
What Does the Best Resume Look Like in 2023
Not sure what your resume should look like to impress recruiters? You’ve come to the right place to find out. See for yourself what the best-looking resume looks like.
How to pick the best resume format to make sure your application stands out? Learn from our handy guide on resume formatting. Read more!
The perfect resume format for 2023 has to pass applicant tracking systems. Show off your value as a future employee. And help recruiters make the right decision—invite you to the interview. Pick the wrong one, and you’ll annoy those little bots and their human overlords—
But which resume format is best? And most importantly, how to pick the proper resume format for you?
Want to save time and have your resume ready in 5 minutes? Try our resume builder. It’s fast and easy to use. Plus, you’ll get ready-made content to add with one click. See 20+ resume templates and create your resume here.
An example of a well-formatted resume made in our builder—See more resume examples here.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Here are the simple, standard rules you have to follow when formatting a resume.
(Feel free to skip this section if you simply want to pick a resume format and start working on your application.)
For a professional resume, follow these 10 resume formatting steps:
What about the proper file format?
To learn more about ideal file formats for resumes, see: PDF? DOC? What's the Best File Format for a Resume
Enough theory, though. Here are two examples of the bad vs the good way of how to format a resume. We’ve created the sample resume format on the right in our builder.
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Resume formatting isn't that hard. But, truth is, whatever word processing software you use, it takes time and effort to create and format a neat, polished document that looks the way you want it to. So why not let Zety guide you through the process? With our resume builder, you don't need to worry about formatting your job application—just type up the contents and our software will make sure your resume format always looks professional.
See some sample resume formats from our builder, pick the one you like best, and make it yours with a few clicks.
Nanica is one of the all-time favorites among our users, despite being a super simple resume format. The best thing about it? A very universal design with lots of white space. Highly recommended for job applications in conservative fields: law, finance, general business.
Another uncluttered resume format available in our builder. Simple and elegant yet with a modern touch. Primo uses a timeline on the left-hand side to make your work experience and education dates easier to track. A sidebar for your skills and extra sections lets you save space and fit more information onto a single page.
If you care for my personal opinion, I'd say Cubic is the prettiest resume format available in our builder. A perfect combination of classical elegance and modern creativity. Subtle shading helps guide the reader's eyes across different sections, the side column for contact details and skills adds a dynamic twist to the design. A great choice for applicants hunting jobs in IT, marketing, or sales.
As the name of this resume format implies, diamonds highlight the key areas: section headings, skill levels, and bullets in the work history section. This resume is full-width from top to bottom (no side column featured), making it very easy to go through your work history, chronologically. A great pick for candidates with many years of experience under their belts.
A very minimalist template for everyone who likes to keep things simple and clear. With Newcast, you get a traditional resume format with a few details that help your application stand out, like the tasteful icons for section headings and bar charts to indicate skill levels. If you're applying for a job at a company with conservative culture, Newcast will be a great bet!
3
There are three main resume formats: reverse-chronological, functional, and combination. The most popular and effective one is the reverse-chronological format, and we recommend it for most jobseekers.
While we strongly recommending this one, you can pick the type of resume that best fits your career.
Those 3 common resume formats can also be named:
The main difference between them is the chief focus. What does it mean for you?
That you have to know the correct order of sections on each of the standard resume formats.
Have a look:
The Three Standard Resume Formats: Resume Structure
As you can see:
That depends on your career path so far.
Let’s discuss that on some real-life examples.
Meet three job seekers: Frank, Thomas, and Christian.
Their resumes and how these correspond with their careers will guide you through the process of picking a good resume format for your situation.
Frank is an electrician. He’s been working in his field for over 15 years.
He’s been with the same company (having gotten promoted from journeyman to master) since 2007.
Frank found an interesting opening for a master electrician position with a big, international corporation. The responsibilities listed in the job ad are very similar to his current duties and tasks.
To get recruiters’ attention, he needs to highlight his career progression and proudest professional wins. That’s why Frank chose a reverse-chronological resume format. Scroll down to see it!
Thomas is an entry-level PR specialist. He’s been doing a lot of freelancing and participating in minor projects but has little full-time experience.
He graduated in 2017. He’s worked as a part-time PR Intern since then and done a lot of side gigs and non-profit projects to build his portfolio. He’s also a prolific blogger.
Thomas wants to apply for a full-blown role as a Content Marketing and PR Specialist with a tech company with a relaxed culture. He’s never done a similar job before, but he has all the necessary skills.
If Thomas wants to get the job, he needs to showcase his portfolio and present the wide variety of his skills. The functional resume format is a great pick for him. Scroll down to check his resume out.
Christian is a Senior IT manager. He’s held leadership positions with the biggest IT companies in the world.
Not only is Christian a master programmer, but also an effective leader.
Someone from Christian’s professional network let him know about an unlisted, highly-specialized position as the Head of IT with a huge IT company that designs mobile apps.
To get there, Christian needs to prove that he has comprehensive technical knowledge, as well as team-building and leadership skills. Christian went for a combination resume format.
Now, it’s time to see their actual resumes and explain how different job seekers can make the most of each of the most common resume formats.
