ATS Resume Format Guide: Beat the Bots in 2026
Which layout to use, what to cut, and the exact margins, point sizes, fonts and file types that parsers read cleanly on the first pass.
By Daniel Ortiz · Sep 30, 2026 · 15 min read
For most people, the safest resume in 2026 is a combination format in a single column: name and contact details as ordinary body text at the top, a short skills summary, then reverse-chronological work history with dates. CareerOneStop advises starting with a simple single-column layout because applicant tracking systems scan left to right, and it says a combination format works well for most people. Set 1-inch margins, use Arial, Calibri or Times New Roman at 10–12 point, keep it to 1–2 pages, and save as .docx unless the employer asks for something else.
Everything below is the detail: the four layouts you can choose between, when each one is worth the risk, the exact numbers to set in Word or Google Docs, and a checklist to run before you upload.
The options at a glance
| Format | Best for | ATS-safe? | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reverse-chronological, single column | Staying in the same field with a steady run of jobs | Yes — the most reliably parsed layout | CareerOneStop says it emphasises work history and suits people with a solid history in the same field; recruiters read it without effort | Makes gaps and short stints obvious; buries skills that sit outside your last job title |
| Combination (hybrid), single column | Most people, including career changers with some relevant experience | Yes, provided the skills block sits above a dated job history | CareerOneStop says a combination format works well for most people; you get keywords near the top and a full history underneath | Easy to bloat past two pages; the skills block turns into a word list if you don't tie it to the jobs below |
| Functional / skills-based | Long gaps, very early career, or work that doesn't fit job titles | Risky | Lets you lead with what you can do rather than where you did it | CareerOneStop warns that without a detailed work history the resume may be misinterpreted by employers or rejected by applicant tracking systems |
| Designer template (two-column, icons, sidebars) | Portfolio hand-offs, printed leave-behinds, direct email to a named person | No | Looks considered; good for design and creative roles where the document is a sample of your work | CareerOneStop says to avoid tables, text boxes, logos, columns, images and graphics because an ATS may scramble the content; Novorésumé says most resumes built in the Canva resume builder are not ATS-friendly because complex designs cause serious problems for tracking systems |
| Plain-text (.txt) copy | Pasting into a form field that strips formatting | Yes, by definition | Nothing can be mangled; useful for checking what the parser actually sees | Unreadable as a document a human would enjoy; no emphasis, so structure has to come from spacing and capitals |
Each option explained
Reverse-chronological, single column. This is name and contact details in ordinary body text, then a two- or three-line summary, then jobs in date order with the most recent first, then education, then a short skills and tools line. CareerOneStop describes the chronological format as emphasising work history and a good choice for people with a solid work history who are staying in the same field. Use it when your last two or three job titles look like the job you're applying for, and when your dates run more or less continuously. It is the layout every parser was built to read, so nothing about it needs defending.
Combination (hybrid), single column. Same skeleton, with a fuller skills or "core competencies" section between the summary and the first job — usually four to eight short lines naming tools, systems, licences and the kinds of work you do. CareerOneStop says a combination format works well for most people. It is the best default for a career change, a return after time out, or a role where the software matters as much as the job title: a bookkeeper moving from Sage to Xero, a nurse adding a new specialty, a warehouse supervisor whose forklift and first-aid certificates belong near the top. The rule that keeps it safe is that every skill you list should be traceable to a dated job, a course or a certificate further down the page.
Functional / skills-based. Here the page is organised by skill clusters — "Client service", "Inventory control" — with achievements grouped underneath and the employment list reduced to a few lines at the bottom, sometimes without dates. CareerOneStop is blunt about the risk: a functional format gives little detail on work history, and without a detailed work history the resume may be misinterpreted by employers or rejected by applicant tracking systems. If you are going to use it, use it for a human — a direct approach, a referral, a small employer with no portal — and keep a combination version for every online application.
