The Best ATS-Friendly Resume Format (with Examples)

The safest resume format is the boring one. ATS parsers love simplicity. Here's the format that works everywhere.

Layout

Single column. Two-column and sidebar layouts confuse many parsers. Keep contact info in the body, never in the header/footer.

Fonts & sizing

Standard fonts (Arial, Calibri, Roboto, Georgia), 10–12pt body. No text inside images.

Sections & order

1. Name + contact
2. Summary
3. Experience
4. Projects
5. Skills
6. Education

File type

Export as PDF (text-based, not scanned) unless the job explicitly asks for DOCX. Every Zesume template is single-column and ATS-tested.