For starters, here’s a sample reverse-chronological resume format created in our builder.
Want to save time and have your reverse-chronological resume ready in 5 minutes? Pick from 20+ resume templates, adjust, customize, and have a stunning chronological resume in no time.
The reverse chronological resume format is useful to virtually all job seekers. That’s why this is the most popular US resume format.
Recruiters are familiar with it so it makes their job easier: helps them spot all relevant information in a flash. It’s also a really simple resume format to use.
Here’s how to structure a resume in reverse-chronological order.
The reverse chronological resume format puts emphasis on your work history because that’s what’s most relevant for hiring managers. It's considered the traditional resume template.
Its key part is the work experience section. Here’s how to write it:
Like Frank, the candidate from our example did:
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Master Electrician 2012–
Key achievements:
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Not sure if the rev-chron resume format is your best shot? See the handy table below.
PROS | CONS |
Recruiters are familiar with it. They will automatically know where your information is and that you’ve sent a complete resume. | It will require tweaking. You will need to make some extra effort to catch the recruiter’s eye. |
It’s guaranteed to go through an Applicant Tracking Software (ATS) resume test. | If you have large gaps in your work history, the recruiters will notice them immediately. |
The reverse chronological resume format highlights the peak of your career. | It’s not an ideal format of a resume for career changers. |
Pro Tip: You should also know the difference between a CV vs a resume, depending on what part of the world you live in they can have a format that's much the same, or completely different. So make sure you choose the right one.
For more information on how to make the most of the standard reverse-chronological format of a resume, go here: Reverse-Chronological Resume Examples That Get Jobs
Here’s a functional resume example created in our resume builder.
Want to save time and have your skills-based (functional) resume ready in 5 minutes? Pick from 20+ resume templates, adjust, customize, and have a stunning skills-based resume in no time.
A functional resume format focuses on your skills and abilities. That’s why it’s also called the skills-based resume format.
It lets you emphasize what you’re good at and takes the pressure off of your work experience.
Here’s how to structure a functional resume:
The two crucial components of a functional resume are the resume objective at the very top and the skills summary. This is how to write them step by step:
Have another look at how Thomas did it:
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Results-driven Penn graduate in Journalism and Social Communication seeking to leverage two years of internship and freelancing PR experience with Newton Software Communications Team. Experienced in producing engaging online content (see my portfolio here) and press releases for tech start-ups and local IT companies. Non-profit blogger at www.pr-matters.wordpress.com. Interested in new digital PR solutions including the automatization of customer relations via AI-based email campaigns and chatbots.
Skills Summary
RESEARCH
Able to work with many kinds of clients in a wide variety of fields. Excellent at researching clients' brands, industries, and markets very quickly and efficiently.
WRITING
Skilled at writing all types of Public Relations texts: press releases, blog posts, bulletins, emailing campaigns (outreach emails, sales emails, engagement emails). Able to produce up to 1,500 words of great, unique content on a daily basis.
SOCIAL MEDIA RELATIONS
Proficient at managing social media relations across all major social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Tumblr, Google+. |
But remember—
A functional resume format most likely won’t get you far. Why?
In short, because recruiters and hiring managers hate it.
According to a Jobvite Recruiter Nation Report, the most important thing to recruiters is your job experience. This means:
And what does a functional resume do? It throws all of the above out of the window.
For most candidates, using a functional, “skills” resume format is against any sort of logic.
The only groups of job seekers who might entertain using this resume format are:
To recap, then:
PROS | CONS |
It takes the focus off of your work history and places it on your skills. If you’ve gained your skills through various freelance projects, not full-time employment, this format will let you emphasize those skills. | Most recruiters hate the functional resume format because it’s not easy to scan in quickly. |
It’s a good creative resume format for non-traditional industries. | It’s an instant red flag—suggesting that you’re trying to hide something. |
It can be used by military transitioners whose detailed job descriptions might be too difficult to understand for non-military recruiters. | It’s very likely to fail the ATS resume scan. |
For more information on the only strategy to make the functional resume work for you, see: Functional Resume Template and Writing Tips
Here’s a combination resume example created in our resume builder.
Want to save time and have your hybrid / combination resume ready in 5 minutes? Pick from 20+ resume templates, adjust, customize, and have a hybrid resume in no time.
The combination resume format combines the resume elements of a chronological resume and a skills-based resume.
Here’s how to structure a hybrid resume:
The focal point is your skills summary. This section comes at the top of a hybrid resume, just below your contact information.
The skills summary lists skills relevant to the job and validates them by providing examples of past achievements and professional experience in bullet points.
This is how to write it:
Remember our candidate, Christian?
