Which Resume Template Should You Use? (ATS-Friendly Designs Explained)

A good resume template makes your content easy to read. A bad one hides it. Here is how to choose.

What is an ATS?

Many companies use an applicant tracking system (ATS) to read resumes before a person does. It reads text from top to bottom. Two-column layouts, text in boxes, and pictures of text can confuse it. A single-column resume with real text is the safest.

The six designs

• [Classic](/templates/classic-resume-template): serif, black and white. Formal. Good for banking, government and teaching.
• [Modern](/templates/modern-resume-template): coloured header band. Good for IT, marketing and startups.
• [Minimal](/templates/minimal-resume-template): clean, with lots of white space. Works for almost any role.
• [Compact](/templates/compact-resume-template): smaller type and tight spacing, to fit a lot on one page. Good for freshers.
• [Bold](/templates/bold-resume-template): large name and shaded section bars. Good for sales and customer-facing roles.
• [Sidebar](/templates/sidebar-resume-template): coloured side column. Looks good for creative roles, but some ATS may read it out of order.

Simple rules

1. Applying through a job portal? Choose Classic, Modern, Minimal, Compact or Bold.
2. Sending directly to a person (email, referral, creative role)? Any design is fine, including Sidebar.
3. Use one accent colour and keep the rest black or grey.
4. Save as PDF so the layout does not change.

Not sure what to write? See the samples by job: teacher, software engineer, accountant and more on the templates page.