Best Resume Formats: Which Format to Choose in 2025?

A clear, ATS-friendly resume format can decide whether your application gets read or lost in a pile. The structure you choose shapes your first impression, highlights your strengths, and minimizes potential red flags. This guide explains each resume format, when to use it, and how to choose the right one for your situation—plus the best file format to submit.

• It guides the reader’s eye to what you want noticed first.
• It frames your story: stable growth, skills portability, or a mix of both.
• It impacts ATS parsing and keyword matching.
• It reduces cognitive load for recruiters scanning in seconds.

Most candidates succeed with one of these layouts: chronological, functional, or combination (hybrid). Each serves a different need.

Chronological resume format (reverse-chronological)

• What it is: Work history listed from most recent to older roles, with brief impact bullets under each job. Education follows, then skills and extras.
• Best for: steady work history, promotions, same-field progression, most professional roles.
• Not ideal for: large employment gaps, frequent short stints, major career changes.
• Typical structure:
  • Header with contact details
  • Professional summary (3–4 lines)
  • Work experience (reverse-chronological)
  • Education
  • Skills
  • Optional: certifications, projects, awards, volunteer work

Why it works: Recruiters can quickly verify job titles, employers, dates, and scope. It’s the most familiar and the safest option across industries.

Functional (skills-based) resume format

• What it is: Groups accomplishments under skill headings (e.g., Leadership, Data Analysis), with a minimal work history section at the end.
• Best for: career pivots where past job titles don’t reflect target skills, long gaps, limited traditional experience but strong transferable skills (e.g., military, return-to-work, freelancing).
• Not ideal for: roles that value clear progression or detailed recent impact (many hiring teams prefer dates and employers upfront).
• Typical structure:
  • Header
  • Summary focused on target role
  • Skills sections with proof bullets
  • Brief work history list (company, title, dates only)
  • Education and credentials

Why it works: It puts relevant capabilities first. Caveat: Some recruiters are wary if dates are hard to find—keep them visible.

Combination (hybrid) resume format

• What it is: Blends both. Lead with a targeted skills/achievements section, then a concise reverse-chronological work history.
• Best for: experienced candidates targeting a specific role, career changers with relevant projects, technical profiles with key competencies to spotlight.
• Not ideal for: very short experience or very long, complex histories (can become lengthy).
• Typical structure:
  • Header
  • Summary tailored to the role
  • Core competencies or “Selected achievements”
  • Work experience (reverse-chronological, condensed)
  • Education, certifications, extras

Why it works: It hooks the reader with relevance while preserving a clean timeline.

Start with your goal and constraints. Use this quick guide to choose a resume format that fits your situation.

• If your recent experience is directly relevant and shows growth: choose the chronological resume format.
• If you’re changing fields and need to prove transferable skills first: use a combination format or, in specific cases, a functional format.
• If you have employment gaps or non-linear work (freelance, projects): combination usually balances proof with timeline.
• If you’re entry-level or a recent graduate: chronological (with projects, internships, and coursework) or a light combination to elevate key skills.

Decision snapshot:

When submitting, the file format matters as much as the layout.

• PDF: Best for preserving layout, fonts, and spacing. Often the best resume format for visual consistency. Many ATS parse PDFs correctly, especially simple, text-based ones.
• Word (.docx): Safest for legacy ATS or employer instructions. Some portals request .docx only.

Practical rules:

• If the job posting specifies a file type, follow it.
• If unspecified, a clean, text-based PDF is typically the best resume format (PDF keeps your design intact).
• Avoid image-only PDFs; always export selectable text.
• File name: Firstname-Lastname-Resume-JobTitle.pdf

• Use standard section headings: Summary, Experience, Education, Skills.
• Stick to common fonts (Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, Garamond). 10.5–12 pt body; 12–14 pt headings.
• Keep margins around 1.5–2 cm (0.6–0.8 in) for readability.
• Avoid text boxes, headers/footers for core content, graphics, and multi-column layouts that confuse parsers.
• Use simple bullet symbols; avoid emojis and icons.
• Include consistent dates (MMM YYYY–MMM YYYY).
• Mirror job description keywords naturally in bullets and skills.

Use these skeletons to structure content fast, whatever resume format you choose.

Chronological outline

• Header
• Professional Summary: 3–4 lines tailored to the role
• Key Skills: 6–10 role-aligned skills
• Experience:
  • Job Title — Company, Location | Dates
    • Impact bullet with metric
    • Scope bullet (team, budget, tech)
    • Achievement bullet aligned to job description
• Education
• Certifications, Awards, Projects, Volunteer

Functional outline

• Header
• Summary: strengths tied to target role
• Skill Group A (e.g., Data Analysis)
  • Proof bullet with tool and result
• Skill Group B (e.g., Stakeholder Management)
  • Proof bullet with scenario and outcome
• Work History: Company, Title, Dates (no bullets)
• Education and Credentials

Combination outline

• Header
• Targeted Summary
• Core Achievements (3–6 bullets)
• Core Skills (keywords)
• Experience (reverse-chronological, concise):
  • Job Title — Company | Dates
    • 1–2 strong bullets
• Education, Certifications, Extras

• Choosing a functional format to hide dates entirely. Keep dates visible to build trust.
• Using dense paragraphs instead of crisp bullets.
• Over-designing: heavy graphics, multiple columns, or unusual fonts that break in ATS.
• Mixing timelines (e.g., overlapping roles with unclear status).
• Overlong documents: aim for one page early career, two pages for experienced profiles.
• Generic summaries with no target role or keywords.
• Saving as image-based PDF; ATS can’t read it.

• Career changer: Lead with a “Selected achievements” section that translates past wins into the target role’s language; use a combination format with a lean timeline.
• Consultant/freelancer: Group engagements by client type or capability; list representative projects with outcomes; keep a concise projects section.
• Technical roles: Add a “Technologies” or “Toolbox” line; keep achievements quantifiable (latency reduced, coverage improved).
• Operations and sales: Prioritize metrics (revenue, costs, efficiency, NPS). Chronological or combination works best.
• Students and grads: Use coursework, projects, and internships to anchor achievements; chronological with projects elevated near the top.

• What format for resume content? Choose chronological for linear growth, combination for relevance-first storytelling, functional only when skills evidence outweighs recent titles.
• Is the best resume format PDF? For unchanged layout and professional look, yes—submit a text-based PDF unless the employer asks for .docx.
• What is the chronological resume format? A reverse-chronological list of roles with accomplishments under each, supported by education and skills.

Your resume format should amplify your strengths, reduce friction for the reader, and play nicely with ATS. Pick the structure that fits your story today—then keep it consistent, focused, and easy to scan.