When you’re creating a resume, you want to ensure not only that you have the right amount of information but that you also have the most effective format. Whether you’re starting your resume from scratch, or you want to update your resume to ensure its accuracy and effectiveness, you’ll want to follow this crucial tip on what type of template to use.

The Best Resume Template

The colored/designed pre-set resume templates that you can download or utilize from Microsoft Word, or websites? Like these ones? Disregard them. At least when it comes to sending your resume to a recruiting agency. Here’s why: recruiting companies utilize resume systems that allow us to quickly upload your resume into our database so that we can easily find keywords, skills, etc. And when resumes are sent in as a template – they are much more difficult to convert to a document that can be “searched”. When this occurs, we (personally) have a specific department in-house that will convert this to a regular Microsoft Word document, to ensure it can be scanned and “searched”.

However, when the resume is just a simple Word document, simply utilizing the different font options; bold, underline, italic – it’s much easier to follow through the vetting process. If you would like to turn that document into a PDF document from there before submitting your resume to a recruiting agency, great! But when it comes to using the eye-catching templates – avoid them if you can.

Bonus

Less is more. When you’re creating your resume, ensure the information is simple and precise. We often receive resumes with multiple columns, which may be great for saving paper space, but a two-page resume is easier to upload than a resume that must be separated by columns. Read more on constructing a resume, the format, and the timeline, here.