3 Best Resume Formats for 2025 (Tips and Examples)

Which resume format is right for you? Get to know the three resume formats and find out which one will put you in a position to get your dream job.

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By Maria 3 minutes read

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The 3 formats for a resume

Proper resume formatting matters. It can make a chaotic resume clean and professional. It can help you hide gaps in your employment, emphasize different sections, and, yes—the best resume format can help you get a job.

This guide will give you:

  • An overview of the 3 common resume formats.
  • The best resume format for your needs.
  • How to put together a simple resume format.
  • Resume format templates you can use right away.
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What Are the Top 3 Resume Formats?

The three most popular resume formats are chronological, functional, and combination. When you’re choosing the right format for your resume, always think about your career progression and the type of job you’re seeking. The breakdown below will help you:

  • The chronological resume format, also called the reverse-chronological resume format, is the most common. It typically centers on the work experience section, listing your most recent job first and going back through time to detail your earlier jobs.
  • Also known as the skills-based resume, the functional resume format focuses on your resume skills instead of your work history. In a functional resume, your employment history will be brief with no bullet points and usually located at the bottom of the page, leaving space for the different skills sections this format features.
  • The combination resume format, also called a hybrid resume format, combines the best parts of the functional and chronological formats. It emphasizes your skills and work history by giving you ample space to provide information on both.

Now, let’s explore these common resume formats in detail, so you can see the differences and learn their strengths.

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1. Chronological Resume Format

The chronological resume format is one of the most popular resume formats. It features your work experience in reverse chronological order, starting with the most recent position and moving backward.

It’s also the best resume format for most scenarios, as recruiters and ATS programs are the most familiar with this style of resume. The chronological resume format features:

  • Education section: Feature your college and post-graduate experience, with the high school listed only if you have no college education. Keep your most recent degree on top.

The chronological resume format best suits candidates with a consistent work history and a clear career progression within a specific industry. It’s a simple resume format that’s great for almost everyone. Plus, it’s especially suitable for experienced professionals and mid-to-senior-level job seekers who want to highlight a stable work history and advancing responsibilities. It’s also the best resume format for passing ATS scans.

Pros & Cons of the Chronological Resume Format

Pros
  • Easy to Read—Since this is the most common format, hiring managers can quickly understand your career path.
  • Highlights Career Growth—Shows a clear progression and increased responsibility over time.
  • ATS-Friendly—The straightforward structure is easily read by Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS).
Cons
  • Not Ideal for Career Gaps—Gaps in employment are more obvious with this format.
  • Less Emphasis on Skills—It focuses more on work history than specific skills, which may not suit those with specialized skill sets outside traditional roles.
  • Not Suitable for Career Changes—If you’re switching fields, it may not effectively highlight the skills needed for the new industry.

Chronological Resume Format Example

Chronological resume example

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2. Functional Resume Format

The functional resume, or skill-based resume, emphasizes skills and abilities over chronological work history. This resume format focuses on a candidate’s transferable skills rather than specific job titles or career progression, making it ideal for those with varied work backgrounds or those looking to change careers.

The functional resume format includes:

  • Reduced work experience section: With very few or no bullets per job title.
  • Education section: You can include a brief overview of your educational achievements, including certifications and professional training.

A functional resume is ideal for job seekers with gaps in their employment history, those writing a career change resume, or candidates with freelance or project-based experience. This format allows you to showcase specific skills that may align with the desired role, regardless of when or where those skills were acquired.

Pros & Cons of the Functional Resume Format

Pros
  • Emphasizes Skills—Highlights abilities and qualifications rather than chronological job progression.
  • Minimizes Work Gaps—De-emphasizes dates, making employment gaps less noticeable.
  • Useful for Career Changers—Allows candidates to highlight relevant skills over unrelated past jobs.
Cons
  • Less Familiar to Recruiters—Hiring managers may find this format unconventional or difficult to scan quickly.
  • Can Raise Questions—Omitting specific work details can lead to questions about work history.
  • ATS Compatibility—This format is sometimes less ATS-friendly, as it doesn’t follow a traditional structure and may affect how keywords are picked up.

Functional Resume Format Example

Functional resume example

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3. Combination Resume Format

The combination resume, or hybrid resume, merges the functional and chronological formats. It emphasizes skills and qualifications at the top of the resume, followed by a chronological list of work experience. This format offers the flexibility to highlight specific skills while also providing a clear employment history.

