Your Ultimate Guide to the Best Resume Formats

Recruiters don’t read resumes carefully. They merely skim them for the most relevant information. Only the very best resumes will get more attention. From those job seekers that use an elegant, professional resume format and proper resume formatting.

Let me show you an easy way to make a resume like that in no time.

In this guide, you’ll get:

• Examples of three all-time standard resume formats you can use for your job application
• Easy-to-use tips and tricks for choosing the best resume format
• Details on resume formatting so it lands you an interview
• And a curated selection of pre-formatted resume templates

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Table of Contents

What Are the 3 Main Resume Formats?

How to Choose the Best Resume Format

Reverse-Chronological Resume Format

Functional Resume Format

Chrono-Functional (Combination) Resume Format

Sample Pre-Formatted Resume Templates

Frequently Asked Questions about Resume Formats

What Are the 3 Main Resume Formats?

1. Reverse-chronological resume format. Most commonly referenced resume format for job applicants at all experience levels.
2. Functional resume format. Also known as a skills-based resume.
3. Chrono-functional resume format. Called a combination resume or a hybrid resume, too, as it combines the two above formats.

How to Choose the Best Resume Format

The reverse-chronological resume format is best to:

• Highlight your work experience
• Make it easy to skim content
• Have recruiters make quick decisions

The functional resume format is best to:

• Emphasize your skill set
• Showcase any creative work
• Hide hiccups in the employment history

The combination resume format is best to:

• Validate your skill set
• Provide good grounds for a career change
• Write a 2-page resume

Having a proper resume format is all about dividing your resume into specific sections and putting them in the correct order. Below, you'll see a breakdown of how each of these resume formats works. You'll also get further recommendations for choosing the best resume format for you.

Expert hint: When should you use a resume, and when is it better to use a curriculum vitae? It depends. CV and resume have different meanings across languages. Read about the difference between a resume and a CV.

Reverse-Chronological Resume Format

The best resume format is the reverse-chronological resume format. It puts emphasis on your work experience and education, showcasing your career progression. This resume format starts with your most recent jobs and ends with your earliest successes.

What is the main thing to include on a resume with a reverse-chronological format?

Work experience. And that’s exactly why it’s so popular amongst jobseekers and valued by recruiters. Recruiters focus mostly on name, job title, current and previous positions, and education when reviewing resumes. The reverse-chronological resume format makes all that information easily available.

The reverse-chronological resume format consists of

• Personal Information
• Resume Summary or Resume Objective
• Work Experience
• Education Section
• Skill Set
• Additional sections (Certifications, Conferences, References, Awards, or Hobbies and Interests)

Let’s check how the reverse-chronological resume format works in practice:

Sample Resume Format: Reverse-Chronological Resume

This resume format gives you an additional edge: it’s sure to pass an Applicant Tracking Software (ATS) scan. Like recruiters, the ATS bots are familiar with this resume format, so they’ll extract your data without glitches. A report has shown that almost 98% of Fortune 500 companies use ATS in recruitment. You can use an ATS-friendly resume template to make it past the bots. 

Functional Resume Format

This resume format focuses on the candidate’s skills instead of work history. It includes a skill summary section designed to highlight their essential skills required for the position. It also showcases achievements related to those skills.

The key ingredients of the functional resume format are:

• Personal Information
• Resume Objective
• Skills Summary
• Additional Skills
• Work Experience
• Education

See the example to get an idea:

Sample Resume Format: Functional Resume

As you can see, there's minimum information about your work experience section in this resume format. Just the bare facts, such as names of positions, company names, and dates of employment, are enough. It’s a big plus if you’re a freelancer or have gaps in your work history.

The main disadvantage of this resume format? Recruiters aren’t familiar with it. It’s more difficult to navigate than the typical reverse chronological resume.

Expert hint: Avoid using a functional resume format unless you work in a creative field or are transitioning from the military. In these cases, a portfolio or detailed military job descriptions may be more important than a traditional resume.

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Chrono-Functional (Combination) Resume Format

In the combination resume format, the top of your resume is also focused on skills. But verifiable, quantified proof backs up every single skill listed. The work experience section is less detailed than the reverse-chronological format but still shows your career progression clearly. 

The combination resume format is made up of

• Personal Information
• Summary of Qualifications
• Additional Skills
• Experience
• Education

Bringing theory to practice:

Sample Resume Format: Chrono-Functional/Combination Resume

General Resume Formatting Advice

A good resume format helps recruiters find what you want them to see and shows your best strengths and accomplishments. Here's how to achieve that.

1. Set one-inch resume margins on all sides.
2. Divide your resume into different sections. These sections include a resume header, summary or objective, work experience, education,and skills. Additionally, you can include extra sections, such as references, courses, certifications, publications, and conference attendance.
3. Choose a clear, legible, and elegant resume font. Go for 11 or 12 pt. Use 14 to 16 pt for your name at the top and bold for section headings.
4. Put a single blank line before and after your section headings.
5. Use reverse-chronological order in the experience and education sections. 
6. Use bullet points strategically to save space and help you convey your message concisely.
7. Try to make a one-page resume. A two-page resume is fine for top-level jobs (learn more here: How far back should a resume go).

Save your resume in PDF or Doc format. It will help to ensure everything looks well on other screens.

