The golden rule: single column beats everything else
Applicant tracking systems parse PDFs top to bottom, left to right, in reading order. When a CV has a left sidebar, many parsers extract the sidebar and the main column in unpredictable order — your phone number ends up inside the skills section and half your content disappears entirely.
If your target is an ATS score above 90, a clean single-column template is the safest choice in every industry.
Do
- +Single column, full-width content.
- +Clear section headings (Summary, Experience, Education, Skills).
- +Standard web-safe fonts: Calibri, Arial, Georgia, Roboto.
- +Dates right-aligned; role title bold on the left.
Don't
- −Text placed inside shapes, boxes, tables or text frames.
- −Creative graphics, photos, or QR codes as layout elements.
- −More than two font families on a single page.
- −Headers/footers that contain your contact details (some ATS skip them).
The four template families — which is right for you?
1. Reverse-chronological (recommended for 90% of candidates)
Experience listed newest to oldest. This is the format recruiters expect and ATS parsers handle best. If you have steady work history, use this.
2. Skills-first / functional
Leads with skills and projects, followed by a shortened work history. Useful for career changers and candidates with project-based rather than employer-based experience. Modern ATS parsers handle it if — and only if — the Skills block uses standard heading text and not a sidebar.
3. Combined
A short skills/summary block at the top, followed by standard reverse-chronological experience. Works well for senior engineers and specialists who want keywords near the top for ATS matching.
4. Creative / graphic (avoid unless applying to design roles)
Infographic templates, photo-heavy designs and two-column layouts with heavy visual branding score worst in ATS benchmarks. Keep them for design portfolios, not for the CV you submit.
What an ATS-safe template looks like in 2026
- One column.
- Font size 10–11 pt for body, 12–14 pt for headings.
- Line height 1.4–1.6 for comfortable scanning.
- Sections separated by a horizontal rule or spacing — not by coloured background blocks.
- Plain underscored hyperlinks (
linkedin.com/in/name) rather than coloured buttons. - Accent colour applied only to headings, never to body text.
Pick a template that is tested, not just pretty
Every JobCV template is built around this structure. We publish the full gallery with ATS-score notes so you can choose with confidence.
Browse them here: JobCV template gallery. When in doubt, start with a single-column design.
Template mistakes to avoid
- Leaving the placeholder sample text in your final export — yes, it still happens.
- Using a template with icons as the only way to show contact details.
- Replacing default section headings with creative names ("What I Bring" instead of "Summary"). ATS parsers rely on standard heading matching.
- Reducing margins below 1 cm to fit more content — the page looks cramped and parsing quality drops.