The truth about resume templates…

Is that they don't matter nearly as much as you think they do.

In fact, in 2025's increasingly automated hiring landscape, obsessing over format is actually hurting your chances.

And yet, we talk to job seekers who've spent hours agonizing over fonts and margins - or who show us a"premium ATS-friendly templates" through a service promising to unlock some secret door to employment … that happens to cost $40+/month.

Let's cut through the noise.

The Resume Reality Check

• Recruiters spend an average of 6-8 seconds looking at your resume

• Only about 5% of hires come from cold applications (estimates we're hearing so far this year)

• Most ATS systems strip your formatting anyway

All Your Resume Actually Needs to Do

1. Be readable by ATS systems

2. Make it obvious to a human (who's barely skimming) why you're qualified

That's it.

Everything else is procrastination disguised as productivity.

(I know that's harsh. Your resume feels like one of the only things you can control in a job search where everything else is out of your control. When I was unemployed and job searching for six months, I spent time every week tweaking something on my stupid resume. I get it. But we're here to give you the best advice we can).

The Only Template You Need

Here's our template. It's basic - which is perfect.

• Single column layout

• Standard font (Arial or Calibri)

• Clear section headers

• Normal bullet points

• Black text on white background

• Saved as a PDF and a docx. (ATS reads docx easier, but places like Typeform only accept PDF uploads).

Where to Actually Spend Your Time in 2025

Companies are drowning in applications. They're responding with:

• AI-powered initial screenings

• Asynchronous video interviews

• Skills assessments

• Portfolio requirements

Your perfectly formatted resume matters less than ever. Companies are looking for new ways to evaluate candidates because traditional resumes aren't cutting it anymore.

Instead of tweaking fonts or looking for synonyms for "managed", focus on:

• Building your network (you know, where 95% of jobs actually come from)

• Preparing for interviews

• Learning new skills / proactively filling any gaps in your skillset

• Following up with real humans

The Bottom Line

Your resume needs to be clear and professional. That's all. It's a technical document, not a design portfolio. The content matters infinitely more than the container.

If you're going to spend time on your resume, spend it on:

• Making your achievements specific and measurable

• Matching your experience to job requirements

• Getting feedback from people in your target role (this is a GREAT use of time)

Need Help With the Part That Actually Matters?

We built Careerspan to help you focus on what's important: clearly communicating your value to people who can open doors for you.

That's why our platform is built around conversation! Practice talking about yourself, and we'll do the rest - we use the stories you tell us about your experiences to create tailored resumes to each role you apply to. No making stuff up, no spending hours rewriting the same information.

Our tool helps you identify and articulate your real achievements in a way that resonates with both humans and ATS systems - and prepares you to be a badass in your interview, too. Win, win, win. Go create your account already.

Cheers,

Logan (actually written by me, edited by Claude 3.5)

P.S. A Word (Rant?)About SEO Resume Scams

If you've searched for resume examples, you've probably found sites with thousands of "role-specific templates." Here's what's actually happening: these companies are gaming search engines to capture job seeker traffic.

You don't need a special template for being a "Junior Software Developer in FinTech" versus a "Junior Software Developer in HealthTech."

It's all SEO bait.

It makes me mad. That's it.