What’s The Best Resume Format That You Prefer From Candidates?
To help you see the resume format preferences of hiring managers, we asked CHROs and hiring managers this question for their best insights.
From plain traditional format with no fluff to formal and ATS-friendly format, there are several resume formats that you may choose for your job applications to suit the preference of the hiring manager.
Here Are The Five Best Resume Formats:
- Plain Traditional Format With No Fluff
- Reverse-Chronological Format
- One Page Two-sided Format
- Well-Structured PDF Document
- Formal and ATS-Friendly
Plain Traditional Format With No Fluff
I’m sure your personal career portal is delightful. And while I appreciate the dedication to your avocado toast t-shirt side hustle, I honestly don’t have that kind of time.
Hiring decisions are made based on facts, not branding. Your resume should tell me what YOU did, where you did it, and when. I don’t want pictures. I don’t want hashtags.
And I don’t want a 4-page marketing spread on what you “might” do…someday. Just tell me, briefly, how you met and exceeded the expectations of your various jobs. That’s something worth talking about in an interview.
Tim Toterhi, Plotline Leadership
Reverse-Chronological Format
For me, the best resume format is the reverse-chronological one. In that kind of resume format, the most recent professional experiences and job positions and qualifications are listed first and then continuing backward from there. It is easy to read and understand how candidates progressed throughout their careers.
Maciek Kubiak, PhotoAiD
One Page Two-sided Format
A two-sided one-pager with a top-3 bullet-point summary of a candidate’s greatest achievements most relevant to the role is what I prefer as a hiring manager, and how I secured more interviews after putting my own resume through multiple formatting experiments over the years.
Personally, I also found that a clean and simple format without any fancy bells and whistles works best for easy reading (perhaps the exception would be people looking for work in a creative capacity).
Trendy Tan, QuickHR
Well-Structured PDF Document
Always send documents in a PDF. Not only does this make it easier to read, but also keeps the format consistent. This is a professional standard in any industry you’re in. In doing so, it makes it easy to open and read while keeping the format as intended.
Sara Adam Slywka, Nestig
Formal and ATS-Friendly
A formal resume format is always best, and it should be ATS-friendly so that Applicant Tracking Systems can easily scan it. Your name and contact information should appear at the top of the page, followed by your education and work experience.
Make sure to list your most recent experience first. Use bullet points to list your job duties and accomplishments, and use neat, legible fonts.
A good resume will make you look like a superstar.
Gino Louise Reichert, LSAT Prep Hero
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