While an eye-catching resume alone probably won’t land you your dream gig, it doesn’t hurt to put a little extra effort into how you present yourself on paper, so we’ve scoured the web for some of the best resume templates to help you stand out in a sea of Times New Roman and crowded copy.
The right resume design speaks to your skills and personality and can propel your application to the top of the stack. But finding a cool design that also fits your professional identity can be a major hassle. Applying for jobs is already hard enough.
Best Resume Templates
Download 12 free, editable resume templates.
Best for Creatives
These templates emphasize the design, color, and typography skills that creatives need to show.
1. Resume Template with a Photo Background
This template from Polish designer Patryk Korycki is perfect for photographers, graphic designers, and other creatives looking to showcase a sample of their best work. It uses simple graphics to show language fluency and skill proficiency and images to represent an applicant’s interests. The template can be downloaded here for free.
2. Modern and Distinctive Resume Template
This design from freelancer Mohamd Hgag is an elegant take on traditional resumes. The floral illustration adds a playful element, while the two-column layout keeps everything from looking too busy or crowded. You can download this resume design here for free.
This template includes a unique font, social media handles, and space for an image so creative job seekers can personalize their resumes with a headshot or logo.
3. Vibrant and Visual Resume Template
Alessia Curcio, a Copenhagen-based designer, gives us a perfect example of how to incorporate kaleidoscopic color without going over the top. Infographic-inspired elements help clearly display work experience and skills with minimal text.
The colorful header, footer, and accented experience slider add a bright, creative flair to this infographic resume template. This template is perfect for graphic designers, art directors, artists, and other professionals searching for positions in visual arts.
Download Curcio’s free template here.
4. Infographic Style Resume Template
Created by digital art director and freelance designer Fernando Báez, this unique, infographic-inspired resume template helps you organize your work experience and skills into a minimal visual layout.
Báez’s template uses bold graphics to draw attention to important metrics such as years of work experience. This eye-catching template also includes a section for hobbies and interests, which sets it apart from most resume templates. This template is ideal for designers and programmers.
Báez has made the template available for free download here.
Best for Freelancers
These templates emphasize the headshot photo for freelancers who might not meet their employers in person and need substantial text space and a visual to offer something memorable.
5. Resume Template with a Simple Color Accent
Adding color to a resume might seem intimidating at first, especially if you’re applying to a more traditional workplace. However, a few sophisticated pops of color can add some interest without compromising professionalism.
This template from designer Eduardo Ogawa uses bright accents to spice up the traditional layout. In addition, the template includes space for a headshot and a section for passions, letting freelancers add a unique personal touch to their resumes that sets them apart from others in their fields.
You can download it for free here.
6. Bold Classic Resume Template
If you’re looking for a more traditional resume template that still makes a bold impression, check out this creation from Finnish designer Mats-Peter Forss. The template includes space for a headshot and is available for free download here.
This resume template adds a personal touch without distracting from the content by including a bold black-and-white headshot. It is a good fit for freelance designers and programmers.
7. Resume Template with Pops of Primary Colors
Proof that color can be professional, this template boasts a compact, sophisticated layout and bright, colorful accents. It also has room for a substantial summary. Designer David Gómez uses this resume template himself, and he’s been generous enough to share it for free download here.
This colorful resume template is great for freelancers, who can customize it with their headshot and personal brand colors.
Best for Recent Graduates
These templates make great use of empty space through eye-catching designs that help these candidates make a splash in their industry. They’re perfect for students who are still building experience.
8. Graphic and Adventurous Resume Template
This is not a resume template for wallflowers. Instead, it takes advantage of empty space with bold colors and an asymmetrical design that will easily draw any hiring manager’s attention.
This template is perfect for recent graduates searching for entry-level jobs as designers or artists.
The folks at Createer whipped up this daring design as part of a free resume template pack, which you can check out here.
9. Resume Template with an Unexpected Format
If you really want to stand out in a crowded applicant pool, this resume is definitely for you.
