Best Resume Format in 2026: ATS-Friendly Examples + Free Template

Choosing the right resume format can determine whether your experience is easy to understand or gets buried before a recruiter ever sees it. In 2026, the best resume is not the one with the most creative design. For most job seekers, it is a resume that is easy for both humans and applicant tracking systems (ATS) to read.

For most candidates, the best choice is a reverse-chronological resume: your most recent job appears first, followed by earlier positions. It gives recruiters a clear timeline of your experience and works well with the systems employers use to process applications.

CareerOneStop, a career resource sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, identifies chronological, functional and combination resumes as the three main resume styles. Its guidance also recommends a simple, consistent layout and warns that tables, text boxes, graphics and multi-column designs may interfere with applicant tracking systems.

Read CareerOneStop's official resume formatting guidance

This guide explains which resume format to use, how to structure every section, how to make your resume ATS-friendly and how to avoid common formatting mistakes.

You can also download our free ATS-friendly Word resume template and customize it for your next application.

What Is the Best Resume Format in 2026?

For most job seekers, the reverse-chronological format is the best resume format in 2026.

It lists your professional experience beginning with your current or most recent position and works backward through your employment history.

A typical reverse-chronological resume follows this structure:

1. Name and contact information
2. Professional headline or summary
3. Core or technical skills
4. Professional experience
5. Education
6. Certifications, licenses or other relevant sections

This structure works particularly well because both recruiters and software can quickly determine:

• What you do
• Where you have worked
• How recently you performed relevant work
• How long you held each position
• Which skills and accomplishments match the job

CareerOneStop notes that chronological resumes are widely used and particularly useful for candidates with a steady work history. Its resume guidance also recommends using standard headings such as Work Experience, Education and Skills, which makes information easier for both employers and ATS software to identify.

Compare resume styles on CareerOneStop

Best Resume Formats Compared

Resume Format	Best For	ATS-Friendly?	Main Advantage
Reverse Chronological	Most job seekers	Yes	Clearly shows employment history and career progression
Combination	Career changers and candidates with transferable skills	Usually	Highlights skills while preserving a detailed work timeline
Functional	Special situations where skills matter more than work history	Can be problematic	Places skills before employment history

1. Reverse-Chronological Resume

A reverse-chronological resume lists your newest experience first and your older experience afterward.

For example:

Customer Service Representative
ABC Company | New York, NY
January 2024 – Present

Retail Associate
XYZ Store | Brooklyn, NY
June 2021 – December 2023

This makes your employment timeline immediately understandable.

Who should use a reverse-chronological resume?

Use this format if you:

• Have recent work experience
• Are applying for jobs similar to your previous positions
• Have progressively taken on more responsibility
• Want employers to quickly understand your career history
• Are applying through online hiring systems

For most applicants, this should be the default format.

2. Combination Resume

A combination resume uses elements of both chronological and skills-based resumes.

It normally begins with a professional summary and an expanded skills section before presenting a traditional chronological employment history.

A structure might look like this:

1. Contact information
2. Professional summary
3. Key qualifications
4. Technical or transferable skills
5. Professional experience
6. Education

When should you use a combination resume?

This format can work particularly well if you:

• Are changing careers
• Have highly transferable skills
• Are returning to work after an absence
• Want to emphasize specialized qualifications
• Have relevant experience from different industries

The important part is that the resume should still include a clear employment history with employers, job titles and dates.

3. Functional Resume

A functional resume organizes the document primarily around skills rather than employment history.

For example, instead of starting with jobs, it might contain sections such as:

• Customer Service Skills
• Administrative Skills
• Leadership Experience
• Technical Skills

The problem is that purely functional resumes can make it harder for recruiters and applicant tracking systems to understand where and when you developed those skills.

CareerOneStop specifically notes that functional resumes containing little employment-history detail may be misinterpreted by employers or rejected by some applicant tracking systems.

For that reason, a combination resume is usually a safer alternative if your goal is to emphasize skills while still providing a clear work history.

What Does ATS-Friendly Mean?

ATS stands for Applicant Tracking System.

Employers use applicant tracking systems to receive applications, store candidate information, search resumes, organize applicants and support different stages of the recruiting process.

When a resume is uploaded, some systems use resume parsing to extract information such as:

• Your name
• Contact information
• Employers
• Job titles
• Employment dates
• Education
• Skills

Workday's documentation explains that resume parsing results can vary depending on the resume's format and the order of words. It recommends avoiding image-based resume styles for better parsing results.

