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Resume format

The resume format that works for almost every job: your name and contact at the top, a short summary, work experience with the latest job first, then education and skills, on one page for freshers and up to two for experienced hires. Below: every format by type, stage, country and job, with samples you can open in the builder.

Build my resumeCheck my ATS scoreUpdated 30 September 2026

By Rajesh Kumar · How these pages are made

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Resume format at a glance

Best format
Reverse-chronological: latest job first. Recruiters and hiring software both expect it.
Order
Name and contact, summary or objective, work experience, education, skills, then projects, certifications and languages.
Length
One page for freshers and early careers; two pages is common once you have several years of relevant experience.
Layout
One column, standard headings (Experience, Education, Skills), no tables, icons or text in images.
Fonts
One clean font at 10–12 pt for text and 14–18 pt for your name; margins of about 2 cm.
Dates
Month and year for every job and degree. Missing dates read as a gap.
File
A text-based PDF named Firstname-Lastname-Resume.pdf, unless the job asks for Word.
Country rules
Photo, date of birth and a declaration are normal in India and the Gulf, and left out in the US and UK. See the country formats below.

Resume samples for your country

A made-up person, in the layout described on this page. Build yours with any CVEmber template and download it as a PDF.

Fresher resume sample (B.Tech, campus placement)

Ananya Iyer

B.Tech Computer Science graduate · Java, SQL, React

Pune, Maharashtra · +91 98xxx xxxxx · ananya.iyer@example.com

Languages: English, Hindi, Tamil · Available to join: immediately

Career objective

  • Computer Science graduate looking for a software developer role where I can build and test web applications, starting with the Java and React work from my final-year project.

Education

  • B.Tech, Computer Science, Vishwakarma Institute of Technology, Pune · 2022–2026 · CGPA 8.4/10
  • Class XII (CBSE), Delhi Public School, Pune · 2022 · 91.2%
  • Class X (CBSE), Delhi Public School, Pune · 2020 · 94.6%

Internship

  • Software Intern, Northwind Technologies, Pune · Jan–Jun 2026 · Built three REST APIs in Spring Boot for an internal leave tool; cut page load from 4 s to 1.5 s by adding pagination.

Projects

  • Campus placement tracker (React, Node.js, MySQL): used by 600 students in the 2025 placement season.
  • Final-year project: crop disease detection from leaf photos (Python, TensorFlow), 89% accuracy on the test set.

Skills

  • Java, Python, SQL, JavaScript, React, Spring Boot, Git, Linux

Certifications and achievements

  • NPTEL: Programming in Java (Elite) · 2025
  • Smart India Hackathon 2025, finalist

Declaration

I hereby declare that the information given above is true to the best of my knowledge. Place: Pune · Date: 28/09/2026 · Ananya Iyer

Experienced resume sample (6 years, sales)

Rohit Malhotra

Area Sales Manager · FMCG · 6 years

Gurugram, Haryana · +91 98xxx xxxxx · rohit.malhotra@example.com

Notice period: 60 days (negotiable) · Open to relocate: Delhi NCR, Jaipur

Professional summary

  • Area Sales Manager with 6 years in FMCG general trade and modern trade across Delhi NCR. Grew territory revenue from ₹14 crore to ₹22 crore in two years; manage 11 distributors and a team of 9.

Work experience

  • Area Sales Manager, Brightleaf Consumer Products Ltd, Gurugram · Apr 2023–present
  • • Grew territory sales 57% in two years by adding 1,800 outlets and re-planning beat routes.
  • • Brought distributor claim settlement from 45 to 20 days with a monthly reconciliation.
  • Sales Officer, Sunrise Foods Ltd, Jaipur · Jul 2020–Mar 2023
  • • Ranked first of 14 sales officers in the region for FY 2022-23 on volume and collections.

Education

  • MBA, Marketing, Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune · 2020
  • B.Com, University of Rajasthan · 2018

Skills

  • Distributor management, trade marketing, secondary sales, SAP SD, Excel (pivot tables, dashboards), team hiring and training

Resume formats by type

  • Reverse-chronological. Experience first, latest job at the top. The default for anyone with work history, and the format hiring software reads best.
  • Functional (skills-based). Skills grouped by theme, with little on dates. It can hide gaps, so many recruiters prefer a dated format; use it only if a job asks for it.
  • Hybrid (combination). A skills summary on top, then chronological experience. Good for career changers and people returning after a break.

