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Resume format and templates for India

A resume format is the order your sections run in — Contact, Summary, Experience, Education, Skills — and the structure decides whether screening software can read you at all. For almost every job in India the answer is a single-column, reverse-chronological layout on one page. This guide gives you that structure, plus the three variations that genuinely differ.

Updated October 2026 · Free to build and download · No credit card

Which resume format should I use?

Pick by how much work history you have. Freshers lead with education and projects, experienced candidates lead with results, and everyone else uses the simple format. The table names each one, who it suits, and how long it should run.

Resume formats compared by who they suit and how long they run
FormatBest forLengthAlso searched as
Simple resume formatAnyone who wants a format that will never break in screening software.One pageeasy resume format
Resume format for freshersFinal-year students and candidates with under one year of formal experience.One pageresume format for freshers
Resume format for experienced professionalsCandidates with 3+ years who are being screened on outcomes, not education.One to two pagesresume format for experienced
Resume in PDF or WordAnyone about to attach a file to an application or an email.Anyresume format pdf

What is the simple resume format?

A simple resume format is a single-column, black-on-white layout with standard headings — Contact, Summary, Experience, Education, Skills — and no tables, columns, icons or photos. It is the safest format in India because every applicant tracking system can parse it, and recruiters can scan it in the 6–8 seconds they actually spend.

Section order

  1. 01

    Contact

    Name, city, phone, email, LinkedIn. No photo, no full address.

  2. 02

    Professional summary

    2–3 lines naming your role, years and strongest result.

  3. 03

    Work experience

    Newest first. 3–5 bullets each, every bullet a verb + a number.

  4. 04

    Education

    Degree, institution, year. Percentage or CGPA only if strong.

  5. 05

    Skills

    Plain comma-separated list. Match the words in the job description.

Rules that decide whether it parses

  • One column only — two-column layouts scramble when an ATS linearises the text.
  • Use a standard font at 10–12pt: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica or Times New Roman.
  • Headings must be the words the ATS expects: "Work Experience", not "My Journey".
  • No text boxes, headers/footers or images — parsers routinely drop their contents entirely.

What is the resume format for freshers?

A fresher resume format puts Education directly under the summary, then Projects and Internships, because you are being judged on demonstrated capability rather than years served. Keep it to one page, quantify every project with a scale or a measured result, and list your tech stack explicitly so keyword screening finds it.

Section order

  1. 01

    Contact

    Name, city, phone, email, LinkedIn, GitHub or portfolio.

  2. 02

    Career objective

    2 lines: the role you want and what you bring to it.

  3. 03

    Education

    Above experience. Degree, college, year, CGPA if 7.5+.

  4. 04

    Projects

    Your strongest section. What you built, the stack, the measured outcome.

  5. 05

    Internships / training

    Treated exactly like jobs — verb, task, result.

  6. 06

    Skills & certifications

    Named tools and languages. No skill-rating bars.

Rules that decide whether it parses

  • Education sits above experience only while you are a fresher — move it down after your first full year.
  • A project bullet needs a number: users served, records processed, marks awarded, time saved.
  • Do not pad with "hardworking team player" — it is the single most common fresher-resume filler.
  • List the degree you are completing with an expected year rather than omitting it.

What is the resume format for experienced professionals?

An experienced resume format leads with a results summary, then work experience in reverse-chronological order, with Education pushed to the bottom. Recruiters screening senior applicants look for scope — team size, budget, systems owned — so each role should open with the scale you operated at before listing what you delivered.

Section order

  1. 01

    Contact

    Name, city, phone, email, LinkedIn.

  2. 02

    Impact summary

    3 lines: years, domain, and two quantified career results.

  3. 03

    Core competencies

    A short keyword band — the terms the JD screens for.

  4. 04

    Work experience

    Each role opens with scope, then 4–6 achievement bullets.

  5. 05

    Education & certifications

    Moved below experience. Year optional after 10 years.

Rules that decide whether it parses

  • Give the last 10 years the most space; compress earlier roles to one line each.
  • Open each role with scope — "team of 9, ₹4Cr budget" — before the bullets.
  • Two pages is acceptable here, and only here; one page still wins under 8 years.
  • Drop your CGPA, school marks and "Objective" section entirely at this level.

Should I send my resume as a PDF or a Word file?

Send a PDF unless the employer asks for Word. A text-based PDF preserves your layout on every device and is read correctly by every major ATS in 2026. Word files reflow — your careful spacing can shift on the recruiter's machine — but some older portals and agencies still require .docx, so keep both exports.

Does the resume format change for my role?

The three formats above cover every role — a nurse and a software engineer both use reverse chronological. What changes is which block sits directly under your summary, because that is the part a recruiter reads before deciding to keep reading. Move the credential your field screens on to the top; leave the rest of the order alone.

RoleWhat moves to the top
Software engineer / developerProjects and tech stack, above education — with links to shipped work.
TeacherQualification (B.Ed, TET/CTET) and the boards plus subjects you have taught.
NurseCouncil registration number and the state that issued it, in the header block.
DoctorRegistration number, specialisation, and clinical rotations before general experience.
ManagerTeam size and budget owned, written as numbers rather than adjectives.
TechnicianITI trade, certifications, and the specific machines or equipment you operate.
PharmacistRegistration number and your D.Pharm or B.Pharm, above experience.
Data / business analystTools you actually query with, and outcomes with the number attached.
DesignerPortfolio URL in the header — a designer resume without one gets skipped.
DriverLicence class and its validity date, before anything else.

Where to go next

Build it

Apply any of these formats in the free resume builder.

Check it

Get a resume score out of 100, or compare your resume with a job.

See examples

Worked resume examples for common job titles.

Write each section

What to put in the summary, experience and skills.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best resume format for a job in India?

The reverse-chronological, single-column format is best for almost every job in India. It lists your most recent role first, uses standard headings an applicant tracking system recognises, and avoids the columns, tables and graphics that break automated parsing. Freshers use the same format with Education moved above Work Experience.

Are OnJob.io resume templates free?

Yes. Every format on this page is free to read, copy and build in the OnJob.io resume builder. The resume builder is free: every template, every colour and the PDF download, with no credit card. The paid candidate plan adds the full ATS resume check and resume import from a file.

What is the difference between a resume format and a resume template?

A resume format is the section order and structure — what goes where. A template is a specific visual design that implements a format. Recruiters and screening software care almost entirely about the format; the template only matters in that a decorative one can break parsing. Pick the format first.

Which resume format do ATS systems prefer?

Applicant tracking systems prefer a single-column, reverse-chronological format saved as a text-based PDF, with standard headings and no tables, text boxes, images or multi-column layouts. The templates marked ATS-friendly in the OnJob.io builder follow that structure, and the builder downloads a text-based PDF.

How many pages should a resume be?

One page for freshers and anyone under roughly 8 years of experience, and two pages only when a longer relevant track record genuinely needs the room. Indian recruiters spend about 6–8 seconds on a first scan, so a tight one-page resume consistently outperforms a padded two-page one.

Can I download a resume template as a Word or PDF file?

OnJob.io does not hand out blank template files. You build your resume in the free editor, which applies these formats for you, and then download the finished document as a text-based PDF. There is no Word download. That way the file you download already contains your content in a structure the ATS can read.