Learn more about resume parsing from Workday

An ATS-friendly resume is therefore not about trying to "beat" an algorithm. It is about making your qualifications structured and understandable.

ATS-Friendly Resume Formatting Checklist

For a resume that is easy to process, use the following principles:

• Use a single-column layout.
• Use standard section headings.
• Avoid text boxes.
• Avoid tables for important resume content.
• Avoid placing essential information inside headers or footers.
• Avoid graphics, charts and decorative icons.
• Use standard professional fonts.
• Use simple bullet points.
• Write employment dates consistently.
• Include keywords relevant to the job.
• Use recognizable job titles where accurate.
• Make sure the document contains selectable text rather than an image of text.

Workday's developer documentation similarly recommends avoiding visual objects, text boxes, tabular layouts and columns when optimizing resumes for parsing.

See Workday's resume parsing guidelines

The Best Resume Layout in 2026

A strong resume does not need complicated design.

A clean layout should normally include:

Element	Recommended Approach
Layout	Single column
Font	Arial, Calibri, Cambria, Georgia, Garamond or Times New Roman
Body font size	Approximately 10–12 pt
Headings	Slightly larger and/or bold
Margins	Approximately 0.75–1 inch
Alignment	Mostly left-aligned
Length	Usually 1–2 pages
Graphics	Avoid unless specifically useful for the profession

CareerOneStop recommends a simple layout, standard fonts around 10–12 points and sufficient white space. Its general resume guidance recommends one or two pages depending on the candidate's experience.

See the complete CareerOneStop formatting recommendations

The Correct Resume Section Order

For most experienced candidates, use this order:

1. Contact Information
2. Professional Summary
3. Skills
4. Professional Experience
5. Education
6. Certifications and Licenses
7. Optional Relevant Sections

However, the order can change depending on your situation.

A recent graduate, for example, may place education before professional experience if the degree is one of the strongest qualifications for the target position.

Contact Information: What to Include

Your contact section should make it easy for an employer to reach you without giving unnecessary personal information.

Include:

• Full name
• City and state
• Phone number
• Professional email address
• LinkedIn profile, if complete and relevant
• Portfolio or professional website, when relevant

You generally do not need your complete street address.

CareerOneStop similarly recommends including city and state rather than a full street address in the top section of a resume.

See CareerOneStop's guidance for the top of a resume

Should You Add a Professional Summary?

A professional summary is a short introduction explaining who you are professionally and what you can offer.

A good summary might look like this:

Customer service professional with 5+ years of experience supporting customers in high-volume retail and financial service environments. Experienced in account support, cash handling, problem resolution and CRM systems. Recognized for maintaining high customer satisfaction while handling more than 70 customer interactions per day.

Avoid vague statements such as:

"Hardworking individual looking for an opportunity to grow with a great company."

That description could apply to almost anyone.

Instead, answer three questions:

• What are you professionally?
• What relevant experience or skills do you have?
• What evidence shows that you are good at it?

How to Write the Skills Section

Your skills section should focus primarily on capabilities that are relevant to the position.

For a customer service job, that might include:

• Customer relationship management
• Phone support
• Conflict resolution
• Order processing
• Salesforce
• Zendesk
• Microsoft Office

For an administrative role:

• Calendar management
• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Outlook
• Data entry
• Document management
• Appointment scheduling
• Customer service

Avoid filling the section with generic personality traits such as "hardworking," "nice," or "good employee."

Focus on skills that help demonstrate your ability to perform the job.

How to Write Work Experience

For most candidates, professional experience is the most important section of the resume.

Each job should clearly state:

• Job title
• Employer
• City and state
• Employment dates
• Relevant responsibilities and accomplishments

List the newest job first.

Weak resume bullet

Responsible for helping customers.

Better resume bullet

Assisted 60+ customers per shift with product questions, returns and account issues while maintaining consistently high customer satisfaction scores.

Weak resume bullet

Worked with inventory.

Better resume bullet

Processed and organized weekly inventory deliveries of 1,000+ items while helping reduce stock discrepancies.

The second versions provide context, scale and outcomes.

CareerOneStop recommends using specifics in work descriptions, including numbers, dollar amounts, percentages and other measurable evidence when those details genuinely describe your work.

Read CareerOneStop's work experience guidance

Use Keywords From the Job Description

One of the most important steps before submitting a resume is comparing it with the job description.

