What Does a Good Resume Look Like in 2026? (Visual Guide + Examples)

If you haven't updated your resume in a few years, the format you remember is probably outdated. Not slightly outdated. Fundamentally different from what hiring managers and applicant tracking systems expect to see in 2026.

Most people go years between job searches. The last time you touched your resume, single-column layouts were the only safe bet, colour was considered risky, and half the advice online told you to include "References available upon request" at the bottom. None of that holds true any more.

This guide shows you exactly what a good resume looks like today. We will walk through every section, compare old formats with new ones, and give you concrete examples by career stage and industry. Whether you are writing your first resume or rewriting one you have used for a decade, this is the visual reference you need.

The Anatomy of a Modern Resume

A strong resume in 2026 follows a predictable structure. Recruiters spend an average of six to seven seconds on an initial scan, so every section needs to earn its place. Here is what each one looks like and why it matters.

1. The Header

Your header is the first thing anyone sees, and it needs to communicate your identity and contact details instantly. A modern header includes:

• Full name in a larger font weight (not necessarily huge, just visually distinct)
• Job title or professional headline directly beneath your name
• Contact details on one or two lines: email, phone, city (no full address), LinkedIn URL
• Optional: portfolio link, GitHub profile, or personal website

What has changed: headers are now more compact. You no longer need your full postal address. Many modern templates place contact details in a single horizontal row or a slim sidebar column rather than stacking them vertically.

Good header example:

Sarah Chen | Product Marketing Manager london, UK | sarah.chen@email.com | linkedin.com/in/sarahchen | +44 7700 900123

Weak header example:

Sarah Chen 14 Maple Street, Flat 2B, London, SW1A 1AA, United Kingdom Phone: +44 7700 900123 Email: sarah.chen@email.com

The weak version wastes two lines on a full postal address that no recruiter needs and buries the professional headline entirely.

2. Professional Summary

The summary has replaced the old "objective statement" entirely. Rather than telling the employer what you want from them, a summary tells them what you bring. It should be two to four lines, written in plain language, and tailored to the role you are applying for.

A good summary answers three questions: Who are you? What is your strongest selling point? What value do you deliver?

Example:

Product marketing manager with 6 years of experience launching B2B SaaS products across EMEA markets. Led go-to-market strategies that generated over £3M in pipeline revenue. Specialise in competitive positioning, product launches, and cross-functional team leadership.

For a deeper breakdown of how to write this section, see our guide on how to write a resume.

3. Work Experience

This is the section that carries the most weight. Each role should include:

• Job title (bold or visually prominent)
• Company name and location
• Dates of employment (month and year)
• Three to six bullet points describing achievements, not responsibilities

The biggest shift in 2026 is the emphasis on quantified results. Recruiters want to see numbers: revenue generated, percentage improvements, team sizes managed, costs reduced. A bullet point without a metric is a missed opportunity.

If you are not sure how to turn your responsibilities into achievements, our post on resume mistakes covers the most common pitfalls.

4. Skills Section

Skills sections have become significantly more prominent in 2026. They serve a dual purpose: they help recruiters scan for relevant capabilities quickly, and they feed keywords directly to ATS software.

A modern skills section typically uses a grouped format rather than a flat list:

Example:

Technical: Google Analytics, HubSpot, Salesforce, SQL, Tableau Marketing: SEO/SEM, Content Strategy, A/B Testing, Product Launches Languages: English (native), Mandarin (professional), French (conversational)

Avoid rating your skills with progress bars or star ratings. They are subjective, they do not parse well through ATS systems, and they raise more questions than they answer. A three-out-of-five rating in Python tells a recruiter nothing useful.

5. Education

For most professionals with more than two years of experience, education sits below work experience and skills. It should be concise:

• Degree and field of study
• Institution name
• Graduation year (month optional)
• Relevant honours or coursework (only if recent or highly relevant)

If you graduated more than five years ago, you can drop your grade unless it was a First or Distinction. For guidance on where to place education relative to other sections, see our guide on resume section order.

6. Optional Sections

Depending on your background, you might include:

• Certifications (AWS, PMP, CFA, Google Ads, etc.)
• Projects (particularly useful for career changers or junior candidates)
• Publications (for academic or research roles)
• Volunteer work (if relevant to the role or if it demonstrates leadership)
• Awards and honours

The rule of thumb: include it if it strengthens your candidacy for the specific role. Leave it out if it is just padding.

What Has Changed in 2026

Resume conventions evolve slowly, but the gap between a 2016-era resume and a 2026 resume is now large enough to notice. Here are the key shifts.

Two-Column Layouts Are Now ATS-Safe

For years, career advice sites warned against two-column designs because older ATS software could not parse them correctly. That has changed. Modern systems from Greenhouse, Lever, Workday, and iCIMS handle multi-column layouts reliably. A well-structured two-column resume with a sidebar for contact details, skills, and certifications is now a perfectly safe choice.

