Use These Simple Resume Templates

Header

• Resume summary
• Skills section
• Work experience section
• Education section
• Header

The header of all types of resumes should contain your relevant contact information, such as:

• Your full name
• Your address
• Your phone number
• Your email address

More elegant resume templates will create a stylized header that tries to catch the hiring manager’s attention. Simple resumes, on the other hand, will use a straightforward presentation for the header.

Resume summary
The resume summary is a short paragraph that introduces your most relevant skills and professional experience. It gives the hiring managers a clear idea of who you are as an employee and how you are the best fit for the role.

Skills
In this section, you should list a good mix of hard skills and soft skills that relate to the job. It’s best to study the job description for any keywords that you can pull for your job application. These keywords can help you pass through applicant tracking systems (ATS) and get your resume in front of a real person.

Work experience
Your work history should feature roles that are similar to the job you’re currently applying for, or feature similar responsibilities. For instance, a sales associate can apply for a sales manager position with enough experience. Depending on your experience within a specific field, you should either create a functional resume or a reverse-chronological resume.

The functional resume is best for entry-level job positions that don’t require much job experience. Oftentimes, candidates who apply for these types of positions will have little to no work experience, so emphasizing your skills and education will make more sense.

Reverse-chronological resumes, also called chronological resumes, are best suited for those with more experience. If you are applying for a higher-level position, recruiters will be more interested in your more recent work experiences than in your skills or even the education programs you’ve completed.

Education
The education section should contain the college or university you graduated from, along with your degree and any academic accolades you earned. You should also list any certifications you might have within this section as well. Certifications can add credibility to your resume and put you ahead of other candidates who don’t have those same qualifications.