If an employer repeatedly asks for:

• Microsoft Excel
• Inventory management
• Customer service
• Scheduling
• Spanish

and you genuinely have those qualifications, your resume should say so clearly.

Do not assume the employer will understand that one term automatically means another.

For example, if the job says:

"Customer Relationship Management (CRM) experience required."

and you used Salesforce, you could write:

"Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Salesforce"

This gives both the general skill and the specific tool.

Do not keyword-stuff your resume

Adding a long list of keywords you do not actually possess is not a good strategy.

Neither is hiding keywords using white text.

CareerOneStop specifically warns that putting additional keywords in white font will not "trick" an applicant tracking system.

The goal is simple: describe your real qualifications using language that matches the job when appropriate.

How Far Back Should Your Resume Go?

You do not necessarily need to list every job you have ever held.

For experienced candidates, approximately the most relevant 10–15 years of experience is often enough.

Older positions can be:

• Removed if they no longer add value
• Shortened to one or two bullets
• Included in an "Additional Experience" section

The exception is when older experience remains highly relevant to the target position.

CareerOneStop similarly recommends emphasizing the jobs that add the most value to your application, particularly within roughly the past 12–15 years.

One-Page vs. Two-Page Resume

There is no rule that every resume must fit on one page.

A one-page resume usually works well for:

• Students
• Recent graduates
• Entry-level candidates
• People with only a few years of experience
• Workers whose relevant experience can be summarized concisely

A two-page resume can make sense for:

• Experienced professionals
• Managers
• Technical professionals
• People with significant certifications or projects
• Candidates with substantial relevant accomplishments

Do not add unnecessary content simply to reach two pages, and do not delete strong relevant accomplishments simply to force everything onto one page.

The best resume is as long as necessary to demonstrate your qualifications clearly, but no longer.

PDF or Word: Which Resume File Format Is Best?

The first rule is simple:

Follow the employer's instructions.

If the application says DOCX, upload DOCX. If it says PDF, upload PDF.

When both formats are accepted, either a properly formatted Word document or a text-based PDF can work well.

A DOCX file can be useful because resume parsing systems commonly process Word documents. A PDF preserves the visual appearance of the resume across computers.

CareerOneStop recommends PDF when no specific format is requested because it preserves formatting. However, you should make sure the PDF contains actual selectable text rather than being a scan or image of your resume.

Avoid creating a resume in a design application and exporting it as an image-heavy document unless you know the employer will review it manually.

Best Resume Fonts

You do not need a unique font to make a resume stand out.

Safe professional choices include:

• Arial
• Calibri
• Cambria
• Georgia
• Garamond
• Times New Roman

A body font size around 10–12 points is appropriate for most resumes.

Your name and section headings can be larger.

The goal is readability, not decoration.

Should You Use Columns on a Resume?

For an ATS-focused resume, a single-column layout is the safest choice.

Two-column resumes may look attractive, but some parsing systems can struggle to determine the correct reading order.

For example, information intended to appear like this:

Skills              Experience
Excel               Customer Service Representative
Salesforce          ABC Company
Zendesk             2023–Present

could potentially be extracted in a different sequence.

Both CareerOneStop and Workday's parsing documentation recommend avoiding column-based or tabular formats when reliable parsing is important.

Should You Use Icons on a Resume?

For an ATS-first resume, you do not need icons for:

• Email
• Phone
• Location
• LinkedIn

Write the information as text instead.

For example:

New York, NY | (212) 555-0100 | name@email.com | linkedin.com/in/name

This is simple, compact and easy to interpret.

Should You Include a Photo?

For most standard U.S. job applications, a photo is unnecessary unless the employer or profession specifically requires one.

From an ATS perspective, images also add no useful information to the resume parser.

Keep the space for professional qualifications instead.

Resume Example: Entry-Level Candidate

JORDAN TAYLOR
New York, NY | (000) 000-0000 | jordan@email.com

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

SUMMARY
Customer-focused professional with experience supporting customers in
retail and volunteer environments. Skilled in problem solving, cash
handling, POS systems and Microsoft Office.

SKILLS
Customer Service | Cash Handling | POS Systems | Microsoft Office |
Inventory | Phone Communication | Data Entry

EXPERIENCE

Retail Associate
ABC Store, New York, NY | June 2025–Present

• Assist 50+ customers per shift with product questions, purchases and returns.
• Process cash and card transactions through POS systems.
• Replenish merchandise and support weekly inventory counts.
• Help maintain organized sales and checkout areas.

