Resume 2023 format is a new approach to presenting professional qualifications, tailored for the modern job market. It aims to make resumes more focused and organized by introducing a clear structure that allows employers to quickly extract key information relevant to the position they are hiring for. This format emphasizes the importance of efficiency, readability and accuracy.
According to our latest research, the first resume in the world was written many years ago. Since then, many things were changed, and now your main goal is to get a professionally written resume 2023 this year and you should know the latest resume 2023 format rules. We tried to place all the formatting tips in one place to help you create an outstanding resume, which would impress any recruiter.
What is a Good Resume 2023 Format?
A resume – is an outline of a job seeker’s education level and professional achievements, most commonly prepared for the job searching process to apply for different positions. In some cases, you could find another name for a resume – a CV.
CV – curriculum vitae, usually used in the UK, but some candidates are still searching for some cv samples in the US.
And the resume format is one of the most important aspects to consider when writing a resume. Professional resume format significantly increases your chances to get a dream job.
As you know, any resume created by a job seeker is following the main goal – to be considered by your potential employer. And when we’re talking about a successful cv 2023 format, it should include even more information than you could expect. Before we would start our resume 2023 format guidelines list, let’s try to understand how a good resume could help you to land the job you’re looking for this year.
Any resume is a “selling” document, where you should sell yourself in the most positive light to show that you’re the candidate they are looking for. The way you sell your skills, abilities, knowledge, experience, and other treasures, which could bring value to your boss – is the main goal and today we would like to talk about different approaches on how to sell your candidacy in the best way and what resume format 2023 is the best for you.
Resume format 2023: Which one to choose?
It’s very important to understand the main differences between the common electronic resume formats to write a resume, which would not only help you to highlight your main achievements and experience but would also hide some gaps or information you don’t want to show in your document.
Resume structure matters and some HR call such structure: resume format. Nowadays, there are four best resume 2023 formats, which could be used by any job seeker, based on their career path and level of experience.
Word or PDF Resume Format in 2023?
Office word format (.doc or .docx) – is one of the most often file formats, which HRs are preferred to see. Using this type of extension would guarantee you a 100% open by any hiring manager in any Microsoft Office.
PDF (.pdf) – Another type of file, which is used by some job seekers. It’s good if you would like to show some graphics or any other pictures in your resume. But it’s not good if we’re talking about an ATS system. Recognition of such resumes, using .pdf extension is not very good. MS
RTF (.rtf) – another file format, which uses less than 1% of candidates. It’s not a good idea to use this resume format for 2023, because you can lose all your settings and formatting inside your resume if it’s going to be open using the newest MS Word versions.
We tried to show you how important to use the right resume formatting approach and how important to use your resume format 2023 to get the job you dream of!
The resume format 2023 can be tricky, but knowing which is best for you is essential. Word documents are significant if you want to be able to make changes quickly, but PDFs are great if you don’t want anyone being able to edit your document.
But are PDFs the way to go? Well, it depends. If you’re applying for a job in an industry where your document will be read on a computer screen (like in web development), then yes! It’s worth it. But if the company you’re applying to has a lot of paper-based processes and procedures (like manufacturing), then it might not be worth the added cost of converting your resume into a PDF or Word document.
If you’re sending your resume electronically, it’s best to send it as an attachment rather than attaching it to an email message because this helps protect your privacy. When you’re applying to a foreign company, better choose an international resume format.
Resume 2023 Format Trends and Forecast
The resume format 2023 is an important document to have when applying for jobs. There are four main types of latest resume formats that are currently in use, and each one has its own benefits and drawbacks.
- Chronological format.
- Reverse chronological format.
- Functional format.
- Combination (hybrid) format.
Also, most recruiters still prefer the word or PDF resume format is the most commonly used type, and it is guaranteed to be accepted by any hiring manager who uses Microsoft Office. The PDF resume format is good for showing graphics or pictures, but it can be difficult to read with an Applicant Tracking System.