The combination resume format has these elements:

  • Summary statement or resume objective. In a combination resume, this section can be substituted with a Summary of Qualifications.
  • Skills summary section: Include 3–6 curated skills, each described by strong bullet points.
  • Work history section with your jobs in reverse chronological order: Add a few bullet points with your professional accomplishments.
  • Education section with your highest education credentials.

The combination resume is ideal for those with consistent job experience who want to highlight specific skills. Unlike the previous resume formats, a hybrid resume requires a lot of relevant work experience. It allows job seekers to spotlight both relevant skills and solid employment history, which can appeal to employers looking for specific expertise alongside proven experience.

Pros & Cons of the Combination Resume Format

Pros
  • Flexible Focus—Combines skills emphasis with a chronological history, appealing to a wider range of employers.
  • Good for Career Changers—Allows candidates to tailor skills to a new field while showing past experience.
  • Balances Skills and Experience—Effectively showcases key accomplishments and work continuity.
Cons
  • Can Be Lengthy—Combining two formats can result in a longer resume, which may be challenging to keep within a standard one-page limit.
  • Is Less ATS-Friendly—If not formatted carefully, it can sometimes confuse the ATS, as it mixes chronological and skill-based sections.
  • Requires Careful Tailoring—To be effective, a combination resume needs to be carefully customized for each job application, which can be time-consuming.

Hybrid Resume Format Example

Hybrid resume template
 
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Things to Consider When Choosing the Best Resume Format

What’s the best resume format for you? Picking one is not too complicated as long as you answer these questions:

1. What’s My Overall Work Experience?

If you have consistent, relevant experience in one industry or field, a chronological resume format will be the best choice for you. Likewise, if you’re writing a resume with no experience, you should also stick to the chronological format. When you have no job experience, focus on your education and additional sections.

If you have a varied or mixed background or have done freelance work in different fields, consider a functional or combination resume format to showcase diverse skills and experience.

2. Do I Have Career Gaps or Unrelated Jobs?

If your work history has no breaks, or the breaks are one month long, the chronological format for a resume will work best, as it will showcase your steady career growth.

But if you have longer breaks in employment, or need to omit certain jobs as they have zero relevance to the position you’re currently pursuing, consider the functional resume format.

3. Am I Changing Careers?

If yes, consider a functional resume format to showcase transferable skills while downplaying past roles in unrelated fields.

If you’re staying in the same field, a chronological resume format will better underscore your experience in that field.

4. Are Skills My Strong Suit?

If you have impressive work experience in addition to your skills, you can best emphasize them using the functional or the combination resume formats.

If you want to showcase mostly your professional accomplishments, stick to the chronological resume.

To summarize, check the table below:

Best Resume Format for You—Table

Resume Format Best For Highlights Pros Cons
Chronological Candidates with a strong, consistent work history relevant to the job Work history in reverse order, showcasing career growth ATS-friendly and familiar to recruiters, showcases career progression May emphasize employment gaps or unrelated roles, less suited for career changers or limited experience
Functional Candidates with limited experience, employment gaps, or switching careers Focuses on skills and achievements over job titles and dates Ideal for highlighting relevant skills, de-emphasizes job gaps Less ATS-friendly, may lack specific job progression details recruiters prefer
Combination (Hybrid) Mid-level candidates or those with diverse skills and relevant experience Balances skills and work history, showing strengths and experience together Combines skills focus with work experience, ideal for demonstrating versatility Requires careful organization to avoid overcrowding, which can be complex for ATS
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Resume Templates for Each Resume Format

A good resume template is essential when deciding on a resume format because it sets the foundation for how effectively your information is presented and received. Here’s why:

  • Clear Structure and Readability: Resume templates designed with readability in mind help organize your content logically and intuitively. For example, in a chronological resume, a clear work history section in reverse order showcases your career growth and stability effectively. Functional or skill-based resume formats benefit from templates that highlight skills prominently, ensuring the recruiter immediately sees your relevant strengths.
  • ATS Compatibility: ATS-friendly resume templates increase the chances of your resume passing through automated systems.
  • Adaptability Across Career Levels and Industries: A well-designed template will be versatile enough to suit different career stages and goals, from entry-level to executive roles. For example, modern resume templates that can adjust to emphasize either skills or work experience are ideal for both career changers and established professionals. A professional or traditional resume template allows you to stand out in roles that demand specific industry styling—think marketing versus banking—and can help frame your resume to best suit the norms of the industry.

You can browse our resume format templates below, and click on any of them to use it in our resume builder.