The caveat: avoid text boxes, tables used for layout purposes, and heavily nested formatting. The structure should be clean HTML or PDF with proper heading hierarchy. For a complete breakdown of what ATS systems can and cannot read, see our ATS-friendly resume guide.

Colour Accents Are Acceptable

A tasteful colour accent (navy headers, a teal sidebar, a burgundy rule line) is no longer considered unprofessional. Used sparingly, colour helps with visual hierarchy and makes your resume stand out in a stack. The key word is "sparingly." You are not designing a poster. A single accent colour for headings and dividers is enough.

Skills Sections Are More Prominent

In 2016, skills were often an afterthought at the bottom of the page. In 2026, they frequently appear in the top third of the resume, sometimes in a sidebar column. This reflects the rise of skills-based hiring and the importance of ATS keyword matching.

Objective Statements Are Dead

The "Objective: To obtain a challenging position..." format has been fully replaced by the professional summary. If your resume still opens with an objective statement, it immediately signals that you have not updated your approach in years.

"References Available Upon Request" Is Gone

This phrase wastes space. Employers already assume you can provide references. Including it is like writing "I will answer the phone if you call me." Remove it entirely.

Summary Comparison Table

Good Resume vs Bad Resume

Sometimes the easiest way to understand what a good resume looks like is to see a bad one right next to it. Below are two examples for the same fictional candidate. The content is identical in terms of career history, but the presentation is radically different.

The Weak Resume

JOHN SMITH
123 High Street, Flat 4, Manchester, M1 1AA, United Kingdom
Home Phone: 0161 000 0000
Mobile: 07700 900456
Email: johnsmith1987@hotmail.co.uk

OBJECTIVE
To obtain a challenging marketing position where I can utilise my
skills and experience to contribute to the growth of the company.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Marketing Executive, Acme Corp (2021 - present)
- Responsible for managing social media
- Helped with email campaigns
- Attended weekly team meetings
- Worked on the company blog
- Assisted with event planning

Marketing Assistant, Beta Ltd (2019 - 2021)
- Did various marketing tasks
- Updated the website
- Made PowerPoint presentations
- Helped the team with admin

EDUCATION
Manchester Metropolitan University (2016 - 2019)
BA Marketing

SKILLS
Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Social Media, Teamwork,
Communication, Hard-working, Detail-oriented

References available upon request

The Strong Resume

JOHN SMITH
Marketing Executive | Manchester, UK
john.smith@email.com | linkedin.com/in/johnsmith | 07700 900456

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
Marketing executive with 5+ years of experience driving growth for
B2B SaaS companies. Specialise in content marketing, email automation,
and campaign analytics. Increased Acme Corp's qualified leads by 42%
through a redesigned content strategy.

EXPERIENCE

Marketing Executive | Acme Corp | Manchester
Jan 2021 - Present

- Redesigned content strategy across 4 channels, increasing qualified
  leads by 42% in 12 months
- Built and managed email automation workflows in HubSpot, achieving
  a 28% open rate (industry avg: 21%)
- Grew company blog traffic from 3,000 to 14,000 monthly visitors
  through SEO-focused editorial planning
- Coordinated 6 industry events with combined attendance of 1,200+

Marketing Assistant | Beta Ltd | Manchester
Jun 2019 - Dec 2020

- Managed website CMS updates, reducing page load time by 1.2s through
  image optimisation and caching improvements
- Created 40+ client-facing presentations, contributing to £180K in
  closed deals
- Supported campaign execution across Google Ads and LinkedIn, managing
  a combined monthly budget of £8,000

SKILLS
Technical: HubSpot, Google Analytics, Salesforce, WordPress, Canva
Marketing: SEO, Email Automation, Content Strategy, A/B Testing
Analytics: Google Data Studio, Looker, Excel (advanced)

EDUCATION
BA Marketing | Manchester Metropolitan University | 2019

The difference is not just cosmetic. The strong version communicates specific value through metrics, uses a professional email, removes unnecessary details, and organises skills into logical groups. A recruiter scanning this for six seconds immediately understands what John does and how well he does it.

Resume Examples by Career Stage

What a good resume looks like depends partly on where you are in your career. The structure stays the same, but the emphasis shifts.

Entry-Level (0 to 2 years of experience)

At the start of your career, you are working with limited professional experience. That is fine. The trick is to lead with what you do have.