The MS RTF resume format is not as commonly used as the other three, and it has a high chance of being unrecognized by an ATS. It is not a good idea to use this format, because you can lose all your settings and formatting inside your resume if it’s opened using the newest MS Word versions.
Trends for Resume 2023 Formatting
As a result of the economic recession, employers want to see candidates with relevant experience or skills. And they are less interested in investing in training a lot of new employees as they need to generate revenue right now. So what should you do?
- Make your job description in Work Experience relevant.
- List relevant skills (use bullet points)
- Don’t mention unnecessary employment history such as “worked as a waiter 10 years ago for 3 months” when applying for a sales position.
- Use proper resume layout and standard resume format. Don’t be over-creative.
Chronological Resume Format 2023
According to the latest surveys among hiring managers in the US – the chronological resume format is the most liked format by HRs and job seekers. It’s good for job seekers, who are experienced and would like to get the same or even higher position in their future job. Also, this is the most common resume format and perfectly works for everyone.
Who should use chronological resume format:
A chronological resume is used for those people, who are ready for a long and hard career path. Most Likely, chronological resume formats are used by senior specialists, who can show their expertise and real experience.
Chronological resume format pros and cons
- The chronological resume format is the most common and liked resume format by HRs and job seekers.
- It perfectly works for everyone, who has a huge professional background.
- This type of resume format is good for senior specialists, who want to get a job in the same or higher position.
- The chronological order of your work experience is one of the strong points of this format.
- Your main achievements will be highlighted.
Functional Resume Format for 2023
The main value of a functional resume format is to highlight your skills and abilities. In other words, the functional structure will show your main skills first and only then what you did and where. This is a proper resume format for those, who concentrate on their hard skills more, than listing their career path. Don’t panic – you need to create a list of your strongest skills and add include them in your resume in a way it would show you in the most positive light.
There are tons of different books about resume writing that contain sections about how you should write or edit functional resume formats. You can easily buy them and read them, but there is no need to do that. All you need to do – is just understand the main value of this format. What is the main value?
“Doesn’t matter who you were and how long you were in a good position – the only thing that could help the hiring manager to understand whether you are a good candidate or not and it’s your skills.”
Who should use functional resume format:
Combination Resume Format 2023
The combination resume format is also known as a hybrid resume format. It is a good mix of the two resume formats we have already considered before: functional resume format + chronological resume format. For those job seekers, who are looking for a position, which requires a lot of skills and expertise and needs to show their level of expertise in a specific field – this resume format is the best solution they could find.
Instead of writing two or even more pages of a resume, a combination resume format will help you to solve your problem. It’s an outstanding solution for experienced job seekers who would like to try themselves in a new career field.
Generally, it is a combined resume format with a focus on the key skills you have included. But at the same time, you have enough place to show your reader your experience and achievements – which are very important for a good specialist. If you have some to show – a combination resume format is the best choice for you in 2023.
- Combination resumes are well-organized and easy to skim, making them perfect for applicants with a lot of experience.
- They provide a clear overview of both your skills and work history.
- Because they’re less common than chronological resumes, recruiters and hiring managers may be more impressed by a combination resume.
- On the downside, some employers find them confusing and erroneously see them as evidence of job hopping.
Reverse Chronological Resume Format 2023
The reverse chronological resume format is one of the most commonly used and widely recognized resume format for 2023. This type of resume allows applicants to highlight their work history and experience in a clear and easily understandable way. It also helps employers quickly assess an applicant’s qualifications for a given job, making it a useful tool for finding a perfect candidate. Also, the reverse chronological resume format is easy to read both for recruiters and applicant tracking systems.
So who should use a reverse chronological resume?
- If you are recent graduates who do not have a lot of professional experience to list on your resume.
- If you have held a number of jobs in a relatively short period of time, or for those who are changing careers.
- If you want to focus on their work history and experience rather than their skills.
In general, this should be your preferred resume format, when crafting your resume. But that doesn’t mean that you should skip the three resume formats listed above. At first, you should check similar resumes in your job position to understand what are standard resume formats for your niche.