It can be extremely difficult to start a resume from scratch. A blank screen can be incredibly daunting, especially if you’ve never created a resume format before. Luckily, our resume builder offers many different templates perfect for each resume format, together with step-by-step guidance to complete your resume in just a few minutes.

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8 General Resume Formatting Tips

Regardless of the resume format you choose for your application, there are certain general rules you should follow. Here they are:

1. Use Bullet Points and Concise Phrases

Recruiters and hiring managers usually spend less than a minute reviewing a resume. Make it easier for them to read your information using bullet points and short phrases.

2. Keep the Right Margins

Using the proper margins on your resume format will ensure the information fits within the page. All sides of your resume should have 1-inch margins—it’s the industry standard.

3. Use Professional Fonts

A resume format isn’t the place to get too creative. Your resume font should be clear and easy to read for the prospective employer. Your font choice also plays a big role in whether your resume will make it through ATS, which might have a harder time reading unusual fonts.

4. Apply Proper Font Sizes

Generally, the body text on your resume format should be between 10 and 12 points. Your name on the header can be 16 or 18 points, while the subheadings should stay somewhere between 12 and 14 points.

Adjust the sizes depending on the space. If you have a lot of white space, feel free to use a 12-point size on the body text. If your resume is packed with important information, however, consider taking it down to 10.

5. Use Standard Headings

You might be tempted to replace the “Work History” header with “My Professional Background” but you shouldn’t do it. It’s unprofessional and ATS might have difficulty reading your resume sections.

Here are 3 things you can do to make your resume format stand out:

  • Bold the heading
  • Underline the heading
  • Increase the size by one or two points, so it’s different from the body text

Sometimes, you can also use a different font to differentiate the subheadings from the body text. This isn’t typically recommended, but if you work in a creative industry and know how to choose the correct font combinations, you can play around with them to create a dynamic resume.

6. Keep Your Resume One to Two Pages Long

In many cases, you should aim for your resume’s length to be just one page long. But, if you have an extensive work history that requires two pages, it’s OK to submit a two-page resume.

7. Save in a Readable Format

Unless the job description specifies the file type they want, it’s best to save and submit your resume in Word DOCX or PDF format. They’re universally accepted and easy to access.

Our online resume builder allows you to download your preferred resume format in several file types. You can also create as many resumes as you want for different jobs. So if you’re unsure whether you need a chronological, functional, or combination resume format and feel like creating all three, you can.

8. Don’t Add Photos

You shouldn’t add a photo to your resume format unless you’re working a BFOQ job. But, you should also avoid including other types of graphics on your resume. Infographic resumes are vastly unreadable by ATS programs. On top of that, graphics in Word documents tend to mess up formatting whenever anything is moved in the document.

If you’re looking for additional resume-writing resources, check out the guides below:

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FAQ: Resume formats

Have questions? We’re here to help.

The best resume format in 2025 is the chronological resume format. It’s the most widely accepted format. It’s also a very versatile and ATS-friendly type of resume. The chronological format focuses primarily on your work experience.

Some resume templates available online only work with a specific resume format. However, templates available in ResumeHelp’s resume builder are customizable, making them a great choice for creating a resume in any of the 3 main resume styles.

Our resume examples library is a great place to view our templates in action. Our samples are made by experts following the standard resume formats, so you can find inspiration or use it as a base.

When crafting a resume with no work experience, the chronological resume can be highly effective, especially when tailored thoughtfully. The chronological format showcases education, internships, and volunteer work in an easily scannable layout that hiring managers are used to seeing.

An applicant tracking system (ATS) is software that automatically scans incoming resumes for resume keywords that fit the job being applied for. If your resume doesn’t have those keywords, the ATS could reject it outright without ever sending it to recruiters.

To ensure your resume format is ATS-compliant, follow these tips:

You should save and send your resume in PDF format. PDFs are the safest file format and the most commonly accepted by employers. Saving as a PDF ensures your resume will look good digitally and printed. If the job description specifically requests a different file format, go with what the employer is asking for.

A good resume format will determine how your resume looks and reads. A well-chosen format organizes your information in a way that highlights your resume’s strengths, minimizes the influence of gaps in employment, and aligns with recruiters’ expectations for a specific role.

Each of the main resume formats serves a different purpose and is targeted at different job seekers, so you need to review each carefully to make sure the format you choose is a good fit for you.

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Maria Profile
WRITTEN BY Maria

Maria is a Puerto Rico-based Content Writer with ample background in digital marketing and copywriting. She graduated from the University of Puerto Rico with a B.A. in English and enjoys making information accessible to others.

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