Designer template (two-column, icons, sidebars). These put contact details or a skills bar in a narrow sidebar, wrap text in boxes, and use shaded blocks and icons. CareerOneStop advises avoiding tables, text boxes, logos, columns, images and graphics because the ATS may scramble the content, and Columbia University's Center for Career Education and Professional Development lists headers, footers, tables, templates, borders, lines, symbols, shading, fancy fonts, non-black font colours, columns and boxes among things to leave out. Novorésumé notes that most resumes made with the Canva resume builder are not ATS-friendly. Keep one of these if you want, and send it only when a person will open it directly.
Plain-text (.txt) copy. Save a stripped version of the same content with no bold, no bullets characters other than hyphens, and one idea per line. It has two jobs: filling in "paste your resume here" boxes, and testing. Open your .docx, select all, paste into a plain-text editor, and read what survives. If your job titles, dates and employers are still in the right order and nothing has landed in the wrong column, the formatted version will almost certainly parse. If your phone number has vanished, it was probably sitting in the header.
Whichever layout you pick, the bullets do the work. Weak: Responsible for stock and ordering. Strong: Counted and reconciled 1,200 SKUs weekly and raised purchase orders with 14 suppliers, cutting stock-outs on top sellers to under 2 per month. Action verb, the task, then the scope in the units the job actually uses.
How to choose
| Your situation | Use this | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Same field, same kind of role, last job ended within the year | Reverse-chronological, single column | Your history is the argument; CareerOneStop pairs this format with a solid work history in the same field |
| Changing field but carrying transferable tools or licences | Combination | Skills and certifications read early, dated jobs still back them up |
| First job, apprenticeship or graduate application | Combination, one page | Education, placements and coursework can sit above a short work history without hiding dates |
| Returning after a career break or caring period | Combination with a one-line note on the break | Keeps dates visible, which a functional layout would obscure |
| Ten or more years across several employers | Combination, two pages | CareerOneStop says two pages are fine for someone who has worked in different jobs or has a lot of relevant experience |
| Long gaps or work that doesn't map to job titles | Functional — but only for a human reader | CareerOneStop warns a thin work history may be misinterpreted or rejected by an ATS |
| Applying through a large employer's careers portal | Single-column .docx, no tables or graphics | The upload is parsed before anyone reads it |
| Emailing a named hiring manager or recruiter you've spoken to | Your best-looking version, still single column | No parser in the way, but design that breaks reading order helps nobody |
| Design, UX or marketing role that asks for a portfolio | Two documents: an ATS-safe .docx for the form, a designed PDF in the portfolio | The form needs text; the portfolio shows craft |
| Form field that says "paste your resume" | Plain-text copy | Nothing to scramble |
| Employer specifies a file type or template | Do exactly what they ask | Instructions override every rule on this page |
Formatting specifications
| Element | Specification | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columns | One. CareerOneStop says to start with a simple single-column layout because ATS systems scan left to right | ||||
| Margins | 1 inch on all sides (CareerOneStop). Jobscan says reducing margins to a maximum of 0.5 inches won't affect ATS readability, so use 0.75 inch before you go smaller | ||||
| Body text size | 10–12 point (Indeed). Pick one size for all body text and bullets | ||||
| Your name | 14–18 point, bold, as ordinary text at the top of page 1 — not in a text box, not in the header | ||||
| Section headings | 12–14 point, bold or all capitals. CareerOneStop says bold or all capitals are fine but to avoid or minimise italics and underline | ||||
| Fonts | Arial, Times New Roman or Calibri (CareerOneStop; Indeed). Jobscan's wider ATS-friendly list adds Cambria, Georgia, Helvetica, Garamond, Tahoma and Verdana. One font for the whole document | ||||
| Font colour | Black only (Columbia University Center for Career Education and Professional Development) | ||||
| Line spacing | Single, with 6–10 points of space after each paragraph and 10–12 points before each section heading. Do not use empty lines set at body size to create gaps | ||||