How Do Hiring Managers Build Their Applicants’ Consideration Process
Usually, they have some urgent positions they need to close asap or less urgent positions (they have more time to consider more candidates + to choose the best for the announced role).
For most HRs, each position more often consists of three piles (according to the most used employment processes in many recruitment agencies and huge companies):
- “To invite for an interview”
- “Maybe, but not sure, let’s contact them later if needed”
- “Sorry, it is 100%, not your position, good luck!”
Our main goal in the first step is to go through the first brief scanning and to find your resume in the “YES” pile. It’s not an easy task. And you know why? Because during the day, the hiring manager can process over 100 resumes and you need to know how to attract their attention and how to help them to read your resume easily, without any extra effort.
We can’t 100% say that there is the one and the best resume format 2023, which could cover all your needs and would show all your advantages as a candidate in the most positive light. But we know that there are some most common resume formats, which could help you to highlight your advantages and conceal your gaps – showing your future boss that you are the best candidate for this position.
Good Resume 2023 Format: Sections to Include
What do you think, what is the most important information recruiters would like to see in your resume? Below we prepared some information, which will show you the most important blocks and how the presence of this information affects HR’s attention and interest in your candidacy.
So, what are they looking at first:
| 39% | Related experience in previous positions |
| 32% | Skills (hard skills and soft skills) |
| 30% | Attractive and easy to read |
| 14% | Achievements |
| 10% | Grammar and spelling mistakes |
| 7% | Education block in your resume |
| 6% | Employment gaps |
| 2% | Cover letter |
| 2% | Buzzwords and keywords |
| 1% | First and Last name (contact and personal details) |
| 1% | Hobbies |
| 1% | Age |
Contact Details
According to the latest resume writing rules, you can not include your age on your resume. The most common personal details are:
- First name
Also, if we’re talking about US resumes – you would have better chances to be considered if you would include a photo in your resume. It should be placed in the top left or right corner of your resume, based on what resume 2023 format you have to choose.
Education block
Education (Bachelor, MBA or so) Name of School, College, City State Degree, Major
Date of Graduation
What should you include in your education block:
- There is no need to list all your education. Include only the most recent. If you have already finished university – add it to your resume.
- The graduate date is important
- GPA is optional, but if it’s over 3.0 – it’s a good idea to include it as well.
Work Experience
For new resume 2023 formats, it’s better to include your work experience. Your potential employer is looking for candidates with relevant experience behind their backs at firsts, and only then start scanning candidates without any experience. And here is how can win this game:
- Include words, which would show that you are a result-oriented person and you tried to do your best to achieve the company’s goals.
Examples: created, built, developed, gained.
- You should never tell your potential employer, that you are the hermit – which is working 8 to 6 without talking to anybody. You are a team player, who is looking for ways how to build a great team and support all communication processes or even improve them.
- Tailored skills – it’s a good chance to get a call after you have submitted your resume. Read more about skills-based resume format 2023.
Resume Achievements: What to Include
When you have already finished writing your resume, it’s a good time to open it and read it once again. Why do you need it? Looks like you have already checked it for all possible mistakes and nothing was not lost, but…Now we’d like to talk about achievements. All popular resume 2023 formats include this section. And recruiters prefer candidates who filled in this section.
What do you know about achievement blocks and how you should write them to attract recruiters’ attention? Here we’re going to give you some useful tips, which would help you to stand out from the mass and increase your chances of the mass.
- HR does not believe you enough, before they would not see facts in your resume. And you must be ready to show them.
Good example: Trained XX newcomers, who we able to support the Y department with Z KPI’s results.
- What about some percentages and numbers? You even can’t believe how HR loves them when they can imagine what a good candidate could join their company.
Good example: Customer base was grown by X amount/ Y percent (%)
Useful note: Be careful with numbers. Often HR’s ask their candidates on how such numbers were measured, And if you cant clearly explain that, they would understand that you are dishonest.
Resume Format For 2023: List Your Skills
Hard skills are those, which you could measure and assess. For example “Adobe Photoshop” is a skill that you can check using a test or during the trial period.
