30+ Resume Templates for 2025

A well-designed resume template acts like the bumper rails in bowling — a pre-built guideline that helps direct your skills and work history toward an interview-winning position.

• The preformatted sections act like fill-in-the-blank guides so you don’t forget any crucial information.
• Career professionals pre-format your margins, line breaks and font choices to minimize eye-strain or awkward text placement.
• Pre-labeled sections prioritize applicant tracking systems to ensure they correctly read and analyze your work history.

There’s no right answer; the best resume template depends on your work history and job aspirations! Here’s a helpful cheat sheet to help you decide.

• If you have over 10 years of experience, use a chronological resume template to showcase your career growth and skill development.
• If you have three to 10 years of experience, use a combination resume to share a tailored list of relevant job skills before diving into your work history.
• If you’re a recent graduate, contractor or freelancer, try the functional resume to showcase your accomplishments under relevant skills. This helps you prioritize your qualifications while downplaying your short-term work history.

The best downloadable file format for your resume is a PDF. Most PDFs download with the same resume layout and formatting, no matter which operating system or file manager you use.

The next best format is a Word document or Google Docs. These are the most popular word processing applications, so it’s less likely that your resume will get corrupted when you send it.

Hiring managers can slog through hundreds of applications — put a summary statement or career highlights section at the top of your resume to quickly outline a few notable accomplishments. A hiring manager might spare a few more moments of careful consideration for your application, especially if you can draw a direct line between your experience and the needs of the open job.