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50+ Resume Templates for Microsoft Word [Free Download]
Our team of career experts has selected 50+ free Microsoft Word resume templates you can download, adjust to your needs and create a job-winning resume.
Choosing the best resume format might be tricky. Follow our tips and learn the difference between different resume formats and how to choose the best format for your resume.
Let me break some disturbing news to you—
Recruiters don’t read resumes.
They merely skim them for most relevant information. Only the very best resumes will get more attention.
Which ones exactly?
Those 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 learn:
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To begin with, here’s a sample resume format. Read on for a breakdown of what makes it so great!
Expert Hint: When should you use a resume, and when is it better to use a curriculum vitae? It depends. CV and resume actually have a different meaning across languages. Read about the difference between a resume and a CV here.
Good resume format serves two purposes: it quickly leads recruiters’ eyes to where you want them to and it highlights your top strengths and achievements.
1. Set one-inch margins on all sides.
2. Divide your resume into sections.
In the following order: contact information, resume summary or resume objective, work experience, education, skills for a resume, and additional sections (e.g. references, courses, certifications, publications, conference attendance).
3. Choose a clear, legible, and elegant resume font.
Stick to it throughout your resume. 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. In the experience and education sections, use reverse-chronological order.
Start with your most recent job or school, follow it with the one before it, and so on.
6. Make strategic use of bullet points.
They save space and help you get your message across concisely.
7. Try to make a one-page resume, but don’t obsess over it.
It’s better to have a two-pager than to omit important information. It’s even worse if you jam-pack the contents of your resume using tiny fonts and too little white space. How far back should a resume go? 10 to 15 years will more than suffice in most cases.
8. Save your resume in the PDF format.
Unless the job ad states otherwise, submit your resume in PDF. Word files can go south in transit.
These are the basics. But there’s more to resume format than this.
But guess what? You don’t have to waste your time fiddling around in your text editor to get that perfect resume layout. We’ve done the work for you—just pick one of our best resume format templates and dive straight into building your resume.
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.
Modern uses subtle color accents to guide the reader’s eye straight to the key sections. Its clean look makes it perfect for corporate professionals and creative minds alike. No wonder this professional resume format is so popular among our users!
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.
If you want a simple resume format 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.
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.
In the next section, you will see how to choose the best resume format for your job application.
To make the best resume that appeals to recruiters, you need to follow the best resume format rules.
First off, here are the three most common resume formats that recruiters expect to see.:
Choosing the proper resume style is all about dividing your resume into specific sections and putting them in the correct order.
Below, we break down how each one of these resume formats works and give our recommendations on who should pick which.
The reverse-chronological resume format consists of:
1. Personal Information
2. Resume Summary or Resume Objective
3. Work Experience
4. Education
5. Skills
6. Additional sections (Courses, Conferences, Publications, Awards, or Hobbies and Interests)
Let’s check how the rev-chron resume format works in practise:
Personal Information
Sue Bolander
PMP, IT Specialist
Phone: 508-312-7122
E-mail: sueqbolander@gmail.com
sueqbolander.com
linkedin.com/in/sueqbolander
twitter.com/sueqbolander
Summary
Strong IT Project Management Professional with 6+ years' experience, looking to improve quality, cost, & time for Dennison-Height Global. At Accurit, cut costs 28% in 5 months and received the Shingo Silver Medallion. At RBM, cut waste 20% and trained 78 employees in Lean Principles. PMP-Certified.
Experience
IT Project Manager
Accurit International, Inc.
2014–
IT Project Manager
Rigas-Bratland Manufacturing
2012–2014
IT Specialist
Rigas-Bratland Manufacturing
2011–2012
Education
B.S. in Computer Science, UMass Boston
2007–2011
Hard Skills
Agile, Scrum, Business Process Improvement, Vendor Management
Soft Skills
Leadership, Collaboration, Communication
Conferences
2018 Northeast Shingo Lean Conference, Spoke on panel about vendor management.
2016 Change Management Conference, Led session on Agile w/99% audience score.
What is the main focus of the reverse-chronological resume format?
Work experience.
And that’s exactly why it’s so popular amongst job seekers and valued by recruiters.
It can be explained by science.
A fascinating eye-tracking study by The Ladders found that recruiters spend up to 80% of their resume review time on the following parts:
The reverse-chronological resume format makes all that information easily available.
And it gives you an additional edge: it’s sure to pass an Applicant Tracking Software (ATS) scan.
Just like recruiters, the ATS bots are familiar with this resume format so they’ll extract your data without any glitches.
(And yes, it’s very important. This report has shown that almost 98% of Fortune 500 companies use ATS in recruitment.) Use an ATS-friendly resume template to make it past the bots.
Expert Hint: No wonder the good ‘ol rev-chron resume is the most popular US resume format. It’s elegant, clear, and useful to everyone. This format will be your safest bet! If you're still deciding, check out this guide on Functional vs Chronological resume format.
Now, on to the most controversial of the three resume formats.
The invention of the nineties:
The key ingredients of the functional resume format are:
1. Contact Information
2. Resume Objective
3. Skills Summary
4. Additional Skills
5. Work Experience
6. Education
See the example to get the idea:
Personal Information
Thomas Blumenthal
Public Relations Specialist
Phone: 502-555-0173
E-mail: thomas.j.blumenthal@gmail.com
WWW: www.thomblumenthalcreative.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/me/thomblumenthal81
Twitter: twitter.com/thommybloom81
Objective
Results-driven Penn graduate in Journalism and Social Communications 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 modern digital PR solutions
.
Skills Summary
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.
Skilled at writing all types of Public Relations texts: press releases, blog posts, bulletins, campaigns (outreach emails, sales emails, engagement emails). Able to produce up to 3,500 words of great, unique content on a daily basis.
