Resume format for jobs in India: layouts, samples and rules (2026)

There are three standard resume formats: reverse-chronological, functional and combination (also called hybrid). Use reverse-chronological unless you have a clear reason not to. It is the layout Indian recruiters read fastest and the one applicant tracking systems (ATS) parse most reliably, because job titles, employers and dates sit where the software expects them.

The format stays reverse-chronological; what changes with experience is the section order and the length. Put your strongest proof for the job directly under the summary.

Drop Class X and XII marks once you have two to three years of work, unless an application form asks for them. Keep CGPA for the first few years if it helps you; remove it later. If you are short of space, read how to fit a resume on one page.

A resume for a job needs six core sections. Everything else is optional and earns its place only if it helps for this particular job.

1. 1

   Header (contact details)

   Full name in the largest font, then city and state, mobile number with +91, a professional email and your LinkedIn URL. No full home address, no “Resume” or “Curriculum Vitae” title at the top.

2. 2

   Summary (2–3 lines)

   Who you are, your experience in years, your two or three strongest skills and the role you want. Freshers can call this a career objective, but write it about what you offer, not “to get a job in a reputed company”.

3. 3

   Work experience

   Job title, company, city and month–year dates for each role, latest first. Under each, 3–5 bullets that start with an action verb and say what you did and what changed. Add numbers only when you can explain them in an interview.

4. 4

   Projects

   Essential for freshers and tech roles: project name, tools used, your part, and the outcome. Link to GitHub or a live demo if you have one.

5. 5

   Education

   Degree and branch, college, university, years and CGPA or percentage. Freshers also list Class XII and Class X with board, year and marks.

6. 6

   Skills

   Hard skills and tools that appear in the job description, as a plain comma-separated list. Skip skill bars and star ratings; an ATS cannot read them and recruiters do not trust them.

7. 7

   Optional: certifications, achievements, languages

   Add NPTEL, Coursera or vendor certifications, awards, ranks, hackathons and languages you speak, if they are relevant. A declaration line and personal details (date of birth, father's name, marital status) are expected mainly in government and some traditional employers' formats; leave them out otherwise.

This is a simple resume format in plain text. Copy it into Word, Google Docs or our builder and replace each bracket. Delete any section you cannot fill honestly; an empty heading looks worse than no heading.

FULL NAME
City, State · +91 XXXXX XXXXX · name@email.com · linkedin.com/in/yourname

SUMMARY
[Job title or degree] with [X years / internship] experience in [2–3 core skills]. [One line on the kind of work you do or want to do, matched to the job post.]

WORK EXPERIENCE
[Job Title] — [Company], [City] | [Mon YYYY] – Present
• [Action verb] + [what you did] + [result or scale, only if you can prove it]
• [Action verb] + [tool or process] + [who used it / what changed]
[Previous Job Title] — [Company], [City] | [Mon YYYY] – [Mon YYYY]
• [Most relevant achievement for the job you are applying to]

PROJECTS
[Project name] | [Tools used] | [Mon YYYY]
• [What it does and your part in it]

EDUCATION
[Degree, Branch] — [College, University] | [YYYY–YYYY] | CGPA: [X.X/10]
Class XII — [Board], [School] | [YYYY] | [XX%]
Class X — [Board], [School] | [YYYY] | [XX%]

SKILLS
[Skill], [Skill], [Skill], [Tool], [Tool], [Language]

CERTIFICATIONS
[Certificate name] — [Issuer] | [YYYY]

LANGUAGES
English, Hindi, [Regional language]

Freshers should move EDUCATION and PROJECTS above WORK EXPERIENCE (and rename it INTERNSHIPS if that is all you have). See filled samples in the resume format for freshers and the 2–5 years experience format.

The structure stays the same for most private-sector jobs; what changes is which section leads and which details are expected. Government jobs are the main exception, because the notification can prescribe its own format.

Applying to a specific company? These pages show the format each one's hiring process expects:

• TCS resume format→
• Infosys resume format→
• Wipro resume format→
• Accenture resume format→
• Cognizant resume format→
• SBI resume format→

Send a text-based PDF by default. It looks the same on every phone and laptop, and modern ATS read it without trouble. Send a Word (.docx) file only when the job post or portal asks for one, or when a recruitment consultant needs to edit it.

Want to make it in Microsoft Word yourself? Our resume format in Word guide covers margins, fonts, heading styles and how to save it as a clean PDF.

Keep the structure boring and the content specific. An ATS reads text in order, so anything that breaks that order (columns, tables, text boxes, images) can scramble your details.

For a deeper walk-through, read how to make an ATS-friendly resume, then run your file through the ATS score checker to see which job-description keywords are missing. Your first check is free.

In India the three words are often used loosely, but they mean different documents. A resume is a one-to-two-page summary for private-sector jobs. A CV is a longer, complete record used for academic, research and many overseas applications. A biodata adds personal details (date of birth, family, address) and is still asked for by some government offices, schools and smaller firms.

If the job post says “send your CV”, a well-formatted resume is almost always what they mean. See resume vs CV for the differences and biodata format for job if an employer explicitly asks for a biodata.

1. 1

   Pick a template

   Browse the 49 resume templates. Single-column designs are the safest for ATS; every template uses standard headings.

2. 2

   Fill in your details

   Type into the resume builder or upload an old resume. AI suggestions help you turn duties into achievement bullets; edit them so every line is true.

3. 3

   Check it against the job

   Paste the job description into the ATS score checker to find missing keywords. The first check is free.

4. 4

   Download the PDF

   Building and previewing are free. A watermark-free PDF needs the Download Pack (₹399 for 3 PDFs over 7 days) or Pro from ₹699; one payment, no auto-renewal.