This template uses fun icons and geometric shapes to help it stand out in the stack. It’s ideal for recent graduates. The graphics take up space and make the minimal amount of text seem to fill the page.
Graphic designer and freelance photographer Paolo Pettigiani created this bold template for his own professional use but has made it available for free download here.
10. Center-Aligned Resume Template
If you want to mix up your resume format without going too crazy, try a center-aligned layout, like this clean, modern design by Zohan Habib. The custom icons and colored border add a nice creative touch.
This template’s center-aligned layout helps draw your eyes down the page, making it a great choice for recent graduates who don’t have much experience. In addition, with a center-aligned layout, small amounts of text seem to fill the page and leave minimal white space.
This template is available for free download here.
Best for Executive/Upper-Level Professionals
These templates offer ample real estate for candidates to express their deep experience in the plain but formal manner that many employers expect.
11. Black and White Resume Template
Running low on colored ink? Check out this minimal black and white template from editorial designer Bro Luthfi. The simple design is anything but boring, and the custom icons add a fun, personalized element that is sure to stand out.
This template is suited for job seekers in upper-level positions in industries such as graphic design and art direction.
You can download the free template here.
12. Clean and Modern Resume Template
Your resume is your first impression with a potential employer, and this template design from the team at GoaShape is modern without being too edgy.
This two-page template uses a headshot and graphics to differentiate it from other upper-level resumes. It’s ideal for professionals in creative industries.
The template pack includes a two-page resume layout and cover letter design and can be downloaded for free here.
13. Simple Professional Resume Template
The team at Career Reload serves up a simple resume template for more advanced professionals.
This sleek two-column template’s header and contact information icons give the resume a subtle pop of color that helps set it apart in the applicant pile.
Download the template for free here.
Best for People Changing Careers
These templates help job seekers who are changing industries organize their experience by skill rather than employer. In addition, the sections can be customized for candidates who need to show how their background can transfer.
14. Resume Template with an Organized Use of Space
When you’re trying to crunch years of work experience and a laundry list of skills onto a single sheet of paper, things tend to get crowded quickly. This template from Resume Genius invites you to simplify.
This template saves space by placing the contact information, education, and skills in a column to the right of the work experience. This allows the work experience to take up the entire length of the page.
This template is ideal for older professionals who have a lot of employment history.
Download the template here.
15. Playful and Professional Resume Template
Italian designer Martina Cavalieri created this resume template with 16 custom icons to highlight your interests and skills.
This template’s bold two-toned border and custom icons that indicate skills and interests add just enough color to its modern layout to help your resume stand out in the pile.
This resume template is perfect for job seekers who want to add a fun, colorful element to their resumes while keeping them professional.
Cavalieri offers this template for free download here.
Best for Hardcore Marketers
We couldn’t help ourselves. Although every template in this blog post can work for marketers, the templates below are perfect for those who love to brand themselves.
16. Heavy Header Resume Template
“Hey, you!” That’s what I think of when I see this flashy yet classy template. Made by designer Mike Bradshaw, the resume features a variety of sections without seeming too cluttered.
This template is great for marketers who want to make a bold statement. The template’s design evokes the image of a leaflet and is sure to grab a hiring manager’s attention.
Long names might look overwhelming with this header, but it certainly does a good job conveying a breadth of information. Download it for free here.
17. Managerial Resume Template
This last resume was designed by the company, LiveCareer. This classic resume is great for professionals in all industries.
While LiveCareer suggests that this template appeals to people searching for managerial positions, we think it’s perfect for job seekers at all professional levels.
You can customize this template with your initials and brand colors to add a professional yet personal element to your resume that will catch the eye of hiring managers as they leaf through piles of resumes.
Build a resume with this template for free here.
Stand Out From the Crowd
A professional resume template tailored to your industry and level of experience can go a long way. Download one of our resume templates and fill out your information. Then, customize it to fit your style. You’ll be one step closer to landing your dream gig.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in October, 2016 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.