Is this template really free?

Yes. The Word file and Google Docs copy are both free with no email gate and no sign-up. You own the file once you download it.

Which ATS systems does this template pass?

The template was structured to parse cleanly in the major systems most companies use in 2026: Workday, Greenhouse, Lever, iCIMS, Taleo and SmartRecruiters. The single-column layout, standard fonts and standard section labels are the three formatting decisions that satisfy all of them at once.

Why is Word safer than Canva or Figma exports?

Word writes paragraphs the parser already knows how to read. Design tools can export PDFs where text is rendered as glyph sequences or image layers. Independent testing in 2026 found 72 percent of popular Canva templates failed basic ATS parsing. Same content, different file structure, different result.

Should I use the Word or Google Docs version?

Word .docx is the safer default across systems. Use Google Docs if you work natively in it, then export to .docx or PDF for submission. Avoid uploading the Google Docs link itself unless the posting asks for it.

PDF or Word when I submit?

Submit DOCX when the posting allows it. Submit PDF if asked specifically. Both work with our template because both export from Word as parser-safe text. The 2026 Jobshinobi parsing tests confirmed DOCX parses most reliably across major systems.

How do I customise the template without breaking ATS friendliness?

Change the copy freely. Do not change the structure: keep one column, standard section names, no tables, no graphics. If you want a different font, stay inside the parser-safe list (Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, Georgia, Cambria, Garamond).

Can I add a profile photo?

Not for US, UK, Canada or Australia. Photos add no parsable text and can trigger anti-bias filters. In parts of Europe, the Middle East and Asia where photos are expected, add it as the very last step on a copy of the file you are sending directly to a recruiter, not to the ATS.

What length should my CV be?

One page for entry and early career, fewer than five years of experience. One to two pages for mid level. Two pages for executive. ResumeHeatMap eye-tracking research in 2026 found recruiter attention drops sharply after the first page, so the first page must carry your strongest signals regardless.

How do I know it actually works?

Drop your filled version into our free ATS checker. You get a 0 to 100 score and a ranked fix list in under a minute. If the score is below 80, the checker tells you exactly which section is dropping points.

Free download, no email gate

Free ATS-Friendly Resume Template

A single-column Word and Google Docs template engineered to parse cleanly in Workday, Greenhouse, Lever, iCIMS, Taleo and SmartRecruiters. Fill in your details, score it free, send it out.

Download Word (.docx)Copy in Google Docs

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✓We score your CV across 6 dimensions: keyword match, parseability, formatting, contact info, action verbs and quantified achievements.

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Three single-column CV template thumbnails labelled Entry level, Mid level and Executive, each with a green check mark above and standard sections Summary, Experience, Skills and Education visible — Three filled variants of the template: entry level, mid level and executive. Same single-column structure, different section ordering.

ats template free download docx guide

Grab the template

Free, no email gate. The Word file works in Word, Pages, Google Docs and LibreOffice without conversion damage.

Word .docx Google Docs copy

Single column, no tables, no text boxes
Standard section labels (Summary, Experience, Skills, Education)
Calibri 11pt body, 13pt section headings, 0.7 inch margins
No images, icons, skill bars or photos
Plain-text contact info at the very top of the body
Dates in Jan 2024 to Mar 2026 format
No header or footer bars
Editable as .docx in Word, Pages, Google Docs and LibreOffice

Why the format is the way it is

Most "ATS-friendly" templates online are not. They look clean, they read well to a human, and they break the parser in specific repeatable ways. The 2026 Resume Optimizer Pro tests found 72 percent of popular Canva templates failed basic ATS parsing. The issue is not the design tool, it is using a design-first document in a parser-first hiring pipeline.

The template you download here was structured against the parsing behaviour of Workday, Greenhouse, Lever, iCIMS, Taleo and SmartRecruiters. Single column so the strict parsers (Workday, Taleo) cannot scramble it. Standard section labels so the keyword search in iCIMS hits the right blocks. Plain text contact info in the body so the systems that skip the document header bar still see your email.

Read the underlying rules in our ATS-friendly resume guide. When you have filled the template, drop it into our free ATS checker to confirm the score.

The seven sections of the template

Five required, two optional. They map onto the structured fields every major ATS extracts.

Required

Header (name and contact)

Your full name in 18 to 20 point bold, then a single line of plain text with city, email, phone and LinkedIn URL. Plain text in the body, never in the Word header bar.

Required

Summary

Two or three sentences. Seniority, function, two strongest specialisms, one quantified outcome. Anchors the rest of the CV for both the parser and the recruiter.

