Best Resume Format for 2026 [Pros and Cons]
Did you know that up to 75% of resumes are rejected before reaching a recruiter? In 2026, choosing the right resume format—whether chronological, functional, or hybrid—can make the difference between getting noticed and being overlooked. This guide will help you pick the best resume format for your goals and make it ATS-friendly.
Table of Contents:
- What resume format do employers prefer?
- Types of resume formats and their pros and cons
- Chronological resume format
- Functional resume format
- Combination resume format
- Things to keep in mind when choosing a resume format
- What is the best resume format for a career change?
- What are the best practices for formatting your resume?
What resume format do employers prefer?
Employers and recruiters have one key question in mind: “Does this candidate meet our requirements?” With only seconds to evaluate each resume—on average 7.4 seconds (TheLadders)—the format you choose must help them quickly find the information they need.
From our resume reviews, reverse-chronological resumes perform best in ATS scans. Clear job titles, dates, and results make resumes easier for both systems and recruiters to evaluate.
Related: How to Make a Resume in 2026 [Step-by-Step Guide]
Resume format examples (pros and cons)
Reverse Chronological Resume Format
The reverse chronological format is the most popular and straightforward option, listing your work history in reverse chronological order (most recent position first). It also includes sections for a professional summary, education, and credentials.
PROS
- Highlights the progression of responsibility throughout the career.
- Preferred by recruiters, especially for executive and managerial positions.
- Proves that you are experienced and qualified to take on the job.
- Highlights well-known and impressive employers who will add weight to your credentials.
- Perfect for demonstrating a stable work history.
CONS
- Not ideal for job seekers with employment gaps, frequent job changes, or those switching careers.
- Doesn’t highlight transferable skills as well as functional or hybrid formats.
Chronological Resume Example
A chronological resume highlights a candidate’s work experience in reverse chronological order, making it ideal for professionals with a solid, continuous employment history. Below is an example from a seasoned Technical Architect, showcasing how to present clear career progression and technical expertise.
What This Chronological Resume Highlights:
- Focus on Work History: The resume emphasizes the Professional Experience section, which is placed prominently after the summary. Each position is listed in reverse chronological order—with the most recent job first.
- Clear Career Progression: The candidate progressed from Lead Engineer to Technical Architect at the same company (Hitachi Rail), showcasing career growth.
- Dates Included: Employment dates (e.g., 2020 – Present) are clearly listed, a hallmark of chronological format.
- Consistent Formatting: Job titles, companies, and responsibilities are clearly formatted and easy to scan—making it user-friendly.
- Supportive Summary and Skills: The Summary and Technical Skills sections support the experience, but do not overshadow it.
Functional Resume Format
Also known as a skills-based resume, the functional format focuses on key skills and achievements rather than job titles or work history. Experience is de-emphasized and often placed at the bottom of the document.
PROS
- Perfect if you have gaps between jobs.
- Suitable for those returning to a career after a prolonged time off for personal reasons.
- Takes attention away from the limited experience of recent graduates and instead emphasizes valuable skills.
- Suitable if applying for jobs in a new area due to moving or spouse relocation.
CONS
- Deemphasizes upward career mobility and long-term experience.
- Not suitable if you lack transferable or relevant skills.
In our resume audits, functional resumes often struggle with ATS parsing. When job titles and dates are unclear, qualified candidates are frequently filtered out.
Functional Resume Example
A functional resume emphasizes skills and achievements over a chronological work history, making it ideal for career changers, freelancers, or professionals with employment gaps. Here’s an example from a marketing professional that showcases how to structure your resume around core competencies.
What This Functional Resume Highlights:
- Skills-Based Focus: Instead of focusing on job history, this resume is organized around key skill areas such as: “Content Strategy & Development”, “Digital Marketing & Campaigns”, “Analytics & Optimization”, “Team Leadership & Collaboration”.
- Accomplishments Highlighted by Function: Each skill section includes quantifiable achievements and demonstrates proficiency through results rather than timelines.
- Work History De-Emphasized: The Work History is listed briefly at the end, with no bullet points or descriptions, keeping the attention on the candidate’s capabilities.
