The 3 Best Resume Formats To Use (With Examples)

Your resume will be the first impression a hiring manager will have of you, which is why you should choose the best format that fits your needs. The format you choose will help convey all of your information and communicate your skills.

Whether you’re making your first resume or need to revisit it before you apply for a new position, we’ll go over the three best resume formats to use, provide some example resume formats, and ways to format your resume to help get you started.

Key Takeaways:

• The three types of resume formats are chronological, functional, and combination.

• Make sure to keep the design of your resume simple and easy to read.

• Keep your font to a san-serif font and size 10-12 point font.

• Limit your resume to one to two pages and keep your information concise.

The top 3 most common resume formats

The top three most common resume formats are chronological, functional, and combination. Each of these resume formats has its strengths and weaknesses, and you’ll likely need to use more than one of them at some point in your career.

Here is more information on each of these types of resume formats:

1. Chronological resume. The chronological resume’s name is a little misleading, as it requires you to arrange your work history in reverse chronological order. This is probably the most common resume format, and it’s great to use when you have some work experience in your field that relates to the position you’re applying for.

   For instance, if you were pursuing a career in marketing and you earned your degree in marketing, interned at an advertising firm, got a job in the marketing department at a company, and are now applying for another marketing-based role, a chronological resume is likely going to be your best choice. This is also the best choice if you aren’t sure which resume format to choose.

   There are a few different ways to arrange the content on your chronological resume, and you’ll choose what works best for you based on your skills, experience, and even the particular role you’re applying for. Usually, though, your summary will come first, followed by your work experience or professional history, relevant skills, and educational history.

2. Functional resume. A functional resume is a great option for a job seeker who may not have a lot of experience in the particular field that they’re trying to enter. This includes recent graduates as well as more seasoned members of the workforce who are trying to change career paths or who have had some significant gaps in employment.

   While a chronological resume organizes your work experience by the positions you’ve held, a functional resume arranges it based on the skills you acquired from your different positions. These include both technical and soft skills.

   For example, if the description of the job you’re applying for wants someone who has strong communication and organizational skills, you’d make those your headers and then turn the ways you’ve demonstrated those skills into your bullet points. You can and should still add your work history, but that isn’t the main focus and is usually at the bottom of the page.

   The beauty of this resume format is that it doesn’t matter if you demonstrate your communication skills as a camp counselor, a student body president, or a restaurant server, it just matters that you have them.

3. Combination resume. Aptly named, the combination resume is a combination of both the chronological and functional resume formats.

   This type of resume focuses more on your skills than a chronological one does since it puts them at the top, but it also features more of your work experience and the responsibilities you hold than a functional one does.

   Because of this, this resume format is a great choice if you have a lot of work experience that doesn’t align perfectly with the position you’re applying for. Focusing more on your skills than your position titles allows you to show how your experiences can and will transfer to this new job.

Resume format examples

Here are examples of each of the most common resume formats:

1. Chronological resume example:

   Lester Knopp

   
   lesterknopp@email.com | 444-333-2222 | Pawnee, Indiana
   SUMMARY

   Passionate about finding new ways to connect customers with an organization, I have six years of experience in marketing and am now looking for an opportunity to grow my skills in a position as a marketing manager.

   WORK EXPERIENCE
   Marketing Coordinator
   New Blue Apparel
   Chicago, Illinois
   August 2018-Present

   • Managed email marketing campaigns, increasing click rates by 10% in one year.
   • Worked with graphic designers and copywriters to create emails and social media posts that effectively communicated our message.
   • Shot and edited footage to create 16 marketing videos for the website.
   • Oversaw and completed projects for an average of three internal clients each month.
   • Updated website content.

   Social Media Manager
   Illinois State University
   Fredricksville, Illinois
   June 2015 – August 2018

   • Helped develop social media strategy for university’s profiles on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
   • Developed and managed a six-month Facebook marketing campaign, resulting in an 8% ROI.
   • Curated and scheduled content for social media.

   SKILLS AND CERTIFICATIONS
   Salesforce, MailChimp, Adobe Photoshop (moderate), Adobe Illustrator (moderate), Microsoft Office Suite, Google Analytics Advanced Certification, Facebook Analytics, Twitter Analytics, HootSuite.