Key characteristics:

• Education section sits higher on the page, sometimes directly after the summary
• Projects, internships, and volunteer work are given full treatment with bullet points
• The summary focuses on skills, academic achievements, and enthusiasm rather than years of experience
• One page maximum

What to emphasise:

• Relevant coursework, dissertations, or capstone projects
• Internships (even short ones) with measurable outcomes
• Technical skills and certifications
• Transferable skills from part-time or volunteer roles

Example summary for an entry-level candidate:

Recent computer science graduate from the University of Edinburgh with hands-on experience in full-stack development through two internships and three university projects. Proficient in React, Python, and PostgreSQL. Built an open-source scheduling tool used by 400+ students.

Mid-Career (3 to 10 years of experience)

This is where your resume should hit its stride. You have enough experience to demonstrate a pattern of growth and impact.

Key characteristics:

• Professional summary leads with your strongest metric or achievement
• Experience section dominates the page with 3 to 5 bullet points per role
• Skills section is comprehensive and grouped by category
• Education moves to the bottom and is kept minimal
• One to two pages is acceptable

What to emphasise:

• Career progression (promotions, increased responsibility)
• Quantified achievements with business impact
• Leadership or mentoring experience
• Industry-specific tools and methodologies

Example summary for a mid-career candidate:

Operations manager with 7 years of experience in logistics and supply chain management. Reduced fulfilment costs by 22% at current employer through warehouse automation and vendor renegotiation. Manage a team of 15 across two distribution centres.

Senior and Executive (10+ years of experience)

At this level, your resume is less about listing every task you have performed and more about demonstrating strategic impact, leadership scope, and business outcomes.

Key characteristics:

• Summary reads almost like a mini executive brief
• Experience entries focus on scope (budget managed, team size, revenue influenced) rather than tactical details
• Older roles can be condensed to two lines or grouped under "Earlier Career"
• Two pages is standard; three is acceptable for very senior roles
• Board memberships, advisory roles, and speaking engagements may appear

What to emphasise:

• P&L responsibility and budget scope
• Organisational transformation or turnaround stories
• Cross-functional or international leadership
• Industry recognition, publications, or conference presentations

Example summary for a senior candidate:

Chief marketing officer with 16 years of experience building and scaling marketing organisations for high-growth SaaS companies. Led the marketing function through a Series B to IPO journey at TechCorp, growing ARR from £8M to £62M. Currently overseeing a team of 45 across brand, demand generation, product marketing, and communications.

Resume Examples by Industry

Beyond career stage, industry norms shape what a good resume looks like. The structure remains consistent, but the tone, emphasis, and level of formality vary.

Corporate and Finance

Corporate environments (banking, consulting, law, accounting) tend to favour conservative formatting. Think minimal colour, traditional fonts, and a single-column layout. Content leans heavily on prestige signals: firm names, deal sizes, client portfolios, and professional certifications.

Characteristics:

• Clean, traditional single-column layout
• No colour accents or creative design elements
• Heavy emphasis on firm names, titles, and deal values
• Certifications (CFA, ACA, CPA) featured prominently
• Precise and formal language throughout

Example bullet point:

Advised on 12 M&A transactions with a combined enterprise value of £2.4B across technology and healthcare sectors.

Technology and Startups

Tech resumes have more flexibility. Two-column layouts are common. Technical skills are given significant space, often appearing near the top of the resume. GitHub profiles and portfolio links are expected. The tone can be slightly less formal, though still professional.

Characteristics:

• Two-column layout with skills in a sidebar is very common
• Technical skills section is extensive and categorised (languages, frameworks, tools, cloud)
• Links to GitHub, portfolio, or deployed projects
• Open-source contributions are valued
• Slightly less formal tone

Example bullet point:

Architected and deployed a microservices platform handling 2M+ daily API requests, reducing average response latency from 340ms to 45ms.

Creative Industries

Design, marketing, media, and advertising roles offer the most freedom in resume formatting. Colour is expected. Typography matters. The resume itself is a demonstration of your aesthetic sensibility. That said, it still needs to be ATS-parseable, so avoid embedding your entire resume as an image.

Characteristics:

• Colour and typography are part of the presentation
• Portfolio link is essential (more important than the resume itself for many roles)
• Visual hierarchy is more pronounced
• Brand-aware language and a confident tone
• Still needs to be parseable as text (not a flat image)

Example bullet point:

Directed the visual identity refresh for a D2C skincare brand, resulting in a 28% increase in social engagement and a 15% uplift in conversion rate across paid channels.

Regardless of industry, the underlying principles stay the same: clear structure, quantified achievements, and a layout that helps the reader find what they need quickly. If you want to start with a template that handles the formatting for you, JobSprout offers a range of professional templates, from clean single-column layouts to modern designs, so you can choose the style that best fits your industry.

The ATS Test: What Your Resume Looks Like to a Computer

Before a human ever reads your resume, there is a good chance it passes through an applicant tracking system. Understanding what your resume looks like to that software is just as important as understanding what it looks like to a person.

