New year, new you. It’s an annual tradition since our ancestors first overindulged over the holidays. And while you’re starting that hot new juice cleanse or renewing your gym membership, give some thought to your resume as well—especially if you’ll be looking for a new job this year.
The great thing about revamping your resume is that there’s no need to reinvent the wheel—it’s a pretty standardized document by now, and there are many online resources that can help you get your skills and accomplishments into a format that virtually all employers have come to expect. Here are some websites to help you take that first step and download a template.
Hloom
Possibly the Best in Show, Hloom offers more than 275 free resume templates which you can download. With such a huge selection, you can easily find a template that suits your style and your level of experience (for example, an entry-level resume should look different from the resume of someone with 20 years of experience). One thing to note is that this site is ad-supported, so you should be careful that you’re downloading the templates themselves and not clicking on third-party links.
Google Docs
If you already have a Google or Gmail account, then you already have access to these templates. This program can import information from other docs (like Microsoft Word) and drop them into a template. This also has the added benefit of being available anywhere you have an internet connection—no need to save your resume on a USB drive or specific computer.
Coverlettersandresume.com
This site offers downloadable templates for resumes, as well as pointers for how to flesh out each section of your resume.
Resume2016.net
This site has templates with a more modern flair (format, fonts, etc.) and emphasizes different types of resumes. Functional, chronological, targeted, “mini-resume,” combination, and non-traditional resumes all have downloadable templates available.
Super-resume.com
Super-resume.com is a resume-builder, which means it’s an online app that helps you craft your resume by importing information into their existing templates, rather than having you download the template and go from there. Please note that this site requires a free account signup.
LiveCareer
LiveCareer offers full-service resume creation (including writing help from in-house experts). Many of LiveCareer’s services require a premium subscription, but the site does offer a free 7-day trial period for new users.
So as you get ready to tackle the job market along with all those other resolutions, you’ll want to get your resume in the best fighting shape as possible—and these resources can help.
And as with any online resources, you should be extra-careful about anything you’re downloading. Always double-check to make sure the download links are part of the site and not a third-party link disguised to look like download links. And before downloading any document from a source you don’t know very well, make sure your anti-virus software is updated.