| Bullets | Plain black round dots (CareerOneStop). No arrows, ticks, emoji or icons. Use the bar character ( | ) to separate items within a line, as CareerOneStop suggests — for example, city | state | phone | |
| Bullet length | 1–2 lines each, 3–6 bullets per recent role, 1–3 for older roles | ||||
| Length | 1–2 pages, using two only if the amount of experience makes it necessary (CareerOneStop). CareerOneStop says one page is ideal, and that if there is a second page you should put your name and "Page 2" at the top of it | ||||
| Header and footer | Empty of anything that matters. CareerOneStop says to avoid putting important information there because some systems cannot read it, and TopResume reports a study in which the ATS failed to identify part of the applicant's contact information 25% of the time when it sat in the header or footer | ||||
| Contact details | First 4–6 lines of page 1, in body text: name, city and region, phone, email, and a plain-typed profile or portfolio address | ||||
| Banned elements | Tables, text boxes, logos, columns, images and graphics (CareerOneStop). Columbia also lists borders, lines, symbols, shading, fancy fonts and boxes | ||||
| Dates | One consistent style throughout, such as 03/2023 – Present or Mar 2023 – Present. Month and year for every role | ||||
| Section names | Standard wording: Summary, Skills, Experience, Education, Certifications. Avoid invented labels like "My Journey" | ||||
| File type | .docx (Indeed). Columbia advises submitting Word documents rather than PDFs because all systems can read them, and TopResume says that if a system doesn't specify compatible file types, stick to a Word document in .doc or .docx | ||||
| File name | Firstname-Lastname-Resume.docx, or add the role: Firstname-Lastname-Warehouse-Supervisor.docx | ||||
| Photo | None. BetterPic cites EEOC guidance advising against photos on resumes because they expose age, gender and ethnicity and increase discrimination risk |
ATS checklist
Run this before every upload. It takes about five minutes in Microsoft Word or Google Docs.
- One column, top to bottom. No sidebars, no side-by-side blocks. Turn on paragraph marks and layout view and confirm there are no tables or text boxes anywhere on either page.
- Contact details in the body. Name, city and region, phone and email as normal text in the first few lines — never in the header or footer, given that TopResume reports part of the contact information going unread 25% of the time when it was placed there.
- Margins and type set to spec. 1 inch all round, 0.5 inches at the absolute tightest according to Jobscan, body text at 10–12 point per Indeed, in one of the standard fonts — Arial, Calibri or Times New Roman.
- Plain formatting only. Black text, plain round bullets, bold or capitals for emphasis, no italics or underlining beyond the bare minimum, and none of the graphics, logos, borders, shading or symbols that CareerOneStop and Columbia both warn against.
- Dated, complete work history. Every role has a job title, employer, location and month-and-year dates. This is the part a functional layout drops, and CareerOneStop's warning is that a resume without it may be misinterpreted or rejected outright.
- Words from the advert, in your own sentences. Match the employer's terms for tools, licences and duties — write "Xero" if they wrote Xero, "forklift licence" if they wrote forklift licence — inside real bullets with real numbers, not a hidden keyword block.
- Length and page 2 handled. One page if you can, two if the experience justifies it, and if there is a second page put your name and "Page 2" at the top, as CareerOneStop advises.
- Right file, right name, tested. Save as .docx unless the employer specifies otherwise, name it Firstname-Lastname-Resume.docx, then paste the whole document into a plain-text editor and read it back. If the order makes sense there, it will make sense to the parser.
Frequently asked questions
Is a two-page resume acceptable, or does a second page hurt me?
Two pages are fine when the experience warrants it. CareerOneStop says resume length should be 1–2 pages and to use two only if the amount of experience makes it necessary, and that while one page is ideal, two pages are fine for someone who has worked in different jobs or has a lot of relevant work experience. Length is not what a parser objects to — layout is. If you do run to two pages, CareerOneStop advises noting your name and "Page 2" at the top of the second one, so the pages can be matched if they are printed or separated. Fill page 2 properly; half a page of trailing hobbies reads worse than a tight single page.