What ATS Software Sees

An ATS does not see your beautiful formatting, your carefully chosen font, or your tasteful colour palette. It sees structured text. It parses your resume into fields: name, contact details, work history, education, skills. Then it scores you against the job description based on keyword matches and relevance.

Here is a simplified view of what the ATS extracts:

What Breaks ATS Parsing

Certain design choices that look fine to a human will confuse an ATS:

• Text embedded in images: If your name, contact details, or any content is part of an image rather than selectable text, the ATS cannot read it
• Heavily designed tables: Simple tables are fine; nested or merged-cell tables cause parsing errors
• Headers and footers: Some ATS systems skip header and footer content entirely. Never put critical information (like your name) only in a header
• Unusual section headings: "Where I've Worked" instead of "Experience" or "Work History" can confuse parsers. Stick to conventional labels
• Non-standard file formats: Always submit as PDF unless the application specifically requests .docx

How to Test Your Own Resume

The simplest test: open your resume PDF, select all text (Ctrl+A or Cmd+A), and paste it into a plain text editor. If the text comes through in logical reading order with no jumbled characters, missing sections, or garbled formatting, your resume will parse correctly.

If you are using a JobSprout template, ATS compatibility is built in. Every template uses clean formatting and standard section structures, which helps ensure ATS compatibility.

For a complete guide to optimising for applicant tracking systems, read our ATS-friendly resume guide.

Common Visual Mistakes

Even resumes with strong content can be undermined by poor visual choices. Here are the mistakes we see most often.

1. Walls of Text

Long paragraphs under each job title are the fastest way to lose a recruiter's attention. Use bullet points. Keep each bullet to one or two lines. Start with an action verb and include a metric where possible.

2. Inconsistent Formatting

If your first job title is bold, every job title should be bold. If your first set of dates is right-aligned, they all should be. Inconsistency makes a resume look careless, even if the content is excellent.

3. Too Many Fonts

One font for headings and one for body text is plenty. Three or more fonts make a resume look cluttered and amateurish. Stick to professional, widely available typefaces: Inter, Calibri, Garamond, Lato, or similar.

4. Overuse of Graphics

Skill bars, pie charts, timelines, and infographic-style layouts might look creative, but they create problems. They are difficult for ATS software to parse, they take up space that could be used for content, and the "data" they represent is subjective. A 4-out-of-5 bar for JavaScript means nothing without context.

5. Poor Whitespace Management

Too little whitespace makes a resume feel cramped and hard to scan. Too much whitespace makes it look empty. Aim for consistent margins (around 1.5cm to 2.5cm), clear spacing between sections, and enough breathing room between bullet points.

6. Tiny Font Sizes

Shrinking your font to 8pt or 9pt to fit everything on one page is counterproductive. If a recruiter needs a magnifying glass, they will move on. The minimum readable size for body text is 10pt. If you cannot fit your content at 10pt, cut content rather than shrinking text.

7. Including a Photo (in the UK and US)

In the UK, US, Canada, and Australia, including a headshot on your resume is generally discouraged. It introduces unconscious bias and some ATS systems flag resumes with embedded images. Certain European and Asian markets have different norms, so check local conventions.

8. Using an Unprofessional Email Address

This is not strictly a visual mistake, but it is the first thing people see in your header. If your email is "coolkid1993@hotmail.com," create a professional one. Your name at Gmail or a custom domain is the standard.

Choosing the Right Format

We have covered what a resume looks like section by section, but the overall format matters too. There are three main formats, and the right choice depends on your situation:

Reverse-chronological is the most widely used and the safest default. Your most recent role comes first, and experience dominates the page. This is the right choice for most people.

Functional (skills-based) organises your resume around skill categories rather than job history. It can be useful if you are changing careers or have significant employment gaps, but many recruiters dislike it because it obscures your timeline.

Combination (hybrid) blends both approaches: a strong skills section at the top, followed by a chronological work history. This works well for mid-career professionals with diverse skill sets.

For a detailed comparison with examples, read our guide on the best resume format.

Pulling It All Together

A good resume in 2026 is clean, structured, and metric-driven. It uses a modern layout with clear visual hierarchy, leads with a professional summary instead of an objective, and gives skills a prominent position. It avoids outdated conventions like full postal addresses, reference lines, and dense paragraphs of text.

The specifics vary by career stage and industry, but the principles are consistent: make it easy to scan, quantify your achievements, and tailor the content to each role you apply for.

If you want to skip the formatting headaches entirely, JobSprout gives you professionally designed, ATS-tested templates that handle the visual side while you focus on the content. Upload your existing resume, choose a template, and let the AI handle the rest.

Your resume is often the first impression you make. Make sure it looks like it belongs in 2026.