Simple is not the same as plain. A simple resume format removes anything that competes with your content: no coloured blocks behind text, no icons standing in for words, no two-column layouts that reorder themselves when parsed.
What is left has to be typeset properly, because when the decoration goes, spacing and hierarchy are all that carry the reader.
What a simple layout contains
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01
Name and contact block
Name at the top in a larger size, then phone, email, city and one profile link on a single line.
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02
Summary
Two or three lines. Skip it entirely rather than writing filler.
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03
Experience or projects
Reverse chronological. Role, organisation, dates, then two or three result bullets.
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04
Education
Qualification, institution, year and result.
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05
Skills
Grouped into two or three labelled lines.
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06
Extras
Certifications, languages, achievements. Only sections with real entries.
Rules that keep it readable
- One font family for the whole document, with size and weight doing the work.
- Body text at 10 to 11pt, never below 9pt to squeeze in more.
- Margins of at least 15mm on every side so the page can be printed without clipping.
- Consistent date format: either Jan 2026 everywhere or 01/2026 everywhere.
- Bullets that start with a verb and end with an outcome.
- Black text on white. Save colour for a single accent rule if you want one.
Why simple layouts survive job portals
Portals and applicant tracking systems read a document top to bottom, left to right. A two-column design can be read across the columns, which turns your job titles into nonsense. Tables and text boxes are often skipped entirely.
A single-column layout with conventional headings avoids all of that, and it also prints cleanly at an interview desk where somebody has taken a photocopy.
What to remove
- Skill rating bars, which show a shape rather than a fact.
- Icons replacing the words Phone, Email and Address.
- A photograph in a header the parser cannot read around.
- Six different heading styles across one page.
- Justified text with large gaps between words in a narrow column.
Questions people ask
Which file format should I send?
PDF, unless the employer asks for a Word file. A PDF holds the layout on every device. Make sure the text is selectable rather than an exported image.
Is a two-column resume a bad idea?
Not for a resume a human opens directly, and not for design or creative roles. It is a risk for portal uploads, where the parser may read straight across the two columns.
How many bullet points per role?
Two to four. More than that and none of them get read.
Does font choice matter?
Less than consistency. Any well-drawn serif or sans-serif at a sensible size is fine. Avoid decorative and condensed faces.