   EDUCATION
   Bachelor of Science in Marketing
   August 2011 – May 2015
   Illinois State University
   Freidricksville, Illinois

2. Functional resume example:

   One of the most important things to remember with this resume format is that the skills you choose to highlight should reflect the ones listed in the description of the job you’re applying for. The purpose of your resume is to show why you’re the best candidate for this particular position, so make sure recruiters know the exact reasons why you are the best fit.

   Rosa Martinez

   
   rosam@email.com | 333-222-1111 | San Francisco, California
   SUMMARY
   Graphic designer who recently graduated from the University of California Los Angeles. Passionate about creating a good design that solves a problem. Looking for an opportunity to apply and grow my skills.

   SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS

   • Advanced knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite
   • Comfortable with managing multiple projects and deadlines at once with minimal supervision
   • Problem-solver who works well on a team or independently

   SKILLS
   Graphic Design and Illustration

   • Created original logo and branding for small businesses. The design won, “best branding” in a nationwide collegiate business plan competition
   • Illustrated 15-page children’s book for literature student’s senior project
   • Produced a unique poster for each of the 36 campus events coordinated by the student council

   Typography

   • Designed two new fonts.
   • Handled typography portions of two group graphic design projects

   Print Production

   • Formatted all final student council graphic design team designs and submitted them to the printer

   ORGANIZATION AND TIME MANAGEMENT

   • Created schedule of deadlines for student council graphic design team
   • Led four teams to complete group projects on time and with a grade of 90% or above
   • Managed a part-time job and a full class load for four years while maintaining a 4.0 GPA
   • Kept track of table reservations and server workloads at a four-star restaurant

   WORK EXPERIENCE
   Graphic Designer | 2017-2019
   UCLA Student Council | Los Angeles, California

   Hostess | 2015-2017
   Malino’s Italian Restaurant | Los Angeles, California
   EDUCATION
   Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design | 2015-2019
   University of California Los Angeles

3. Combination resume example:

   William McKay

   
   wmckay@email.com | 777-888-9999 | Topeka, Kansas
   SKILLS SUMMMARY
   Curriculum Development

   • Created curriculum for the department of four second-grade classes for three years in a row.
   • Developed curriculum plan that the principal used as an example for the rest of the fourth-grade teachers.
   • Trained six new teachers in curriculum development.

   Communication

   • Implemented a new parent communication plan that received high parent reviews and was used by other teachers.
   • Presented science lab instruction best practices at a statewide education conference.
   • Persuaded the school board to add art classes for fourth-grade students.

   Time Management

   • Created a grading checkpoint system that kept grading on track throughout the year.
   • Taught new instructors how to grade and plan lessons promptly while still minimizing the amount of after-hours work they have to do.

   EXPERIENCE
   Second Grade Teacher | Wichita Public Schools
   2018-Present | Wichita, Kansas

   • Taught second-grade classrooms ranging in size from 15-25 students.
   • Headed council of all second-grade teachers at the school.
   • Coordinated field trips for all four second-grade classes.

   Fourth Grade Teacher | Cedar Point Public Schools
   2016-2018 | Cedar Point, Kansas

   • Taught classes of 30-35 fourth-grade students.
   • Coordinated fourth-grade family talent show fundraising event, raising $7,500 for the school.

   ADDITIONAL SKILLS
   Microsoft Office Suite, Gradekeeper, What2Learn, QuizFaber, Adobe Illustrator (basic), Edmodo

   EDUCATION
   Bachelor of Arts of Elementary Education
   Wichita State University | August 2012 – May 2016
   Summa Cum Laude

How to format your resume

When formatting your resume, be sure you pick a simple design and split your information into sections. Here is a more detailed list of how to format your resume:

1. Pick a simple design. There are a million eye-catching resume templates out there, and while there’s nothing wrong with adding some polish to yours, it’s best to keep it simple.

   Don’t choose one that overpowers your message with graphics or gets too creative with formatting. Not only will that make it more difficult for recruiters to scan through and understand, but your entire resume may get stopped by an automated Applicant Tracking System (ATS).

   Your goal for your resume design should be to make it neat, professional, and easy to read.

2. Keep your margins ½ inch or larger. Start with a one-inch margin, and then shrink it down as you need to. Don’t make it any smaller than ½ inch, though, because that not only looks unprofessional, but may also risk your text getting cut off when it transfers through computer programs or is converted to a PDF by the recipient.

