Your resume is more than a list of your skills and experience. It gives recruiters and hiring managers their first impressions of you, so make sure that you pay close attention to its layout.
The right formatting can highlight your skills and industry experience so you stand out to prospective employers. However, with so many professional field-tested resume templates to choose from, how do you know which one is the best option?
Thankfully, there’s a best time to use each type of template, and in this article we’re going to take a look at the three commonly used ones in the following paragraphs.
What is a Professional Resume Template
Think of a resume template as a guide. Designers create the templates to be easy for recruiters to read while also being visually appealing. To keep the text even throughout the resume, the templates use white spaces and a variety of professional fonts.
With a template, you know exactly where to list your prior experience, highlight your skills, and showcase your unique talents. With suggested headers and subheaders included, you know precisely where to list each type of information.
Professional resume templates are also designed to sail past applicant tracking systems (ATS) to help ensure your resume isn’t overlooked.
Common Types of Resume Templates
As mentioned earlier, there are three commonly used types of professional resume templates, and each one can have its best uses.
Creative Resume Template
If the job you’re applying for values imagination, the ability to create designs, and artistic talent, a creative resume template can help highlight your unique personality and skills.
These templates tend to use multiple font sizes and sizes. For example, each section uses a different size font. This can also apply to specific sections of text. Think of a bold-looking resume that grabs readers’ attention using plenty of graphics.
These graphics can include borders, charts, columns, and images. Most creative resume templates also have a dedicated place for you to insert an applicant photograph.
Modern Resume Template
A modern resume template is often a good choice when you’re applying for a professional position. The resume’s designs tend to be more contemporary with information divided into two columns. One column contains your basic information and the other one is more visual, and this is often when you use formats like bullet points to help highlight your skills.
The template is designed to be easy for recruiters to read and tracking systems to quickly scan. Fonts tend to be less dramatic compared to a creative resume template, but headers and subheaders can be bolded.
Traditional Resume Template
A traditional resume template is a great choice for individuals with plenty of industry experience. This type of resume typically uses standard fonts to help ensure it doesn’t run into issues with applicant tracking systems.
Contact information is prominently displayed at the top, followed by your education and work experience. Certificates and degrees are often listed using bullet points. Since headers and subheaders clearly define the sections, you know precisely where to insert your relevant information.
When you’re ready to apply for a new position, one of these professional resume templates can help you get noticed by prospective employers.