A simple, effective resume, no software to install

Why a simple resume works better

A recruiter often spends less than a minute on a first screening. They look for three things: the target job, recent experience and key skills. A simple resume puts them in plain sight. A resume loaded with graphics, rating bars and colors forces them to search, and their attention drifts.

Simplicity also helps applicant tracking systems, which read a clear structure, one or two columns and real text much better.

The rules of a simple, effective resume

1. One page, unless your career is very long.
2. A precise title that matches the target job.
3. Three lines of summary at most.
4. Experience with results: one line per responsibility, with a number whenever possible.
5. One color and one font.
6. Sections in the expected order: experience, education, skills, languages.

Write simply

Simplicity applies to words too. Start each line with an action verb, and avoid long sentences and internal company acronyms. Write “Greeted 80 customers a day” rather than “Responsible for managing the customer reception area”.

A simple tool, too

• No software to install: everything happens in the browser.
• No account to get started: your resume saves automatically.
• No layout to fiddle with: you write, the page organizes itself.
• One-click undo on every change.

An example of a simple structure

Name and target job at the top, contact details on one line. Then a three-line summary, two or three detailed jobs, education in two lines and a list of skills. That’s the structure of the Harvard template, the classic and safest choice for online applications in the US.

Simple doesn’t mean empty

A simple resume is still a complete resume. The simplicity is in the presentation, not the content. Each job deserves two to four concrete lines: what you did, with which tools, and with what result. Optional sections, like interests, are only worth including if they say something useful about you.

Conversely, remove anything that doesn’t serve your application: “Resume” as a heading, your date of birth, your marital status, very old jobs unrelated to the role. Every line you free up leaves more room for what matters.

The thirty-second test

Once your resume is done, show it to someone for thirty seconds, then ask what they remember. If they name your job, your main experience and a key skill, your resume is simple and effective. If not, simplify further.