Volunteer Administrative Assistant
Community Organization, Queens, NY | January 2025–May 2025

• Scheduled appointments and maintained electronic records.
• Answered incoming phone and email inquiries.
• Entered client information into internal spreadsheets.

EDUCATION

High School Diploma
Example High School, Queens, NY | 2025

If you are creating your first resume, see our more detailed guide:

How to Write a Resume With No Work Experience

Resume Example: Experienced Candidate

ALEX MORGAN
Brooklyn, NY | (000) 000-0000 | alex@email.com

OPERATIONS COORDINATOR

SUMMARY
Operations professional with 7+ years of experience supporting high-volume
customer service and logistics operations. Experienced in scheduling,
inventory management, reporting and team coordination.

CORE SKILLS
Operations | Scheduling | Inventory Management | Excel | CRM |
Customer Service | Reporting | Process Improvement

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Operations Coordinator
ABC Services, New York, NY | March 2022–Present

• Coordinate daily schedules for a 25-person field operations team.
• Built an Excel tracking process that reduced unresolved service requests by 28%.
• Prepare weekly performance and inventory reports for management.
• Handle escalated customer issues and coordinate solutions across departments.

Administrative Assistant
XYZ Company, Brooklyn, NY | January 2019–February 2022

• Managed calendars, appointments and administrative support for three managers.
• Processed more than 100 client records per week.
• Coordinated meetings, travel arrangements and internal documentation.

EDUCATION

Associate Degree in Business Administration
Example Community College, Brooklyn, NY

Resume Format for Someone With No Experience

If you have no formal work history, you can still use an ATS-friendly chronological or combination structure.

Instead of an empty experience section, include relevant:

• Internships
• Volunteer work
• School projects
• Freelance work
• Community projects
• Student organizations
• Relevant coursework
• Certifications

What matters is demonstrating evidence of skills.

If you helped organize a community event for 300 people, managed the budget of a student organization or created a website for a local business, those experiences may be relevant even if they were not traditional paid jobs.

Resume Format for a Career Change

Career changers should not necessarily hide their previous employment.

Instead, use a combination resume to connect previous experience with the new role.

For example, someone moving from retail management into human resources may emphasize:

• Hiring
• Employee onboarding
• Training
• Scheduling
• Performance management
• Conflict resolution

Those are transferable qualifications even if the previous job title did not include "HR."

Resume Format for Remote Jobs

A remote-job resume does not require a completely different design.

However, consider emphasizing experience with:

• Remote communication
• Slack
• Microsoft Teams
• Zoom
• Asynchronous collaboration
• Project management software
• Independent work
• Distributed teams

Only include tools and skills you actually know.

Resume Format for Hourly and Frontline Jobs

A simple resume is especially effective for retail, hospitality, warehouse, food service and customer-service applications.

You usually do not need a complicated professional summary or multiple sections.

Focus on:

• Availability
• Relevant experience
• Customer service
• Safety or equipment knowledge
• Cash handling
• Certifications
• Languages
• Reliable accomplishments

For example, a warehouse candidate might highlight:

Picked and packed an average of 180+ customer orders per shift while maintaining inventory and shipping accuracy requirements.

That tells the employer much more than:

Responsible for picking orders.

Common Resume Formatting Mistakes

1. Using too many columns

A visually impressive design is not useful if the employer's system cannot read the content in the correct order.

2. Putting contact information only in the header

Some parsing systems may not treat headers and footers like normal document text. Keep essential information in the main document area when possible.

3. Using vague section titles

Use:

• Professional Experience
• Education
• Skills
• Certifications

instead of creative headings such as:

• My Journey
• Where I've Been
• What I Know

4. Listing duties without results

Employers already have a general idea of what many jobs involve. Show what you accomplished.

5. Using the exact same resume for every job

The structure can remain the same, but the content should prioritize the qualifications most relevant to the target position.

6. Adding skills you do not have

Your resume should help you get the interview, but you should also be able to discuss every qualification you claim.

7. Making the resume too visually complicated

Decorative timelines, star ratings, progress bars and skill graphs often consume space without providing meaningful information.

Writing:

Microsoft Excel: Advanced

is usually clearer than displaying:

★★★★★

8. Forgetting to proofread

Spelling errors, inconsistent dates or uneven formatting can undermine an otherwise strong application.

How to Tailor Your Resume in 10 Minutes

You do not need to rewrite your resume from scratch for every application.

