No matter what industry you work in (or your experience level in that industry), a plain, black-and-white resume written in Times New Roman font just doesn't quite cut it anymore.
But just because resumes have gotten more creative doesn't mean you need special design software to make your application stand out — some of the best Word resume templates allow you to develop your personal brand while also communicating your experience and career goals.
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File Type:.docx
Pulling your more text-heavy information off to the side in an attractive color-blocked sidebar, this resume lets your experience stand for itself in white space at the top. It's also easily customizable with no difficult-to-manipulate tables or formatting. The sidebars are in movable text boxes that can even be removed if you wish.
This template is best for young professionals starting their careers. This adjustable resume template can give you full customization options for your first resume.
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This resume takes on a different look than most resumes, centered around a single bar. This makes the resume more visually striking, which could draw attention as hiring managers are evaluating candidates. It also puts emphasis on the objective with your chronological experience supporting it underneath. All of this is in an attractive serif font that is elegant and classy.
This template is great for college graduates to show their most recent accomplishments. The "Objective" section will help you showcase where you are trying to go in your career.
File Type:.docx
The modern initial resume template organizes your experience, education, and skills in a simple, easy-to-digest layout. You can download it as a .docx file.
I like this resume template for early-stage professionals (3-5 years of experience) because it lets you call attention to the key aspects of your experience and briefly summarize the skills that make you a qualified candidate.
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Speaking of serif fonts — this resume puts forward an element of grace and formality with its font choices. It's perfect for individuals who are looking for more organic colors than the ones more typically found in resumes, and the colors are also easily changed in Microsoft Word's theme settings. It also includes a skill-level bar, adding a nice visual touch to the template.
This template is great for college students to demonstrate their internship experience. The volunteering section gives a rounded viewpoint of your accomplishments if you are just leaving college.
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High-level strategy demands a range of skill sets — project management, media, planning, and more. So, strategist resumes need space to hold a lot of information without overwhelming the reader.
This design is clean and pleasing to the eye. It's easy to scan and customize based on your specific experience.
The "Areas of Expertise" section stands out on this template. This gives you a chance to draw a clear connection between your professional experience and what you're capable of.
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This resume template is available from Microsoft itself, and it's one of many free templates the company has prepared for those who depend on Microsoft Office tools to create content. Yes, it’s written in Times New Roman — don't freak out.
Designs like this can borrow an old-school typeface and still impress recruiters with a clean layout and subtle use of color. You can also change the font if you wish (and the same goes for every template in our list).
The "Skills" section is perfect for candidates in the tech industry. A candidate can showcase the languages they are fluent in and show a variety of accomplishments, successfully demonstrating their capabilities as they move into a new industry.
File Type:.docx
The digital marketing resume below comes from our own collection of resume templates, all of which open directly in MS Word.
Coming with two pages total, this sheet holds a wealth of information and offers the perfect amount of style while maintaining professionalism. Mid-level marketers all the way up to CMOs can find this template valuable.
In this resume template, mid-level marketers can effectively showcase a variety of their skills, as well as their portfolio and other media pieces.
File Type:.docx
The Black and White resume template below suits professionals who prefer using color and shading to add structure to their resume.
The black banner at the top contrasts the applicant's name nicely to help make him/her more memorable to recruiters. The gray banner just below the header is perfect for a summary or career objective — it makes one's goals known but doesn't overpower the experience listed below it.
If you're a graphic designer, this is the resume to showcase your art. This template has a monochromatic color scheme, but if you are a designer, you can easily take it to the next level.
File Type:.docx
This simple but effective resume template covers everything you want to share in your applications. The basic color choice also helps you stand out.
Recommended for: College students or internsThis template lets you outline your objective, skills, and abilities, making it an excellent option for interns and college students who might still need to gain significant working experience but have a skillset they want to call attention to.
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This no-frills, chronological resume template places section headers on one side and relevant information on the other, giving you ample space to highlight your experience and expertise.
If references are relevant to the job you’re applying for, you can keep the section in. Otherwise, you can remove it and use the extra space to add more information about your experience.
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The illustration on the top-left of this template shows who the designers at Hloom had in mind for this resume: civil engineers. But because it's a Word document, that graphic is easy to edit and replace with an image that represents your line of work. Are you an analytics buff? Design a clever bar or line graph icon and place it next to your name in blue (or whatever color you'd like!).
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File Type:.docx
There isn't a better name for the template below. The Spick and Span resume might be the cleanest-looking sheet on this list.
It uses boldface, all-caps, and gray typeface to structure various headers of the document differently and maximize the hiring manager's reading experience. And all that minimalism makes the professional headshot at the top pop off the page.
Resumes that look like this can be the work sample. If you have a background in illustration or design, making your resume stand out will be a great nod to your future employer. Get creative with your resume's design if you want to work in an illustrative industry.
File Type:.docx
Similar to the Centered Bar resume earlier in the post, Hloom's Timeline template is a super simple but creative way to tell your story.
You can convey your progression through various jobs you've held on one side of the vertical line, and more static elements of your background — such as skills and education — on the other.
This template has a sleek and clean look that places the focus on the highlights of your experience rather than on the minor details. If you have a background in editing or copywriting, this resume is the perfect way to showcase your skills in a concise and effective narrative — without the fluff.
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Despite being labeled as a Florist resume, this basic template is easily customizable and suitable for anyone entering the job market.
Even If you have little experience, this resume lets you showcase the unique skills and abilities that set you apart.
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This basic resume template is suited for content producers at all career stages. By spreading out the header and "Skills" text horizontally, the resume below fits a lot of crucial information comfortably on one page (of course, it also comes with a second page if you need it).