Able to come up with innovative solutions to all types of problems and crises. Excellent in designing and implementing both ATL and BTL Public Relations and Marketing campaigns in collaboration with graphic designers and art directors.
Proficient at managing social media relations across all major social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Tumblr, Google+.
Able to juggle multiple clients and projects. Have mastered prioritizing deadlines and
tasks. Great at physical office administration and organizing paperwork.
Experience
Public Relations Intern
Adidas Originals, Philadelphia, PA
2017-09–
Office Assistant
Ogilvy and Mather, Philadelphia, PA
2015-06–2015-08
Education
University of Pennsylvania, MA in Journalism and Social Communications
2012-08–2017-05
Looks fine at first glance. But let’s take a closer look—
Something seems wrong, doesn’t it?
Glassdoor survey amongst top talent acquisition pros revealed what recruiters really want to see on a well-formatted resume.
The key thing?
“Resume is easy to follow—we don’t have a lot of time to decipher qualifications. The easier a resume is to read and follow, the better,” says Karen Whyte, Senior Recruiter at Big Fish Games.
Functional resume format forces recruiters to do just that—decipher qualifications and read between the lines.
Sure, skills and qualifications are important.
But—
You can’t just randomly put them at the top of the resume in whatever order you see fit while not giving any tangible proof.
The ResumeLab builder is more than looks. Get specific content to boost your chances of getting the job. Add job descriptions, bullet points, and skills. Easy. Improve your resume in our resume builder now.
Nail it all with a splash of color, choose a clean font, and highlight your skills in just a few clicks. You’re the perfect candidate, and we’ll prove it. Use our resume builder now.
Expert Hint: Unless you’re in a creative field (where a portfolio matters more than your resume) or you’re a military transitioner (whose detailed military job descriptions would be too hard to follow), drop the idea of a functional resume format. It’s just confusing. Plus, it might make recruiters feel like you’re trying to hide something.
So you’re bound to stick to the standard reverse-chronological resume format, right?
Wrong.
There is an alternative:
The combination resume format is made up of:
1. Personal Information
3. Additional Skills
4. Experience
5. Education
Bringing theory to practice:
Personal Information
Katherine Wharton
IT Manager
Phone: 505 555 0177
E-mail: katherine.w.wharton@gmail.com
WWW: katherinewharton.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kathy-wharton
Twitter: twitter.com/kathywhartonofficial
Summary of Qualifications
Programming and App Development
Leadership
Business Management
Additional skills
Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, CRM platforms, Google Analytics, Google AdWords
Experience
IT Manager
Apple, New York City, NY
2012–
Senior IT Specialist
BCD M&E, Newark, NJ
2006–2012
Programmer
Oracle, Redwood City, CA
2002–2005
Education
MS in Computer Science, Distinction
The City College of New York, New York City, NY
2002
BS in Computer Science
University of California, Berkeley, CA
2001
I know what you’re thinking:
Well, this resume format is almost identical to the functional format!
And you’re perfectly right. But there is a clear difference. I’m sure you can spot it.
The top part of the resume, your most valuable real estate, is also focused on skills. But—
Every single skill listed is backed up with verifiable, quantified proof.
Plus, have a look at the experience section:
It’s not as elaborate as in the reverse-chronological resume format, but still detailed enough to give a clear view of your career progression.
Already in love with the hybrid resume format?
Hold up a sec—
Expert Hint: The combination resume format can only be used by very experienced job seekers. Usually, either people targeting higher-management positions or career changers with extensive work history. If you’re not that experienced yet, stick to the tried-and-tested reverse-chronological resume format.
Time for a quick recap then:
Here’s a handy table comparing the three standard resume formats.
Chronological vs Functional vs Combination Resume Format | |||
Resume format | Reverse- chronological resume format | Functional resume format | Combination resume format |
The most important section | Work Experience | Skills Summary | Summary of Qualifications |
Good for | Almost all candidates | Creative jobs, military transitioners | Experienced professionals, career changers |
Bad for | Experienced professionals looking for a career change | Most candidates | Entry-level candidates, fresh graduates |
Biggest advantage | Easy to skim, recruiters are familiar with it | Might help hide flaws in employment history | Showcases and validates skills |
Greatest weakness | Very common | Difficult to read, recruiters are not keen on it | Suitable for few candidates |
So, as you can see the best resume format is the one that works for you.
More times that will mean the classic, respected reverse-chronological resume format.
Expert Hint: Not all Free Resume Builders are ATS friendly. To make sure your creative resume reaches a human reader, send it directly to the recruiter's inbox.
Double your impact with a matching resume and cover letter combo. Use our cover letter generator and make your application documents pop out.
Want to try a different look? There’s 20 more. A single click will give your document a total makeover. Pick a cover letter template here.
Here are the key ingredients of the best resume format:
As of 2023, there are three main resume formats:
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:
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.
Here’s why it’s the preferred resume format:
Unless you have a very good reason to opt for a functional or combination resume, stick to the reverse-chronological resume format.
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 file 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.
Check out our guide to different file formats for resumes to learn more.
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:
When writing a student resume, your safest bet is the reverse-chronological format with a slight tweak: put the education section of your resume above your work experience section and make it more detailed. Check out our resource on writing a resume with no experience for a full step-by-step guide.
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.
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:
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!
Our team of career experts has selected 50+ free Microsoft Word resume templates you can download, adjust to your needs and create a job-winning resume.
Your resume layout needs to be clean and scannable. Otherwise, recruiters will reject your resume in 7 seconds. Luckily, this guide will show you how to do it right.
You’ve just come across a modern resume template treasure trove. Now, take your time, look around, pick the modern resume you like most, and make a job-winning resume.