Free ATS Resume Template: Structure, Example, Format

A free ATS resume template is a resume format that recruiting software can read without mistakes: a single column, section headings with standard names, real text (no images or tables), and a clean PDF. Below is that structure in full, section by section, with the exact heading names to use, a filled example, and a copy-and-paste version. One honest warning before we start: the template solves 20% of the problem. The other 80% is the words you put in it, and we cover that too.

What makes a resume template ATS-friendly

An ATS (applicant tracking system) converts your file to text and sorts it into fields: name, title, company, dates, education, skills. Anything that makes that conversion harder works against you. An ATS resume format ticks this list:

• A single column. Two columns read in the wrong order in many parsers; the left-side data ends up glued to the right-side data.
• Standard headings. "Work Experience", not "My Journey".
• Real text. No tables, text boxes, icons, or skill-level bars.
• A common font. Arial, Calibri, Georgia, or Times, 10 to 12 points.
• Contact details in the body of the document, not in Word's header or footer.
• A PDF exported with selectable text (or .docx if the posting asks), never an image or a scan.
• Simple, consistent dates: "03/2022 - Present" or "2022 - 2024".

You can test any template in two minutes: select all the text in the PDF, paste it into Notepad, and see whether it reads in order. If it comes out scrambled, that template isn't ATS-friendly no matter what its name says. The full explanation of why is in how to pass the ATS filter.

Free ATS resume template: the structure, section by section

This is the order and the names practically every system recognizes. Copy it as is and fill in the brackets.

[First and last name]
[City, Country] · [Phone] · [email@example.com] · [linkedin.com/in/handle]

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
[2 or 3 lines: the role you're targeting, years of experience, two or three
strengths using the posting's words.]

WORK EXPERIENCE
[Title] · [Company] · [City] · [MM/YYYY - MM/YYYY]
- [Achievement with a number: what you did, with what tool, what result it produced]
- [Achievement with a number]
- [Achievement with a number]

[Previous title] · [Company] · [City] · [MM/YYYY - MM/YYYY]
- [Achievement]
- [Achievement]

EDUCATION
[Degree] · [Institution] · [City] · [YYYY]

SKILLS
[Tool 1], [Tool 2], [Methodology], [Technical skill], [Technical skill]

LANGUAGES
[Language]: [level, e.g. B2 or Advanced]

CERTIFICATIONS
[Certification name] · [Issuer] · [YYYY]

Quick notes on each block:

• Contact details: one line, no phone or envelope icons. Write the word or the data, not the picture.
• Professional summary: the only paragraph. Use it for the posting's job title and two or three key requirements, written the way they appear in the posting.
• Work experience: most recent first. Three bullets per role is enough for recent jobs, one or two for older ones.
• Skills: a comma-separated list. No "4 out of 5". If you want to show level, use words: "Excel (advanced, pivot tables)".
• Languages and certifications: only if they help with that posting. If you have none, remove the section; an empty section looks worse than no section.

ATS resume example

A short, fictional example to see it filled in (the details are invented):

Laura Mendez
Austin, TX · +1 512 000 0000 · laura.mendez@example.com · linkedin.com/in/lauramendez

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
Digital marketing analyst with 3 years running Meta Ads and Google Ads campaigns
for retail. Budget management, weekly reporting in Google Analytics, and cost per
lead optimization.

WORK EXPERIENCE
Digital Marketing Analyst · North Store · Austin, TX · 02/2023 - Present
- Managed Meta Ads and Google Ads campaigns on a USD 4,000 monthly budget.
- Built the weekly results report in Google Analytics for the commercial director.
- Cut cost per lead 22% over two quarters by adjusting targeting and creatives.

Marketing Assistant · South Agency · Austin, TX · 06/2021 - 01/2023
- Ran the content calendar for 4 brands and publishing in Meta Business Suite.
- Prepared monthly reach and engagement reports for 4 clients.

EDUCATION
BBA in Marketing · University of Texas at San Antonio · 2021

SKILLS
Meta Ads, Google Ads, Google Analytics, Meta Business Suite, Excel (advanced), Canva, basic SEO

LANGUAGES
Spanish: native · English: fluent

Notice that almost everything a typical posting for that role asks for (Meta Ads, Google Analytics, budget, reporting) is written in those words, and that every bullet carries a tool and a number. That's the difference between an empty ATS template and an ATS resume.

Word, Canva, or an online builder: where to make your ATS resume

Word or Google Docs. Works well if you respect the list above: one column, no tables for alignment, no text boxes, contact details in the body. The text template on this page pastes straight into a blank document. Export to PDF from the same program.

Canva. Most Canva resume templates are two-column with icons and skill bars, because they're designed to look good, not to be read by software. A few single-column ones do pass; if you use Canva, run the plain-text test before sending. And download as "PDF Standard", not as an image. Made yours in Canva? See the test: we ran 4 real templates through the parser.

An online builder with an ATS format. Dopplio's builder lays the document out in one column with standard sections and saves your progress in your browser; you don't need an account until you want to download the PDF. The advantage isn't only the format: afterwards you can run that same resume through the checker against a posting and see which keywords you're missing for each job. More detail in free resume builder.

One clarification so we don't over-promise: Dopplio's builder exports PDF, not .docx. If a posting requires Word, use the text template above in a blank document.

ATS format or Harvard format

They get searched together because they're almost the same thing. The Harvard format is a one-column, sober resume with no photos or graphics and classic sections, so any ATS reads it fine. "ATS format" isn't a different design: it's that same clean format plus the discipline of writing the posting's keywords. If you already have a Harvard resume you don't need another template; you need to check the text against each posting.

Should an ATS resume have a photo?

The parser ignores images, so a photo neither adds nor removes points with the software, as long as it's just an image, with no text on it, and doesn't break the column. The decision is cultural: in the US and UK it's discouraged and many recruiters prefer none; in much of Latin America and parts of Europe it's still common. If you include one, keep it small, in the top corner, and never turn the whole resume into an image so it "looks the same".

Common mistakes with an ATS template

• Filling the template once and sending it unchanged to every posting. The format passes; the keywords match no particular job.
• Going back to two columns "because it looks better". It looks better to you; the software reads it out of order.
• Exporting as an image or printing and scanning the PDF. No text left to read.
• Skills as graphics or stars. Write them in words.
• Contact details in Word's header. Some systems discard it.
• Creative dates. "For a while now" or "until today" don't parse; use "MM/YYYY - Present".
• Empty sections or "References available on request". They take space and add nothing.