Simple Resume Templates

Using a simple resume design helps recruiters zero in on the most relevant information on your resume. To determine whether a simple resume template is appropriate in your case, ask yourself the following questions:

1. What do I want my resume to convey to potential employers?

   A simple resume template is perfect if you would rather stand on your credentials than on a flashy resume design. It’s easy to scan and puts your skills and achievements front and center with a clean, professional look. Remember, a great resume highlights what an employer wants and will be better than any gimmick.

2. Does this resume type align with your industry?

   Your resume template should reflect the culture of your industry or future employer. That said, a resume template with a subtle pop of color works well across multiple industries. Too many visual elements can distract recruiters, so a sleek, easy-to-scan document improves your chances of getting an interview. On the other hand, for industries like design, art or media, a creative resume template is more appropriate.

3. Will this resume template pass an ATS?

   Most employers utilize an applicant tracking system (ATS) to screen out unqualified candidates. Our resume templates are designed to be easily scanned by an ATS. Simple resume templates omit photos and other visuals that confuse an ATS and disrupt the screening process.

If a simple resume template isn’t suitable for you, our Resume Builder provides a variety of template styles for you to choose from. Traditional templates for more buttoned-up professions, and modern resume templates for those that want to look professional but not too serious. All our templates are easy to customize and ATS-friendly.

Our simple resume templates start with a summary statement below your contact information. The summary is a formal introduction to potential employers, showcasing your top qualifications.

Your resume summary should:

• Be two to four sentences long.
• Mention job-relevant qualifications like your profession, years of experience or education level.
• Include critical skills and a memorable accomplishment to differentiate you from other applicants.

You can format your resume summary as a short paragraph or bulleted list. Check out these two examples:

Paragraph style:

“Detail-oriented HR specialist with five years of experience in recruitment, employee relations and talent development. Skilled in managing full-cycle recruitment, improving onboarding processes and implementing employee retention strategies. Adept at resolving conflict and ensuring compliance with HR regulations, driving efficiency and employee satisfaction across teams.”

List style

• Five years experience as HR specialist, focusing on recruitment, employee relations and talent development.
• Expertise in full-cycle recruitment, onboarding and retention strategies.
• Reduced employee turnover by 15% through targeted retention program and enhancing workplace culture.
• Skilled in conflict resolution, compliance management and improving overall HR efficiency.

Skills are an indispensable part of every resume, so all our simple resume templates include a prominent skills section. Recruiters reference this section to ensure you possess the basic job requirements, but they also want to see what else you bring to the table.

To effectively build your resume skills section, ensure you:

• Choose skills that are relevant to the specific job you want.
• Include six to eight skills exclusive to this section; avoid repeating skills.
• Have a balance of soft skills and hard skills.

Here are some of the most in-demand skills across industries you may add to your simple resume template:

• Customer service
• Leadership
• Project management
• Problem-solving
• Research
• Data Science
• Artificial intelligence (AI)
• User experience (UX)
• Adaptability
• Communication

Work experience is one of the most important sections of every simple resume template. Recruiters want to understand your career progression and achievements, so you’ll need to do more than merely list the jobs you had.

To write an impactful work experience section, make sure you:

• Include a list of all relevant jobs in reverse chronological order.
• Share your official job title, employer, location (city and state) and employment dates.
• For each job, include three to four bullet points describing what you achieved in the role.

Here are some examples of effective work history sections:

Customer Service Representative

• Provided exceptional customer support, resolving an average of 100+ daily inquiries via phone, email and live chat.
• Trained and mentored five new customer service agents, enhancing team performance and customer service quality.
• Implemented a streamlined ticketing system that reduced response time by 22%, improving efficiency and client satisfaction.

Accountant

• Managed and maintained accurate financial records for 50+ clients, ensuring timely reporting and compliance with accounting standards.
• Prepared monthly, quarterly and annual financial statements, reducing errors by 17% through detailed review and analysis.
• Streamlined the budgeting and forecasting processes, leading to 12% increase in financial planning accuracy for the firm.

Medical Assistant

• Assisted physicians in providing care to over 65 patients daily, including vital signs monitoring, patient intake and medical history documentation.
• Administered medications, performed EKGs and collected lab specimens, improving patient processing time by 18%.
• Educated patients on pre-and post-procedure care, leading to a 28% increase in patient satisfaction scores.

No simple resume template is complete without an education section to prove you possess the required education level and boast any relevant honors. Some key details you must add to your education section include:

• Your degree(s) listed in reverse chronological order.
• Degree title, college/university and city/state location.
• Honors, awards, GPA and relevant coursework.

Here’s how your resume’s education section should look:

Associate of Science in Business Administration
Community College of Philadelphia – Philadelphia, PA

Relevant Coursework: Financial Accounting, Principles of Banking, Customer Service in Financial Institutions, Business Math

When writing achievements for your simple resume template, use straightforward, action-oriented language that clearly states what you accomplished rather than describing generic duties. Starting each bullet point with a strong action verb emphasizes your contributions and ensures your resume remains concise and impactful.

Here’s how action verbs can elevate your work experience:

• Handled customer inquiries and resolved issues, improving client satisfaction scores by 26%.
• Processed daily transactions efficiently, reducing wait times by 15% and improving branch performance.
• Organized office operations, leading to 11% reduction in administrative costs.
• Collaborated with cross-functional teams to implement new procedures, increasing overall productivity by 18%.