Can I use a template from Canva, Word or Google Docs?
Only if it is a single column of plain text. Novorésumé says most resumes made with the Canva resume builder are not ATS-friendly because complex designs create serious problems for applicant tracking systems, and Columbia University's Center for Career Education and Professional Development lists templates alongside tables, borders, shading and boxes as things to avoid. The problem is structural: sidebars, icon rows and skill bars are usually built from tables or text boxes, and CareerOneStop warns that the ATS may scramble that content. Building your own document from a blank page takes about twenty minutes and you know exactly what is in it.
Should I include a photo?
No, for applications in countries where photos are not customary. BetterPic cites EEOC guidance advising against photos on resumes because they can expose age, gender and ethnicity and increase discrimination risk. Many employers strip or discard photographed resumes for the same reason. Conventions do vary by country and region, and in a few places a photo is still expected on an application, so check what is normal where you are applying and what the employer's own instructions say. Where there is any doubt, leave it off and put the space into your bullets. Save the photo for your professional profile, where it belongs.
PDF or .docx — which file type should I upload?
Default to .docx. Indeed suggests using a file type an ATS can read, such as .docx. Columbia advises submitting Word documents rather than PDFs on the grounds that all systems can read them, and TopResume says that if a system does not specify which file types are compatible, play it safe and stick to a Word document in .doc or .docx. That said, the employer's instruction always wins: if the portal lists PDF as accepted, or the job advert asks for a PDF, send a PDF exported from your single-column document — and never send a PDF that is a flattened image, because there is no text in it to read.
Are tables ever safe? My skills fit neatly into one.
Treat them as unsafe for anything you upload. CareerOneStop tells you to avoid tables, text boxes, logos, columns, images and graphics because the ATS may scramble the content, and Columbia lists tables among the elements to leave out. A two-column skills table can be read cell by cell in the wrong order, so "Advanced" ends up attached to the wrong tool. Get the same compactness with plain lines separated by the bar character, which CareerOneStop suggests for separating items in a section: Excel (PivotTables, VLOOKUP) | Xero | QuickBooks Online | SAP Concur.
How do I get keywords in without stuffing?
Read the advert, list the tools, certifications and duties it names, then place those exact terms where they are true: a short skills line near the top and inside your experience bullets. Write "Registered Nurse (RN), BLS certification" if that is what the posting asks for, not a vague equivalent. Each bullet should still be an action verb plus the task plus scope — for example, triaged 25–30 patients per shift in a 14-bed unit. Skip white text, keyword blocks and long comma lists: a parser may capture them, but the recruiter reading the resume afterwards will see padding with nothing behind it.
How should I format the same resume for a paste-in box?
Keep a plain-text twin. Copy your .docx into a plain-text editor, replace bullet characters with hyphens, put one job title, employer and date range on its own line, and use blank lines plus capitals for section breaks since bold and italics will not survive. Check that nothing has been reordered — if a phone number or employer name has gone missing, it was probably sitting in a header, footer or table in the original. That plain-text version doubles as your parsing test, and it is what CareerOneStop's left-to-right scanning advice is really about.
Sources
- CareerOneStop — Formatting
- CareerOneStop — Resumes and cover letters
- Indeed — How to Write an ATS Resume (With Template and Tips)
- Columbia University Center for Career Education & Professional Development — Optimizing Your Resume for Applicant Tracking Systems
- TopResume — How to Make an ATS-Friendly Resume - Tips for ATS 2025
- Jobscan — Anatomy of an ATS Friendly Resume Format (Checklist for 2026)
- BetterPic — Should You Put a Photo on Your CV? Global Rules & Examples
- Novorésumé — Are Canva Resumes ATS-Friendly? All You Need to Know