- Supportive Summary: The Summary reinforces the candidate’s versatility and strengths across industries—a common strategy for career changers or those with varied experience.
- Certifications and Education Add Value: These are presented clearly, complementing the functional layout and enhancing credibility.
Hybrid/Combination Resume Format
The hybrid format combines elements of both chronological and functional resumes, emphasizing skills while also detailing a concise work history. This format offers versatility and balance, making it a favorite among hiring managers.
Our resume writers often recommend hybrid formats for senior professionals and career switchers. They balance transferable skills with ATS-friendly work history.
PROS
- Showcases both relevant skills and career accomplishments.
- Ideal for career changers with transferable skills and a supporting work history.
- Suitable for professionals with diverse experiences and qualifications.
CONS
- Longer than the chronological and functional format.
- Lengthiness is sometimes seen as unfavorable by recruiters.
- Can appear repetitive if the same skills and responsibilities appear in every position.
Combination Resume Example
A combination resume merges the strengths of both chronological and functional formats. It emphasizes key skills while also showcasing a consistent work history. Here’s an example from a healthcare reimbursement specialist, demonstrating how to balance competencies with career progression.
What This Combination Resume Highlights:
- Blends Skills and Experience: The resume begins with a Summary and Core Competencies section that emphasizes skills and qualifications—typical of a functional resume.
- Followed by Chronological Work History: The Professional Experience section follows, listing jobs in reverse chronological order with detailed bullet points highlighting achievements.
- Skills Tied to Achievements: The candidate’s competencies are reinforced by accomplishments under each job role—for example, improving turnaround time, implementing system audits, and enhancing patient experience.
- Comprehensive View: This format is perfect for candidates with strong experience and specific skill sets they want to highlight—especially those shifting industries, applying for leadership roles, or bridging diverse responsibilities.
- Certifications and Education: These are clearly listed at the bottom, rounding out a well-structured profile.
Related: Combination Resume: Examples & Templates (2026)
Things to keep in mind when choosing a resume format
Firstly, choose the format that’s correct for you. Secondly, add your content to build a compelling document. Thirdly, once it’s complete, follow the submission instructions specified.
- Think about the extent of your experience. This will help you to choose the resume format that is right for you.
- Think about your audience. Your resume may go through an applicant tracking system (ATS) initially. That means the chronological format is most easily read without errors. To make sure you include the right content, look at this best-practice advice.
- Don’t use gimmicks. Use a design that looks professional, not garish. Pick your fonts, colors, and any graphic elements to look classy. A template produced by a professional designer is a great starting point. Choose from classic, modern, or elegant styling. We have a large selection of templates for you.
- Do you include a headshot? This is a matter of personal choice. Sometimes a headshot is specifically asked for, in which case definitely add one. Our templates include variations to let you make the choice that is right for you. If you want more information on how to choose the right template, check out this article.
Related: How to Fix Your Resume: Tips Before Applying for a Job [2025]
What is the best resume format for a career change?
Career changers: A LinkedIn survey found that 25% of career changers successfully used a functional resume to highlight transferable skills.
The best resume format for a career change emphasizes transferable skills, relevant experiences, and accomplishments while de-emphasizing roles that don’t align directly with your new career goals. Here’s how you can format your resume effectively for a career change:
Use a functional or hybrid format
- Functional resume: Focuses on skills and abilities rather than a chronological work history. This format is ideal if your previous job titles or industries don’t align with your new career.
- Hybrid/Combination resume: Combines elements of functional and chronological formats. Highlights relevant skills at the top while still including a concise chronological work history. This format is often more acceptable to recruiters who are wary of purely functional resumes.
In our experience, career changers succeed more often with hybrid resumes. They remain ATS-compatible while clearly aligning past achievements with new roles.
Related: Top 10 Transferable Skills Employers Are Looking for in 2025
What are the best practices for formatting your resume?
Make effective font choices
To keep your resume format from being overwhelming, avoid using more than two fonts per page. In general, you can use one font for headings and one for body text. To further improve the look of your resume, use the same font and size for every heading and the same font and size for all body text. Here, you can make an exception for your name, which can be larger than other headings. For body text, stick to a font size that falls between 10.5 and 12, and make sure you’re using a legible, professional font. Some of the best resume fonts are Helvetica, Calibri, Arial Narrow, and Georgia.
