Effective resume formats allow hiring managers to easily locate important information and read the resume thoroughly. In addition to using strategic line spacing to help readers scan the document, formatting elements like bolding or italicizing job titles, dates and important keywords can draw a reader's attention.

Using a clean and minimalist design, this template puts the spotlight on your work experience, skills and education. It's a good option if you have significant employment gaps or are seeking a career change because it de-emphasizes your work history and places the focus on your core qualifications.

A popular choice, this template lists your work experience in reverse chronological order and provides space for each job title, company name, location (city and state), the job start and end dates and a brief description of your duties. You should also include your educational background with a list of the most relevant degrees and the date you graduated.

The last section of this resume template asks you to highlight your measurable achievements, such as revenue or percentage increases. This is a good section to include because it will help you stand out from other candidates who do not offer a quantifiable measure of their impact on the business.

Keep in mind that formatting options like font size, font color and style can affect how well your resume passes an ATS. Augustine suggests doing a "proxy test" by copying and pasting your resume into a plain text file to see whether the ATS can pick up on important information.