Sample Pre-Formatted Resume Templates

Here are a few resume format examples. Our online resume builder formats the templates for you, so you can focus on writing great descriptions of your experience.

1. Cubic

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Cubic is a modern resume format designed for confident professionals who aren’t afraid to showcase their achievements. It’s neat, organized, and can hold a ton of information without looking crowded or overwhelming.

2. Modern

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Modern uses subtle color accents to guide the reader’s eye straight to the key sections. This is what a great resume looks like. It's perfect for creative and professional, office based fields. No wonder this professional resume format is so popular among our users!

3. Nanica

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You just can’t go wrong with Nanica! This simple resume format is like a Zen garden: it creates a minimalist, lightweight look with lots of white space. This is one of the best resume formats for professionals who prefer sleek, distraction-free resumes.

4. Squares

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If you want a simple resume template that oozes confidence and authority, try Squares. It’s the ideal resume format for business jobs because it gives your resume a calm yet assertive look. As a nice bonus, you also get a personal logo with your initials.

5. Vintage

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Some things never go out of style. The Vintage resume template is one of them—this professional resume format is as timeless as a power suit. It relies on subtle accents to create structure and highlight what’s important.

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Key Points

Here’s a recap of the main points from this guide:

• There are three standard resume formats: reverse-chronological, functional, and chrono-functional (combination).
• The reverse-chronological format is the best resume format and will work for all candidates.
• A functional resume format is good for creative roles, as it focuses on skills.
• A chrono-functional resume format suits very experienced jobseekers.
• Whichever resume format you'll choose, remember to: divide your resume into sections and use clean formatting.

Frequently Asked Questions about Resume Formats

What are the 3 resume formats for a job?

As of 2023, there are three main resume formats:

• The reverse-chronological format is the most common one. It lists your work history and shows what you’ve achieved while working for each employer. It can also be tweaked to focus on your academic achievements if you don’t have much work experience yet.
• The functional resume format is also known as the skills-based resume format. It focuses on your resume skill set rather than your work history, so you may use it to gloss over employment gaps and employment histories that aren’t perfectly neat and linear. However, many recruiters aren’t familiar with functional resumes and might reject them. Also, companies use Applicant Tracking Software to parse resumes, and functional resumes aren’t ATS-friendly
• The chrono-functional format gives equal attention to your skills and work experience. It can be useful in certain situations but has the same drawbacks as the functional resume format.

What is the best resume format in 2023?

The reverse-chronological resume format is the standard and best resume format to use in 2023. In a reverse-chronological resume, you list your work experience and educational background, starting with your most recent jobs and ending with your earliest successes.

Here’s why it’s the golden standard:

• It offers a quick overview of your key achievements and professional growth over the years, arranged in an easy-to-read order.
• It can be skimmed in a few seconds—recruiters don’t have the time to read more complicated documents.
• It’s easily scannable by Applicant Tracking Software that helps evaluate candidates.

Which resume format do employers prefer?

Most employers and hiring managers prefer the reverse-chronological resume format. It’s a resume that lists your work history and education in reverse chronological order, with bullet points that show what you achieved while working for each employer. This resume format is ATS-friendly

What file format should a resume be in?

Unless the job ad clearly asks for a specific resume file format, it’s best to go with a PDF file. The reason is that a PDF resume looks the same on every device, so your resume will always look perfect, no matter if the recruiter opens it on a PC, a Mac, or a phone.

However, keep in mind that some companies use applicant tracking software that doesn’t support PDF files. In this case, the job ad will specifically ask for resumes to be submitted as DOCX or even TXT files.

Which resume format is the most ATS-friendly?

Applicant Tracking Systems are primarily designed for reading reverse-chronological resumes. Other resume formats might confuse the software and lead to your resume getting rejected.

Here’s how you can make sure you have an ATS-friendly resume:

• Avoid unusual resume formats.
• Choose an ATS-friendly resume template.
• Write the resume profile in a way that mentions the company and the position you’re applying for.
• Make sure your resume sections have standard headings.
• Borrow resume keywords from the job ad.
• Avoid pictures and infographics.
• Save your resume as PDF or in the file format specified in the job ad.

Is there a special resume format for students?

The reverse-chronological format is best for a student's resume. Just put the education section of your resume above the work experience section. A resume with no experience should highlight academic achievements or other relevant accomplishments, such as volunteer work or personal projects.

Applying for an academic position or writing a grad school resume? Forget what you’ve just read and go with an academic CV rather than a job resume.

How do I format a resume in Word or Google Docs?

If you want to make a resume from scratch without relying on resume templates for Word or resume templates for Google Docs, these are the resume formatting rules to follow:

• Set the page margins to 1” on all sides.
• Pick a classic combo of resume fonts (one for headings, one for body text), or use a single font throughout your resume.
• Set the body font size to 11–12 pts, depending on the font.
• Create the following resume sections: header, profile, work experience, education, skills, and any additional sections you may find necessary (like languages or volunteering work).
• Leave lots of white space between the resume sections.
• Follow the best practices for resume length.

However, making a DIY resume can be difficult, so we recommend using a high-quality resume template for your favorite word processing software or a dedicated resume builder.

Got more questions about resume formatting? Need further help writing a resume? I’m here to listen and assist. Drop me a line in the comments. Let’s chat!