3. Divide your content into sections. Your resume should be divided into clear sections that are easy to read. This will make it easier for the hiring manager to read. The sections you should have on your resume are:

   • Contact information

   • Work history or experience section

   • Skills section

   • Education section

   Using these sections will help you highlight more information that’s relevant to the job without cluttering up your resume. Some additional sections you can use to add relevant information include volunteer work, awards, or publications.

4. Use headings and sub-headings. Use headings and subheadings to help set your sections apart. This includes your name and contact information that you put at the top of your resume.

   You can do this by making your headers and contact information bold, underlining them, making them a slightly larger font size (12-14 points is acceptable for headers), using a different typeface, or a combination of these.

   If you do decide to use a different typeface for your headers, make sure you use the same one across all of them. Also, if you used a sans-serif font in your resume body, choose a serif font for your headers, and vice versa.

Resume writing tips

When writing a resume, be sure to use a professional font and make readability a priority. This will help make it easier to read for a hiring manager and make a good first impression. Here are some more tips to keep in mind when writing your resume:

• Select the right font. You should only use one font for your resume, two at the most. The most professional fonts to use are typically a sans-serif font or serif font such as:

  • Avenir

  • Calibri

  • Helvetica

  • Georgia

  • Cambria

  Once you choose your typeface, set the size to 10-12 points. If you go outside of that range, it gets more difficult to read and looks like you’re either trying to cram in too much content or are compensating for not having enough.

• Try to stick to one to two pages. Your resume should be one to two pages. Long resumes can often get tossed out because hiring managers don’t have time to look them over. If you don’t have enough content, use a 12-point font, increase your margins slightly, and find ways to add some more white space between each section. If your resume still looks sparse, you might just need to add some more information.

  If you have too much content, on the other hand, shrink your font down to 10 points and look for ways to make your writing more concise. Cut out unnecessary words such as “that,” “a,” “an,” and “and.” Your resume bullet points can be bare-bones and missing articles and still get your point across.

• Make readability the priority. Once you’ve formatted your resume, go back over it and make sure it’s easy to follow. Ask a friend to do the same if you can.

  If there’s anything that trips you up, change it, even if that means you have to change your design. Ease of use should trump aesthetics when it comes to your resume.

• Use bullet points where appropriate. Large blocks of content can be hard to read and digest and bullet points can help fix that problem. Bullet points will break up these blocks of content so the hiring manager or recruiter who is reading it will get all the information quicker. It’s also a great way to highlight key points and relevant skills or achievements.

• Keep your content concise. Since resumes are meant to be one page, keeping your content concise will help you create the best resume. You should only include any information that is relevant to the position or company that you are applying for. You should also use short sentences because they are easier to read.

Resume guide FAQ

1. What are the three common resume formats?

   The top three most popular resume formats are chronological, functional, and combination. The other types of resumes include:

   • Resume profile

   • Nontraditional resume

   • Infographic resume

   • Targeted resume

2. What are some professional fonts to use on a resume?

   Professional fonts to use on a resume include:

   • Times New Roman

   • Cambria

   • Georgia

   • Calibri

   • Arial Narrow

3. How long should a resume be?

   Your resume should be one to two pages long. Ideally, a resume should be one page long for recent graduates or professionals with one to 10 years of experience.

   Keeping your resume your short will help you get noticed by a hiring manager because they typically only have a few seconds to look over any resume. Your resume should have any relevant information to the job you are applying to.

References

1. Minnesota State – Types of Resumes

2. Forbes – 5 Resume Formatting Tips That Captivate Recruiters

Author

Abby McCain

Abby is a writer who is passionate about the power of story. Whether it’s communicating complicated topics in a clear way or helping readers connect with another person or place from the comfort of their couch. Abby attended Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she earned a degree in writing with concentrations in journalism and business.

Expert

Don Pippin, MHRM, CPRW, CDCS

Don Pippin is an executive and HR leader for Fortune 50 and 500 companies and startups. In 2008, Don launched area|Talent with a focus on helping clients identify their brand. As a Certified Professional Resume Writer, Certified Digital Career Strategist, and Certified Personal Branding Strategist, Don guides clients through career transitions.