This resume will help content creators showcase their biggest projects and most notable accomplishments. It's great for showing how your scope of work has increased over the years, solidifying your expertise in that field.
File Type:.docx
This is perhaps the most imaginative of all the Word-based resume templates on this list — with both a skills meter and a comic headshot.
The template was designed by Venkata Naresh and comes with 12 different versions of this design. Have you created a Bitmoji of yourself? Do you think your employer would find it creative? Match the template and add it as your photo.
If you need a resume template that will showcase your artistic skills without being too casual or informal, this is perfect for you. You can also add in notes of your accomplishments, relevant skills, and qualifications for the job.
File Type:.docx
The curriculum vitae-style resume below flips the typical two-column resume so the basic applicant information is listed across the right side, rather than the left.
Feel free to change the color of this sidebar in Microsoft Word if dark red isn't your thing — the template can pull off any color you wish.
If you are a graduate student entering the workforce, having a CV-style resume will demonstrate the depth of your knowledge first and showcase how your continued education will contribute to your future work environment.
File type: .docx
I like this resume template for managers or leaders because the unique format lets you call attention to your key career goals and give a timeline of the experience leading to you being a well-qualified leader.
File type: .docx
When you're early in your career, a customized resume is key. This template is simple, with a clear structure and spaces to highlight important skills, education, and experience.
The design uses accessible fonts to create a clean and professional look that you can personalize for your brand.
At this stage in your career, it's essential to add useful data and examples to your resume to show hiring managers what you can bring. The easy-to-read fonts and headers in this template will help you highlight relevant details in your resume.
File type: .docx
This template, also offered on Freesumes, dares to use yellow as the dominant color — but doesn't sacrifice professionalism in the process.
The document anchors the education section to a thick, bright banner across the bottom, but you can likely change this to a skills section with some simple editing in Microsoft Word.
This clean-cut design represents a candidate who is all about precision. This template would serve candidates who have experience in architecture or construction.
File type: .docx
What makes this resume unique is the space for references on the lower left-hand side. Does your field need others to vouch for your experience? This resume gives you room for three solid recommendations.
If you work in branding or have a large social media following, you can show your ability to create a cohesive message with this resume template. Feel free to change the color scheme to suit your brand.
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This one was designed by the stationery experts at MOO and is offered for download by Microsoft. Simple but vibrant, this template hugs the text with an artistic header and footer — great for recent graduates who need to fill empty space on the page.
If you are a photographer who does freelance work, this is a great template to showcase your experience. This will give your hiring manager or client an excellent first impression because it showcases your creative ability without sacrificing the important elements — your accomplishments.
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This resume embraces simplicity with a slight touch of color to make things a bit more interesting. It also nicely sections off Skills and Education notes from the Work History list.
With LiveCareer.com, you can generate a template with your basic information and then download it to add small details.
This resume gives a modern twist on the resume. It's perfect for those looking for a fresher look than the traditional resume.
File Type:.docx
This NovoResume.com template is colorful and includes a place for your headshot which could make you look both interesting and confident to an employer.
A colorful format like this one might be great for a media or advertising professional who wants to keep their job application visually memorable to prospective employers.
File Type:.docx
If you're looking for simplicity and efficiency rather than something colorful, consider this Elegant Resume Template from Jofibo.
With Jofibo, you can select this or other similar templates on the website, enter your information, and then download it quickly and easily.
If you are a mid-level marketing candidate, use this fun template to showcase all of your expertise and accomplishments. It's an eye-catching template that displays your creativity and ability to engage.
File Type:.docx
Because of the color and image, it's pretty memorable. But, for those who prefer a more conservative resume look, this template is fairly simple.
This template is great for accomplished candidates moving into a high-rank position. This layout allows you to fit plenty of accomplishments, and the conservative look organizes the fullness of your career neatly.
File Type:.docx
This resume is perfect for displaying a clear timeline of your career history. It's ideal for a seasoned professional who may have a lot of experience and wants to display it on one to two pages.
The template also allows you to highlight your competency level in various areas, giving the recruiter an easy way to spot your expertise.
This resume is great for people in the technical space because it adds a touch of color and feels more compact, which will allow you to get right to the point about your key skills, certifications, and work experiences.
If you have Microsoft Word installed on your computer, open the program and let it load for a moment. There will be a couple of helpful options waiting for you on the first screen, specifically for resume creation.
Once you've launched MS Word, a window of templates will appear. Scroll down until you see the template options designed for resumes — there will be at least two of them. Double-click the one that suits your style and personal brand, but don't be too particular about design just yet — you can customize these templates quite a bit.
When your resume template opens, you'll see placeholder text for each line of your resume, starting with your first and last name at the top. Delete this header text and enter your name, as well as any contact information by which you want the recruiter to contact you.
Use the first line below your name and contact info to describe who you are, what you do, and what you're looking for in your career.
List any relevant degrees or certificates you received through schooling. You can safely exclude secondary education if you've graduated from an accredited college.
Your professional experience is frequently the most important section of your resume, so feel free to rank this section above your skills and education, depending on how many jobs you previously held.
If you have experience in certain software, exercises, problem-solving, or management techniques, use them to populate your skills. Your resume's "Skills" section helps reveal what all of your previous jobs or related experiences have in common, based on what they taught you and what you provided them.
Finish out your resume with any personal accomplishments or accolades you think a hiring manager in your industry would appreciate. Although this section shouldn't include a Most Improved recognition from little league, for example, it should definitely include your Marketer of the Month award from your last position.
Next, let’s talk about another easy way to create a resume in Word — templates.
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