Why You Should Never Use a Double-Column Resume

I see a lot of job seekers use so-called “professional resumes” generated from various websites. Many of them are actually double-column resumes, like this one shown below:

This is what you probably don’t know:

Using a double-column resume would ruin your chance to get an interview simply because the applicant Tracking System (ATS) cannot parse it correctly.

Remember, most of the ATS algorithms cannot read your resume like human recruiters.

While the human can read it column by column regarding the resume above, the machine reads line by line:

#1 line: Profile                    Education 
#2 line: Highly accurate and experienced Data Scientist IB Diploma Programme 
#3 line: adept at collecting, analyzing, and interpreting The Internation School Estepona, El Paraiso,

Now you can see why a double-column resume could create a mess for ATS to parse the information.

The easiest way to avoid problems like this is to use the ATS-friendly templates.

Like this one:

Or this one:

You can use those two beautifully designed resume styles for free at:

Impression AI

If you are trying to design your own template or other online editors, here are the tips to choose an ATS-friendly resume template:

1. Avoid a double-column resume template.
2. Avoid a complex-structured resume template.
3. Avoid tables or graphs in the resume.
4. Make sure the section header itself takes up one line.

Here are the resume guidelines to maximize your chance to get the attention of recruiters :

✅ For new grads:

https://www.impression.ai/resume-writing/for-new-grads

✅ For intern candidates:

xhttps://www.impression.ai/resume-writing/for-college-interns

✅ For people with work experience:

https://www.impression.ai/resume-writing/for-experienced-professionals