Start with three separate format decisions
A resume format can mean the order of your sections, the appearance of the page, or the type of file you send. Treat these as separate choices. A chronological structure can use a restrained or accented template and be delivered as either PDF or DOCX.
First identify the evidence that matters for the job. Next arrange it so a reader can connect a skill with a role, project, or qualification. Finally follow the employer’s upload instructions. A preferred colour or a file extension cannot compensate for missing dates or an unclear description of your contribution.
Some employers use CV to mean a job resume. An extensive academic CV may need research, publications, teaching, and other field-specific evidence; follow the institution’s instructions and relevant academic-career guidance.
Chronological, skills-based, or a combination?
Reverse chronological: list recent work first, with the employer, job title, dates, and relevant bullets together. This is a useful starting point when recent roles demonstrate the experience the job requires. Older, less relevant roles can be shorter.
Skills-based: group evidence under capabilities such as reporting, customer service, or project delivery. This can help you think through a career change, but a list of capabilities alone hides where and when you used them. Keep a concise employment history with dates rather than replacing it with broad claims.
Combination: put a short relevant skills section near the top and retain dated experience or projects below. For example, a retail supervisor moving into operations could foreground spreadsheet reporting, scheduling, and supplier coordination, then show the roles that support those skills.
If you are a fresher, education and relevant projects may deserve more space than work history. Use the fresher guide to decide the order; you do not need to invent employment to fill an experience section.
A concrete single-column resume skeleton
YOUR NAME
Target role or professional title
City · Professional email · Phone · Relevant portfolio link
SUMMARY
Two or three lines connecting relevant experience or learning to the role.
WORK EXPERIENCE
Job title — Employer | Month Year–Month Year
• Action, specific work, and an outcome or useful result.
• Another relevant contribution you can explain.
EDUCATION
Qualification — Institution | Completion or expected date
SKILLS
Specific tools and capabilities supported elsewhere in the resume.
PROJECTS OR OTHER RELEVANT EVIDENCE
Project or activity — Your contribution, methods, and result.
Move projects above experience if they are your strongest evidence. Add certifications, publications, volunteering, or languages when relevant. Remove unused sections; an empty heading is not useful information. The role examples show how the same structure changes with different work.
Keep the layout easy to follow
Use one main reading column, ordinary text, consistent dates, and familiar headings. Keep contact details in the document body. Give related information enough space to remain together, and inspect any role that crosses a page boundary. Use a second page when the evidence needs it rather than making the type difficult to read.
Greenhouse’s resume parsing troubleshooting guidance identifies image-only documents, complex tables, columns, and essential information in headers, footers, or text boxes as possible causes of incomplete parsing. This is one provider’s guidance, not certification of a format by every employer.
CareerLift’s single-column templates offer different heading and spacing styles. Changing the style does not rewrite your evidence or automatically choose the best section order.
PDF or Word: choose the requested file first
If the application asks for DOCX, send DOCX. If it asks for PDF, send a PDF containing real, selectable text. When both are accepted, inspect both versions and choose the one whose layout and content you have verified. Neither is a universal ATS winner.
A PDF can preserve the intended page appearance, but a scan or screenshot may contain no usable text. An editable Word document makes revisions possible, but page breaks can change in another application. TXT is useful for reviewing the words and sequence; it does not preserve visual formatting.
In CareerLift, editing, previews, TXT downloads, and resume checks are free. PDF and Word downloads require a one-time purchase for the saved application. Choose Download to review the exact total before payment; one purchase covers that application’s resume and cover letter in both formats.
Check the exact file you will submit
Open the export, check page boundaries, select and copy its text, and inspect it with the free resume checker. Verify names, contact details, roles, dates, and headings. Also review any fields the employer’s portal fills automatically.
Then review substance: use the skills and keyword guide to connect requirements with evidence, and the cover letter examples to explain a relevant connection. A clear format helps information remain readable; it does not guarantee an ATS result, interview, or job.