Soft skills are those, which are really hard to measure. It’s more like your own assessment or guess. For example, it could be – “problem-solving” or “non-conflict”.
If you feel that you need to show your skills over your job history, you should use a skills-based resume format to increase your chances. But it works not for all positions.
Resume Templates 2023
An interesting fact is that: Fresh and attractive resume templates will bring you more chances to be in the “Yes” pile, compared with other resume templates. Why so? Because HRs are also people and white&black templates are not as memorized as new ones.
Check out the latest resume templates in 2023 to be the winner this year.
What Makes a Good Resume Format 2023?
We know that there are tons of different rules, which would help you to do your resume much better, but we tried to share the most important ones with you below:
- Show your reader that you are professional. Put in order your skills and try to tailor your resume for a specific position you found.
- Help your potential employer navigate your resume. It should be easy reading and all the information should be logically structured. No mess.
- Concise – it’s your key to success. No need to add more information if you feel it could be useless. It’s better to omit some blocks and let HR call you to clarify any information they need to know
- Never send your resume, before you would check it twice for grammar or spelling mistakes. Hrs hate it. Don’t let a stupid mistake be a reason for not being considered.
What information is really important to highlight in formatting your resume for 2023
- Place your personal information at the top of your resume
- Last Name and First Name should be at the top
- Make sure your e-mail or phone number is easy to find if needed
- Add a photo to your resume – resumes with photos are more viewed by HRs
- Skills block is very important – the most important first, then others
- Experience – the last place of work (show achievements there, because it’s one of the most viewed places in any resume)
- Education block – it’s ok to place it at the end.
What mistakes do job seekers make on their resumes in 2023?
It’s better to avoid any mistakes in your resume 2023, but still, we would like to show you the most common resume mistakes, which played a crucial role in making a final decision concerning some candidates who applied for vacant positions.
Please have a look at them below, and you will find out that the most common mistakes of most job seekers are resume length and not tailored resumes. Other mistakes are easy to fix if you use the correct resume format 2023 and follow all the guidelines.
Look at the diagram above and remember what you should never DO.
Resume 2023 Lengths – How to Format
Many hiring managers dispute this question, but according to the latest resume writing trends in 2023, more and more hiring managers favor one-page resumes over two-page resume formats. Why so? Hiring managers are really busy people and if they would need one day to scan 100 resumes – they would need much more time to close vacant positions.
But, in some cases, you would need much more than one page to show your relevant experience and approach. What is that and when you can use more than 2 pages? Academic or federal resume templates need a special approach in resume writing and this is another big story about how to format such resumes in 2023.
Standard Resume 2023 Formatting Rules
If you are using MS Word to craft your resume or have already downloaded resume template 2023, it’s a really good idea to edit it a little bit. Try to edit margins a little bit to 1.16 cm to save more space for other blocks in your resume.
Fonts. Why they are so important? It’s obvious – choosing a good font would not only save a place in your resume but will also highlight the most important information in your CV. How to choose the right resume font you could read more here.
Bullets. An interesting fact is – HR hates resumes, which were formatted badly. What do we mean by bad? Have you ever tried to make a fast decision by reading 500 words of somebody’s resume to understand if the candidate is good for the vacant position? Using bullets in your resume 2023, you should help your reader to find the most important information included in your resume.
Two columns. Some resume formats 2023 are created using a two-column resume structure. It’s interesting and at the same time pretty good to navigate for hiring manager decisions, which would save their time and would help you to stand out from a crowd.
Do not bullet point everything. It’s OK to use bullets to highlight some skills or even small paragraphs, but there is no need to use bullets across all your resume.
Line spacing. If you still need to save more space for other information, which you would like to add to your resume, single-line spacing – is a good decision in your case.
In the end, we would still advise you not to remove all the information from your resume. Our resume formatting tips must help you to save space, but should not remove any value from your resume.
Resume format 2023: FONTS
What resume fonts are better to use if you would like to get a job this year? We can’t say it should be some specific fonts, but we would like to give some suggestions, which would help your reader to scan your winning resume much easier.
