Most employers now collect applications through an applicant tracking system (ATS): software that reads your resume, files your details into a candidate profile, and lets recruiters search by keyword. If the software cannot follow your layout, parts of your experience can land in the wrong field, or go missing, before a person ever sees them.
These five templates are built to avoid that. Each one is a single column, uses standard section headings, and keeps your name, contact details and experience in the body of the page, with nothing tucked into page headers, text boxes or images. They are our recommended starting point for any online application, and all five are free to build with.
Select Preview on any template to see a full page filled in with our Bank Teller Resume Sample.
Experienced candidates with a long work history. Headings and dates sit in the left margin, so every role is easy to find.
Traditional fields like accounting, law, government and education. Job titles lead each entry.
Steady career histories in any field. A centered header, and each entry leads with the employer.
Corporate, finance and operations roles. A right-aligned name and margin headings keep a detailed resume tidy.
Online application forms and older job portals that strip formatting. Nothing in it can get lost.
All templates are free to build with and to download as a text file. PDF and Word downloads come with Premium.
There is no official ATS standard, and no template can promise that every system will read it perfectly. What a template can do is leave out the layout features that most often cause trouble. Our ATS-safe templates follow these rules:
All five are equally safe; the difference is style.
An ATS-friendly layout makes sure your resume is read correctly. Whether it ranks well in a recruiter's search depends on your content, especially on using the same terms the job posting uses. Before you apply, paste your resume and the job description into our free ATS Resume Checker to get a keyword match score and a list of missing terms, or pull the key skills out of any posting with the Resume Keyword Scanner. Add a missing keyword only where it honestly describes your experience.
Always follow the employer's instructions. When they do not specify, a text-based PDF or a Word (.docx) file works with most modern systems. If an application form asks you to paste your resume into a box, the text (.txt) download gives you a clean copy to paste from.
Want more visual flair for resumes you hand to people? Browse our modern two-column templates. Your content moves between designs in one click.
Pick a design, fill in each section with step-by-step writing tips, and switch templates whenever you like. Nothing needs retyping.