022" or "03/2022", and use it everywhere. Put the dates in the same place for every entry, usually on the right or on a line under the title, so the eye can run down them.

Bullet points

Start each bullet with a verb in the right tense, keep most to one or two lines, and either end every bullet with a period or none of them. Three to six bullets per recent job is plenty; older jobs need fewer.

Skills and other lists

Short items such as skills, languages and certifications read best as a compact list or a line of text separated by commas. They do not need bullet points of their own, and they should never be shown as bars or charts.

Which formatting mistakes cost interviews?

• Inconsistent dates, fonts or spacing, which make a resume look careless even when the content is strong.
• Dense blocks of text with no bullets, which readers skip.
• Tiny type or narrow margins used to squeeze everything onto one page.
• Headings that software does not recognize, such as "My journey" instead of "Experience".
• Important details placed only in a page header, a text box or an image.
• A design so busy that the reader notices the decoration before the experience.

A good template prevents most of these by keeping spacing, dates and headings consistent for you. In the builder you write once and can try any template without retyping.

Questions