Country guides / United States
US Resume Format Guide 2026
The US resume is a lean marketing document filtered by ATS software before a human sees it. Single column, standard headings, achievement bullets with numbers.
The rules at a glance
Length
1 page (2 pages fine with 5+ yrs experience)
Photo
Never; most employers reject resumes with photos
Personal details
None. No date of birth, nationality or marital status
Dates
Mar 2020 – Present
Language
US English (color, organization)
ATS
Critical: mirror keywords from the job posting
✓ Do
- Reverse-chronological order, most recent first
- Quantify achievements ("cut downtime 23%", "led team of 6")
- Use exact skill and tool names from the job posting
- Single-column layout with standard section headings
- Short summary (2–3 lines) targeted at the role
✕ Don't
- Photo, age, gender, marital status or nationality
- Tables, graphics, columns or fancy fonts (ATS parsers choke)
- First-person pronouns ("I managed" → "Managed")
- "References available upon request" (it's implied)
- Unexplained buzzwords with no evidence
💡 US anti-discrimination law makes employers discard resumes revealing protected characteristics. Anything personal beyond name and contact actively hurts you.
Quick answers
- How long should a United States resume be?
- 1 page (2 pages fine with 5+ yrs experience)
- Should it include a photo?
- Never; most employers reject resumes with photos
- Can I build one for free?
- Yes. The GlobeResume builder applies every rule on this page automatically, previews your resume live, and exports to PDF and Word. It runs entirely in your browser, so your data never leaves your device.
Build my United States Resume free
No sign-up. The builder pre-loads every United States convention from this guide.