In his skills summary, he needs to prove that he is:
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Programming and App Development
Leadership
Business Management
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In a nutshell:
PROS | CONS |
Showcases your most important skills and validates them with examples related to your work experience. | It’s suitable for very few candidates: only people with a lot of work experience targeting a very specific position. |
A good format for people with gaps in their resume who, nonetheless, have many years of relevant work experience. | It’s the most difficult resume format to create properly. |
As you can see, this is the hardest resume format to make. Learn all you need to know about it here: Combination Resume Template and Writing Tips
So—
What format should your resume be in? Here’s a recap of what you’ve learned so far:
Reverse-Chronological Resume | Functional Resume | Combination Resume | |
Chief focus | Work experience | Skills | Skills and work experience |
Work experience section | At the top, relevant | At the bottom, irrelevant | In the middle, relevant |
Skills section | In the middle, relevant | At the top, relevant | At the top, relevant |
Main advantage | Easy to read, universal | Conceals flaws in work history | Emphasizes and validates skills |
Main weakness | Very common, might require tweaking | Suggests you’re hiding something | Suitable for few candidates |
Good for | Virtually all candidates | Creative jobs, military transitioners, candidates who don’t want to seem overqualified | Career changers, experienced professionals |
Not ideal for | Career changers or employment-gappers with very complicated work histories | Students, experienced professionals, career changers, entry-level candidates | Entry-level candidates, students |
When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building a professional resume template here for free.
When you’re done, our easy resume builder will score your resume and our resume checker will tell you exactly how to make it better.
4
A disturbing thought:
According to research, 70% of resumes never reach a human eye.
Why’s that?
Because as many as 7 out of 10 large companies use the ATS resume checker (short for “Applicant Tracking Software”).
So—
Make sure your resume format is ATS-friendly.
For more information on how to beat the bots, see: Resume Keywords to Get You Past the ATS
5
Resume formatting is a complex issue. Even the term “resume format” itself has multiple meanings.
Whatever it is exactly that you’re looking for, here are the guides that will help you find it:
Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:
See more cover letter templates and start writing.
To have a resume format that gets you the job, use these key strategies:
All check? Then you can make any resume format work for you.
Do you have any questions about choosing the best resume format for your position? Is there anything else about formatting a resume that you’d like to know? Give me a shout in the comments. Let’s chat!
This article has been reviewed by our editorial team to make sure it follows Zety's editorial guidelines. We’re committed to sharing our expertise and giving you trustworthy career advice tailored to your needs. High-quality content is what brings over 40 million readers to our site every year. But we don't stop there. Our team conducts original research to understand the job market better, and we pride ourselves on being quoted by top universities and prime media outlets from around the world.
For most people, the reverse-chronological resume format is the best option. This means listing your work experience and education in reverse-chronological order, i.e. starting with the most recent position and working backwards through previous jobs or degrees. There are several reasons why it’s the best job resume format to use:
All of Zety’s resume templates are available in the reverse-chronological format: you just need to fill in the blanks, and you could be ready to apply for your dream job in minutes!
In order to meet recruiters’ expectations, your resume needs to look a certain way. So, here’s how to format a resume in Word (or other word processing software):
A resume made from scratch? That's a challenge, especially given that the ideal resume length is one page for most candidates: it’s tough to get everything to fit and still look good. To make it easier, you can start with a ready-made Word resume template. Better yet, you could head over to our resume builder and let it handle all of the formatting for you in seconds!
Currently, there are three types of resumes to choose from:
For most candidates, the reverse-chronological format is the best choice: go with a functional or combination resume only if you’re sure a non-standard format will give you an advantage.
Most student resumes follow the standard reverse-chronological format, assuming you’re applying for a job. You can read more about entry-level resumes and writing a resume with no work experience in our dedicated guides. However, you do need to use a different format if you’re applying for a job in academia or writing a graduate school resume. In those cases, go with an academic CV rather than a resume.
No. The term resume format usually refers to the layout of a resume, i.e. the type and order of information featured on the resume and the way it’s organized on the page, including document settings such as margins and line spacing. Meanwhile, a resume template is a blank resume document that you can fill with your information—it’s much quicker than building your resume from scratch. If you’re interested, check out our list of free resume templates.
When it comes to resume formatting, it’s usually best to keep it simple. You want your document to be readable both to recruiters and to ATS software, so sticking to basic resume templates is advisable for most candidates. You may want to opt for a more complex resume design if you’re writing an artist resume or otherwise applying for a job in a creative field. Creative resume templates typically still follow the standard format, but they feature bolder colors and graphic elements.
ATS stands for Applicant Tracking System(s)—software used by recruiters to sort incoming resumes. ATS software scans applications for specific resume keywords, such as key skills required for the role, rejecting irrelevant applications. ATS-friendly resume format is one that organizes information into clear sections and features key information as plain text—most ATS software can’t read text within images, for example. To check whether your resume can be read by ATS, copy its contents into Notepad. If all of your information is still there and looks more or less organized, ATS should be able to make sense of your document.
Unless the job ad specifies a different format, submit your resume as a PDF. This file format keeps formatting intact and can be opened on any device, even a smartphone or tablet. Remember to give your resume file a professional name with no spaces, e.g. John-Smith-Waiter-Resume.pdf.
Not sure what your resume should look like to impress recruiters? You’ve come to the right place to find out. See for yourself what the best-looking resume looks like.
The way you structure your resume could mean the difference between landing an interview and rejection. But do you really know how to organize your resume in the most effective way?
You feel your resume isn’t good enough to beat the competition. Don't worry! See these transformations of Zety readers’ resumes and learn how to make your resume stand out.