Required

Experience

Company name first, role title second, dates and location on the same line below. Three bullets per role, each starting with a different action verb. Reverse chronological order.

Required

Skills

Comma-separated list of tools, languages and methods you actually use. Maintain a dedicated block near the top so the ATS skill search hits it first.

Required

Education

Degree, university, year range. One detail line for distinction or relevant dissertation. Skip secondary school once you have a degree.

Optional

Projects

Optional. Useful for engineering, design, research, or anyone with a portfolio. One line per project, with the link inline as plain text.

Optional

Certifications

Optional. Name, issuer, year. One line each. Include only the certifications recruiters in your function recognise.

Three variants of the same structure

The download contains one master file. Reorder the sections based on where you are in your career. Recruiter attention concentrates on the top of page one, so put your strongest signal there.

Entry level

Graduates, interns and people with under three years of experience

Order: Header, Summary, Education first, Experience second, Projects, Skills, Certifications. Education leads because that is your strongest signal.

Mid level

Three to ten years of experience, typical individual contributor or first-line manager

Order: Header, Summary, Experience, Skills, Education, Certifications, Projects. Experience leads. Aim for one to one and a half pages.

Executive

Senior leadership, ten years and up, or specialist track equivalent

Order: Header, Summary, Experience, Selected accomplishments, Board and advisory, Education. Two pages is fine. Quantify outcomes at the company level.

Common ways people break a good template

Every mistake below makes the parser miss something. Run your filled CV through the checker after each edit to confirm the score holds.

Downloading a Canva template and exporting to PDF

Independent 2026 testing of 50 popular Canva resume templates found 72 percent failed basic ATS parsing. Canva exports often render text as image layers or vector objects that parsers cannot read.

Use our Word template, or pick one of Microsoft's ATS templates in Word. If you want a designed PDF for human readers, send it separately after the ATS gate. The full ATS rules are in our [ATS-friendly resume guide](/hub/ats-friendly-resume).

Adding skill rating bars to look modern

A 60 percent filled bar does not tell the parser whether you are intermediate, advanced or expert. The skill effectively disappears from the searchable record.

Use a comma-separated list. Add a proficiency word only when it changes meaning: Fluent, Native, Working knowledge.

Putting contact info in the Word header bar

Many parsers skip the document header and footer regions entirely. Your name and email end up missing from the parsed record.

Keep all contact details as plain text in the body, at the top of page one. The template ships this way already.

Replacing standard section labels with creative ones

Renaming "Experience" to "My Career Story" tells iCIMS and similar systems that the section is a biography block, and they downweight it during keyword search.

Keep the labels exactly as the template ships: Summary, Experience, Skills, Education. The boring labels are the searchable ones.

Forgetting to delete the placeholder copy

A submitted template with "Two to three sentence pitch" still in the Summary block tells the recruiter you did not edit the file. We see this more often than you would think.

Search the doc for every word in italic or grey and replace before exporting. Run it through our [free ATS checker](/hub/ats-resume-checker) to confirm.

Exporting to PDF without verifying text is selectable

A PDF that looks fine on screen can still be text-as-image when exported from some apps. Once the text is an image, the ATS sees nothing.

After exporting, open the PDF, select all, copy, paste into a plain text editor. If the words come back as words, you are good. If not, export as DOCX instead.

Now score it against ATS

Drop your filled CV into the free checker and see your score plus a ranked fix list in under a minute.

Run my free ATS check

Frequently asked questions

Everything we get asked about the template, the file formats and how to keep ATS friendliness while customising.

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The 2026 guide to writing a CV applicant tracking systems can actually read. Seven rules, real parser behaviour, before-and-after examples.

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Free ATS-Friendly Resume Template

Grab the template

Why the format is the way it is

The seven sections of the template

Header (name and contact)

Summary

Experience

Skills

Education

Projects

Certifications

Three variants of the same structure

Entry level

Mid level

Executive

Common ways people break a good template

Downloading a Canva template and exporting to PDF

Adding skill rating bars to look modern

Putting contact info in the Word header bar

Replacing standard section labels with creative ones

Forgetting to delete the placeholder copy

Exporting to PDF without verifying text is selectable

Now score it against ATS

Frequently asked questions

Related tools

Free ATS Resume Checker

ATS-Friendly Resume Guide

ChatGPT vs Purpose-Built AI for Resume Review

Read next

What is an ATS? A plain-English guide

CV summary examples that get read

Skills to put on your CV

Sources and further reading