Instead:

1. Read the entire job description.
2. Identify five to ten important qualifications.
3. Determine which qualifications you genuinely possess.
4. Move the most relevant skills higher on your resume.
5. Adjust your professional summary.
6. Emphasize relevant accomplishments in your work history.
7. Use appropriate terminology from the job description.
8. Remove irrelevant information if space is limited.
9. Proofread the final version.
10. Save it with a professional filename.

A good filename looks like:

Alex-Morgan-Resume.docx

or:

Alex-Morgan-Customer-Service-Resume.pdf

Not:

resume-final-new-3-revised.pdf

Free ATS-Friendly Resume Template

We created a simple Word resume template designed around the same principles discussed in this guide.

It uses:

• A single-column structure
• Standard section headings
• Plain text contact information
• Standard fonts
• Simple bullet points
• No tables
• No graphics
• No skill-rating bars
• No photo
• No text boxes

Free Resume Samples From CareerOneStop

If you want to compare different resume structures, CareerOneStop also provides downloadable examples for chronological, functional, combination and recent-graduate resumes.

View CareerOneStop resume samples

Final ATS Resume Checklist

Before submitting your resume, check each of these items:

• ☐ My name and contact information are easy to find.
• ☐ My resume uses a simple, readable layout.
• ☐ My work experience is listed in reverse-chronological order.
• ☐ Every job includes an employer, job title and dates.
• ☐ I use standard section headings.
• ☐ My resume does not rely on tables or text boxes.
• ☐ Important information is not hidden in graphics.
• ☐ My most relevant skills appear clearly.
• ☐ My resume reflects terminology used in the job description where accurate.
• ☐ My bullet points emphasize accomplishments and results.
• ☐ I included numbers when they genuinely help explain my impact.
• ☐ I removed irrelevant or outdated information.
• ☐ My dates use a consistent format.
• ☐ My spelling and grammar have been checked.
• ☐ I followed the employer's file-format instructions.
• ☐ My filename looks professional.

Frequently Asked Questions About Resume Formats

What is the best resume format in 2026?

For most job seekers, a reverse-chronological resume is the best starting point. It presents recent experience first, creates a clear employment timeline and is straightforward for employers and applicant tracking systems to process.

What resume format is best for ATS?

A simple, single-column resume with standard headings such as Professional Experience, Education and Skills is a strong ATS-friendly choice. Avoid relying on tables, text boxes, graphics or complicated multi-column designs for important information.

Is a PDF or Word document better for ATS?

Always follow the employer's instructions first. If both are accepted, a properly formatted DOCX or text-based PDF can work. Avoid scanned or image-only PDFs because the resume information may be more difficult to extract.

Should a resume be one page?

Not always. One page is often enough for students, entry-level workers and candidates with limited relevant experience. Experienced professionals may need two pages to present important qualifications and accomplishments.

Can a resume be two pages?

Yes. A two-page resume is appropriate when the additional information is relevant to the job. Do not remove strong accomplishments simply to meet an arbitrary one-page limit.

Should I use a functional resume?

A purely functional resume should be used cautiously because it de-emphasizes where and when experience was gained. Career changers may be better served by a combination format that emphasizes transferable skills while still providing a detailed employment history.

Should I include a photo on my resume?

For most U.S. jobs, a photo is unnecessary. An ATS-focused resume is generally better served by using that space for relevant skills, experience and accomplishments.

What font is best for a resume?

Professional fonts such as Arial, Calibri, Cambria, Georgia, Garamond and Times New Roman are generally safe choices. Readability and consistency matter more than choosing a unique font.

How many years of experience should I include?

For many experienced candidates, focusing on roughly the most relevant 10–15 years is sufficient. Older experience can still be included when it adds significant value to the application.

Do I need a different resume for every application?

You do not need to rebuild the entire document each time, but you should tailor your summary, skills and experience emphasis to the requirements of the position.

Start Applying With Your New Resume

Once your resume is ready, the next step is finding opportunities where your experience and skills are a strong match.

Empregara publishes job opportunities across industries and experience levels, including customer service, administrative, retail, hospitality, healthcare, technical and professional roles.

Browse current jobs on Empregara

If you are building your first resume and do not yet have formal employment history, you can also read our step-by-step guide:

How to Write a Resume With No Work Experience

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Sources and further reading: Resume formatting recommendations and resume samples referenced in this article are available from CareerOneStop. Technical information about resume parsing is also available in Workday's recruiting and developer documentation. Employer requirements and ATS behavior can vary, so candidates should always follow the instructions provided for the specific application.