Have a look at this picture above. As you can see, font size is a very important part of your resume and you should keep it in your mind when you writing your document. Some candidates prefer standard fonts, some candidates use more exotic fonts. But we still recommend you use easy-reading fonts to make HR’s life easier.
Try to follow the best practices:
- Use subheadings and headings, when necessary – the good font is 12 points for that.
- 10 points are really good for the main body of your resume. If you need to highlight some headings, use 12 or even 14 points fonts to solve this problem.
- 14 points are not the best font size for the body of your resume. It’s too big and it’s hard to read.
- 8 or even 9 are too small. HR hates them because they can’t read it at all.
How to check if your resume is easy to read? It’s easier than you even expect. Bring your resume to your friends and ask them to scan it in 15 seconds to grab the most needed information about you. If they are able to do that – it’s ok. If not, you need to change your resume styling.
Is resume format the same as resume template?
What is the best resume format in 2023?
Is there a special resume format for high school students?
What is the most commonly used resume format?
ATS-Friendly Resume Format 2023
So what is an ATS? ATS stands for Applicant Tracking System. It is software that is used by most companies today and also by most job portals like LinkedIn. So whenever you apply for a job online, what happens with your resume is not directly sent to the recruiter, but an ATS software will scan through your resume and try to compare the contents of your resume with the job description. Only if the job description and the contents of your resume are a good match will your resume be forwarded to the recruiter.
It is said that almost 75% of the resumes that ATS scans get rejected. If you are someone who has applied for hundreds of jobs online and has yet to get a response, then your resume needs to follow the ATS resume 2023 format.
ATS Requirements
What is an ATS format? It’s pretty simple. Your resume needs to follow a simple format: different sections mentioned clearly, and pretty simple fonts. Don’t use fancy fonts—ideally, Calibri, Ariel, Times New Roman, etc. Do not use tables, columns, special characters, or photos. Prefer to have bullet points.
So if you’re mentioning your skills or responsibilities in a project, try to note it through bullet points because most of the ATS software should be able to read it. Refrain from mentioning everything in big paragraphs. Avoid using headers and photos in your resume because some ATS software may need help reading it.
If you mention some vital information like your contact information in your headers or photos, the ATS may never be able to read it. Then even though your resume may get shortlisted because the contact information was lost when ATS tried to scan through your resume, the recruiter may need help to contact you.
Keywords
Try to use keywords in your resume from the job description. For example, if it is about a Java developer and it has specified the frameworks and other technologies, then make sure to use these keywords in your resume. So whenever ATS tries to match the job description and your resume, it finds all these keywords, increasing your chances of having a good match.
These are the simple steps you need to follow to ensure that your resume is ATS-friendly. So nothing fancy and nothing too complicated.
Keep it Simple, Short, and Neat
Resumes are a lot like appetizers at a restaurant. They’re small, bite-size bits of information that give you an idea of what the main course is going to be before you even sit down.
Keeping your resume simple, short, and neat is essential. You want to ensure that it gets your point across quickly and easily and doesn’t leave the reader with any lingering questions or confusion about what you’ve written.
So how do you do that?
- First, you must ensure that your resume isn’t too long—no more than one page is ideal.
- Second, you want to ensure that each section is clear and concise, with no extraneous words or unnecessary details clogging up the flow of your writing (or making the reader have to scroll through paragraphs upon paragraphs of text).
- Finally, make sure everything looks good! This means consistent formatting throughout all document sections and ensuring no typos or grammatical errors. Avoid highlighting and coloring because it might need to look neater for specific recruiters.
Not to Fake
The last step is not fake. Be honest and apply for jobs that match your profile. If you think you will try your luck by applying for jobs, even though they do not match your profile, ATS will reject them. So save your time.
Also, ensure that everything you mention in your resume is accurate. Do not lie because most recruiters will ask you questions based on what is said in your resume. So if you say something on your resume that you have no idea about and if the recruiter comes to know that you just fake did, then it’s going to adversely affect your chances of getting that job.
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