Professional Resume Templates

What is a resume?

A resume is a job application document that provides potential employers with an overview of your most relevant career accomplishments and skills.

Professional resumes include five essential sections: contact information, professional summary, work history, skills and education. You can learn how to create these sections in our How to Write a Resume article.

You can customize this standard resume with additional sections to showcase various achievements.

Do you offer free resume templates?

Yes. You can find free downloadable resume templates in our templates library right on this page under the heading “Free resume templates”. Our free resume templates have instructions in each section that tell you how to write a resume effectively.

We know the job search process can be overwhelming. However, our Builder simplifies resume writing by providing professionally designed resume templates and content suggestions tailored to your role.

With various payment options, you can download your resume in minutes in multiple formats, such as DOC, PDF and JPG.

How to make a cover letter for a resume?

Pairing your resume with a cover letter is a great way to boost your chances of getting hired. Employers want to see you have a genuine interest in their company, and a cover letter is the perfect place to show you’ve researched a company and how you would fit into it.

We can help you write a personalized cover letter you can easily edit in our Cover Letter Builder.

You can also learn how to write a perfect cover letter from scratch and check out some cover letter examples, in our How to Write Cover Letter guide.

How to format a resume?

When formatting your resume, follow these essential formatting tips:

• Include the five main resume sections: contact information, summary, work history, skills and education.
• Use a font size between 10 and 12, and opt for easy-to-read fonts like Arial or Times New Roman.
• Use 1 inch margins on all four sides of the page.
• Ensure your line spacing is 1.5.]

How do I write a resume for a first job?

If you’re writing a resume for your first job, the work experience section will seem like the biggest challenge. Fortunately, recruiters understand that applicants for entry-level jobs won’t have much formal experience.

To succeed in your job application, the best thing you can do is use an appropriate resume template for your first job, following the functional resume format. You’ll be able to share skills and achievements from informal experiences like volunteering or extracurricular activities at school.

You can learn everything about writing a resume for a first job in our article: How to Write a Resume With No Experience.

How do you list skills on a resume?

Your resume should include at least one section with six to twelve skills.

You should also have a balanced mix of soft skills and hard skills to showcase practical knowledge and interpersonal abilities.

You can browse over 250+ resume skills for every job and industry. Check out examples of skills sections for all resume formats.

How long should a resume be?

A resume’s ideal length is one page because it allows recruiters to quickly scan your achievements. However, don’t try to force it.

Two-page resumes are standard for professionals with more than three years experience.

A good rule is to include one page for every 10 years of experience.

How do I use resume templates? And how do I choose the right resume template?

A resume template simplifies the writing process by providing a pre-formatted document in which you can type in your information.

You can use a resume template on our Resume Builder and get personalized content for all your sections, effectively reducing the time and effort it takes to write a resume.

Download our resume templates as Google Docs templates or Microsoft Word resume templates.

However, not all resume templates out there are created by professional resume writers. If you want to pick the best resume template for you, ensure it meets the following criteria:

• Includes all the five essential resume sections: contact information, summary, work experience, skills and education.
• Offers clean, visually appealing designs; this applies to both simple and creative templates.
• Has a healthy balance of text and white space; it shouldn’t look cramped.
• Simplifies the writing process by being an easy resume template to customize.

All of our resume templates meet these requirements, so check them out in our resume templates library.

How to list work experience on a resume?

When listing work experience on a resume, you must do so in reverse chronological order. You first list your current or most recent job and work backward until your first relevant role.

Some details every listed job should include are:

• Job title
• Employer/company name
• Location (city and state)
• Dates of employment

A resume for experienced candidates will include these details plus bullet points describing achievements within each role. When writing your work experience, you’ll want to focus on unique accomplishments instead of responsibilities to ensure you stand out from other applicants.

Another way to wow recruiters is to add quantifiable achievements, which utilize numbers, percentages, and dollar amounts to show your work’s impact.

How to write a resume summary?

A resume summary is a brief paragraph to convince employers that you’re the best candidate. It should feature your most relevant and impressive qualifications.

A good formula to follow for writing a resume summary is:

[Soft skills to describe you as a professional] + [job title and years of experience] in [area of expertise as stated in the job description]. Adept at [two of your best, job-relevant skills]. [An impressive career accomplishment or other skills and qualifications.]

Here’s a resume summary example following this formula:

Detail-oriented and proactive marketing professional with 5 years of experience in digital marketing. Adept at campaign management and SEO optimization. Successfully increased website traffic by 40% and led team to develop social media strategy that boosted engagement by 34%. Skilled in analytics and content creation.

Find more writing tips and resume summary examples in our How to Write a Resume Summary guide.