Resume format for freshers

With no full-time experience, lead with what you have: a two-line career objective naming the role, then education with your CGPA or percentage, internships, projects, skills and certifications. Keep it to one page. See the fresher resume format, the format for IT freshers and the student resume format; for any country, a resume for your first job and career objective examples. When you send it, see the email for job application guide; for the photo question, see resume with photo.

Resume format for experienced professionals

A three-line summary with your role, years and one result, then experience with two to four bullet points per job, each starting with a verb and ending with a number. Education moves below experience and school marks drop off. See the experienced resume format.

Simple resume format

Name and contact, summary, experience, education and one line of skills, in one column with plain headings. It reads cleanly on every job portal, prints well, and suits any job. Start on a Simple template and add a section only when you have something to put in it. The templates, a sample and the steps: simple resume format.

One-page resume format

Freshers and anyone under about five years of experience should fit on one page. Cut the objective to two lines, keep only the last three or four jobs in detail, drop hobbies and school marks, and list skills on one line instead of a table.

ATS-friendly resume format

Company career portals read your file with hiring software before a person sees it. What it reads reliably: one column, standard section names, real text (not images), dates in one style, and the skills written the way the job advert writes them. Check your resume with the free ATS checker to see what the software reads, or start from one of the ATS-friendly templates.

Resume format by country

Resume format by job

The format stays the same; what changes is which section leads and which skills you name. See the India sections for an accountant and a nurse, and the advice for IT freshers. For a specific job advert, keep one master resume and save a tailored copy for each application.

PDF or Word?

Send a text-based PDF: it looks the same on every screen and hiring software reads it. Send Word only when the portal or recruiter asks for it. Either way, name the file with your name, not “resume-final-2.pdf”. Every template downloads as both: see Word templates and Google Docs templates.

Basic and new resume format, and getting it as a PDF

The basic resume format and the new resume format that recruiters now see are the same layout: one column, standard headings, reverse-chronological order and plain text. What changed in recent years is what leaves the page, not what stays: photos, rating bars, tables and graphics, and the long objective, are what the newer format drops. The main types of resume are the three above: reverse-chronological, functional and hybrid, and the format of resume you pick follows your situation, not the year.

Most people search for a resume format PDF because they want a file to download and edit. You can build yours on a template here for free, see it live, and pay only when you download the PDF; the layout, headings and order shown in the samples above are the format. The same rules apply to a CV; samples for your job are on the resume examples pages.

Resume format mistakes

  • Two columns, tables or icons on a resume for an online portal: the software can read it out of order.
  • Three pages for two years of experience.
  • Dates in three different styles, or years without months.
  • A headline like “Resume” or “Curriculum Vitae” instead of your name.
  • Personal ID numbers (Aadhaar, PAN, passport) or salary on the resume.

Resume, CV or biodata?

In India a resume and a CV usually mean the same one-to-two page document; in the US a CV is a longer academic record, and the UK and most other countries call the job document a CV. A biodata leads with personal details and is asked for by some government and traditional employers. The full comparison, country by country: CV vs resume.

Sources

Checked on 30 September 2026. Employers and portals change what they ask for, so always follow the job advert first.

FAQ

Questions, answered.

What is the best resume format?

Reverse-chronological: your latest job first, then earlier ones, then education and skills. It is what recruiters expect and what hiring software reads most reliably.

What is the correct resume format for freshers?

One page: contact details, a two-line career objective, education with CGPA or percentage, internships and projects, skills, certifications, and languages. Education comes before experience.

How many pages should a resume be?

One page for freshers and early careers; two pages is common for experienced and senior roles. Longer only for academic or research CVs.

Which is the best format for a resume: PDF or Word?

A text-based PDF, unless the job asks for Word. PDF keeps your layout identical on every screen, and hiring software reads it.

What is the difference between a resume format and a template?

The format is the order and content of the sections; a template is the design that holds them. Any CVEmber template follows the reverse-chronological format and can be switched without retyping.

Is a two-column resume format ATS-friendly?

Often not. Hiring software can read two columns out of order. Use one column for online applications and keep two-column designs for email and print.

Should I add a photo to my resume?

It depends on the country: common in India, the Gulf and much of Asia, left out in the US, UK and Canada. Follow the job advert.

Still unsure? Send us a message — a real person replies.

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