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.
Updated August 2026 · One page · Best for: anyone who wants a format that will never break in screening software.
What sections go in it, and in what order?
Work down the list. Each section has one job, and the order is what tells a recruiter — and the parser — how to read your history.
- 1 Contact Name, city, phone, email, LinkedIn. No photo, no full address.
- 2 Professional summary 2–3 lines naming your role, years and strongest result.
- 3 Work experience Newest first. 3–5 bullets each, every bullet a verb + a number.
- 4 Education Degree, institution, year. Percentage or CGPA only if strong.
- 5 Skills Plain comma-separated list. Match the words in the job description.
What makes this format fail?
Most rejections at the screening stage are structural, not about your experience. These are the specific mistakes that break this format, each one worth checking before you send it.
- 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.
Also searched as
This format is searched for under several names. They all describe the same structure, so this page is the single answer for each of them rather than a separate near-duplicate page.
| Search phrasing | Answered by |
|---|---|
| easy resume format | This page |
| basic resume format | This page |
| simplified resume template | This page |
| format for simple resume | This page |
| plain resume template | This page |
Other formats
Frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know before you create your free profile.
Create My Free Profile Who should use the simple resume format?
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Anyone who wants a format that will never break in screening software. 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.
What sections go in a simple resume format, and in what order?
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The order is Contact → Professional summary → Work experience → Education → Skills. That sequence is the format — moving Education or Experience out of place is the single most common reason a resume reads as junior when it is not. Each section's job is described in full on this page.
Is the simple resume format free to use on OnJob.io?
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Yes. Building a resume in this format is free on the ₹0 plan — no credit card and no trial timer — and you can export the finished document as a PDF or DOCX at no cost. Pro at ₹99/month adds unlimited AI rewrites and premium designs, but you never need it to finish a resume.
How long should this resume be?
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One page. Indian recruiters spend roughly 6–8 seconds on a first scan, so length works against you: a tight, quantified page consistently outperforms a padded one. Cut anything that does not evidence a result, starting with hobbies, declarations and full postal addresses.