ATS-friendly resume templates
Free, professionally structured resume templates for every industry — each one tested against our own ATS Scorer so it parses cleanly and ranks for the keywords recruiters actually search.
Pick a template
Best for: Most roles, 3+ years of experience
The safest ATS layout. A single column, standard section headings (Summary, Experience, Skills, Education), and reverse-chronological experience — exactly what every applicant tracking system expects.
- Parses cleanly in Workday, Greenhouse, Lever, Taleo
- Standard headings the parser recognizes
- No text boxes, tables, or icons that break extraction
Best for: Mid-career professionals in tech, finance, ops
A clean, modern take on the classic — same ATS-safe structure with slightly bolder typography and generous whitespace so it also reads well when a human finally opens it.
- One-page or two-page friendly
- Selectable text only (no images of text)
- Metric-forward bullet formatting
Best for: Software, data, DevOps, hardware engineers
Optimized for keyword-dense technical resumes. Dedicated Skills block near the top so ATS keyword scans pick up your stack immediately, plus a Projects section for open source and side work.
- Skills block ranks well in keyword matching
- Projects section for GitHub / portfolios
- Bullets structured for STAR + metrics
Best for: Directors, VPs, C-suite candidates
Two-page layout that leads with a strong executive summary and quantifiable business impact. Experience bullets are outcome-first (revenue, headcount, P&L) rather than task-first.
- Executive summary calibrated for recruiters
- Board / advisory + speaking sections
- Impact-first bullet structure
Best for: Students, recent grads, career switchers
Leads with Education and Projects instead of Experience so early-career candidates aren't penalized for a short work history. Includes a coursework and certifications block.
- Education-first ordering
- Projects + coursework sections
- Volunteer / leadership section
Best for: Design, marketing, content roles
The most visual template we recommend. A subtle sidebar for contact + skills, but the main experience column stays single-column and text-only so parsers still read it correctly.
- More visual without breaking ATS parsing
- Sidebar for skills / links
- Room for a portfolio URL block
Best for: Nurses, clinicians, allied health, techs
Built around Licenses & Certifications and Clinical Experience blocks that healthcare-specific ATS pipelines (like SuccessFactors) look for first.
- Licenses & certifications block up top
- Clinical rotations / settings section
- Room for CEUs and specialties
Best for: USAJobs and federal contractor roles
The long-form format federal ATS pipelines expect: hours per week, GS-level, supervisor contact, and detailed duties per role. Longer than a private-sector resume by design.
- USAJobs-aligned field structure
- Detailed duties + accomplishments per role
- Security clearance + citizenship block
What makes a resume ATS-friendly?
Do
- • Use a single column for the main experience section.
- • Use standard section headings: Summary, Experience, Skills, Education.
- • Keep contact info inline in the document body, not in a header/footer.
- • Use selectable, real text — never images of text.
- • Match keywords from the job description in your Skills and bullets.
Avoid
- • Text boxes, tables, and multi-column layouts for experience.
- • Icons instead of section headings ("phone icon" ≠ "Contact").
- • Headers/footers — most parsers ignore them entirely.
- • Fancy fonts, embedded images, or PDF-as-image exports.
- • Graphics-based skill bars — parsers see "70%" as random text.
Frequently asked questions
Are these resume templates really ATS-friendly?+
Yes. Every template is tested against our own ATS Scorer — the same one recruiters and applicants use on the site — so we know each layout parses cleanly and preserves keyword matching. We avoid text boxes, headers/footers, tables, and icons that commonly break applicant tracking systems like Workday, Greenhouse, Lever, and Taleo.
Are the templates free?+
Yes. Browsing and using the templates is free. A free account lets you fill in a template with the Resume Enhancer and export it as PDF or DOCX.
Which template should I pick?+
If you're not sure, start with Classic Chronological or Modern Professional — they work for almost every industry and 3+ years of experience. New grads should use Entry-Level & New Graduate, and engineers should use Engineering & Technical for keyword-heavy skill matching.
Can I edit the template with my own content?+
Yes. Pick a template, then open the Resume Enhancer — paste your existing resume or fill in each section, and the tool will format it using the template you chose. You can also upload the exported file back into the ATS Scorer to confirm it parses correctly.
Why not use a fancy designed template from Canva or Word?+
Because most of them break ATS parsing. Two-column designs, sidebars with contact info, text inside shapes, icons instead of section headings, and images-of-text all cause the parser to drop content or scramble your experience. Every template here is designed so the visual layout doesn't compromise the parse.
Test any template against a real job
Pick a template, then paste the job description into the free ATS Scorer to see exactly which keywords are missing before you apply.
Try the ATS Checker