Related: 10 Best Fonts for a Resume in 2025
Formatting your margins and spacing
White space is the key to improving the overall look and readability of your resume format. So, make sure to add sufficient line space and leave white space between the sections of your resume. To do this:
- Use the Format – Paragraph – Spacing command in MS Word or a similar word processor.
- When setting your margins, balance them so that there isn’t excessive space at the top or bottom of the page.
- At the same time, leave enough margins that no text will get cut when printing the resume.
The standard margin size for professional documents is one inch on all sides.
Related: Types of Resumes: The Best Formats to Stand Out in 2026
Choose an appropriate resume length
In most cases, your resume should not be longer than one page. However, there are a few exceptions to this guideline. If you have ten or more years of experience relevant to the position you’re applying for, you may need more than one page to present it effectively. Similarly, if you’re applying for a management or executive-level position, you can include more relevant information. But in general, you should try and stick to one page only.
Related: How Long Should a Resume Be in 2025?
Highlight your objective statement
An objective statement is typically situated at the top of your resume under your name. In a sentence or two, it should summarize your career goals within the company. Although a professional summary sometimes replaces this, both are crucial elements of a good resume. In your objective statement, focus on what you want to achieve as part of the company rather than your overall career goals. To highlight this section, place it close to the top of your resume and use a clear heading to draw attention to it straight away.
Related: Resume Objective for 2025: Writing Tips & Examples
Apply effective graphic elements
Using bold or italicized text can help you draw the reader’s attention to specific elements of your resume, like sections or headings. Apart from that, they help make the resume easy to navigate and scan through. When listing your experience, skills, or education, use bullet points to communicate the details effectively. In general, you should use bullet points for any three or more pieces of information. If you have less than three ideas to share, simply list them without bullets or in a sentence. Finally, make sure to divide paragraphs longer than seven lines into two, starting each with a relevant category title.
Related: How to Write Effective Resume Bullet Points (+ Examples)
Remember: The resume format you choose will significantly impact the success of your resume. Thus, it is crucial to choose a format that fits your experience and needs.
If you have a choice, submit your resume in PDF format. That’s because it will look the same on any machine or operating system. Also, it’s harder for a recruiter, HR person, or hiring manager to modify your resume before forwarding it.
The guidelines above will help you determine which resume format is suitable for you and your career goals. From there, you can personalize your resume format to reflect your personality and represent you as the ideal candidate during your job search.
Related: 10 Tips for an Eye-Catching Resume That Gets Noticed
FAQ
What is the best resume format to use in 2026?
The best resume format in 2025 is the reverse-chronological format. It’s clean, easy to read, and preferred by both recruiters and applicant tracking systems (ATS). It highlights your most recent experience first and provides a clear career progression, making it ideal for most professionals.
Which resume format is most ATS-friendly?
The reverse-chronological format in Word (.docx) is the most ATS-friendly. It avoids complex layouts, graphics, and columns that often confuse ATS software. Use standard section headings like “Experience,” “Skills,” and “Education” to ensure proper keyword scanning.
What is the best resume format for professionals with experience?
Experienced professionals should use the reverse-chronological format. It allows you to showcase your career achievements, promotions, and measurable results clearly. For those with 10+ years of experience or leadership roles, a hybrid (combination) format can also work well by highlighting both skills and a solid work history.
Which resume format is best for freshers or recent graduates?
For freshers, the functional or hybrid format works best. These highlight skills, education, and internships over limited experience. To make a strong impression, use a clean Entry-level resume template in Word with bullet points and relevant coursework.
How do I choose the best resume format in Word for my career level?
Match your format to your experience:
- Entry-level/fresher: Use a functional or hybrid Word template that focuses on skills and education.
- Mid-level professionals: Use a reverse-chronological Word format to showcase growth and achievements.
- Executives: Use a hybrid Word format that blends leadership accomplishments with strategic skills.
After reviewing thousands of resumes, we’ve seen format choice directly impact ATS pass rates and interview outcomes.
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