18+ Simple & Basic Resume Templates (That Are Easy to Use)

Looking for a simple resume template?

Something clean, easy, neat, uncluttered, and minimal?

You’re in the right place. 

We have over a dozen of the greatest basic templates for resumes or CVs you’ve ever seen.

Oh, and a bonus— 

They all have matching simple cover letter templates, as well.

Want to save time and have your resume ready in 5 minutes? Try our resume builder. It’s fast and easy to use. Plus, you’ll get ready-made content to add with one click. See 20+ resume templates and create your resume here.

Use this resume template

Sample resume made with our builder—See more resume examples here.

Are you looking for different templates? See:

• Microsoft Word Resume
• Blank Resume
• Google Docs Resume
• Skills Based Resume
• Resume for Beginner
• Minimalist resume
• Resume for Students
• Resume for Teenagers
• Classic Resume
• Cool Resume

So, let’s get started.

Here are the top 14 simple resume templates and layouts:

1

Cascade

Cascade is the first on our list of basic resume templates, but it’s no slouch. This is one of our most creative resume templates, but it does creativity in a low-key way. 

Want to save time and have your resume ready in 5 minutes? Try our resume builder. It’s fast and easy to use. Plus, you’ll get ready-made content to add with one click. See 20+ resume templates and create your resume here.

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Sample resume made with our builder—See more resume templates here.

Split into two columns, the right side does the heavy lifting, your longer sentences and paragraphs, while the shorter one on the left is reserved for short details, such as your resume skills or licenses. 

You can choose from dozens of accent colors, and that color will determine both the left-hand sidebar and the section heading titles. If you’re looking for a professional but easy resume template for a current job search, look no further.

Cascade is a powerful-but-simple resume template, and it’s quite popular with the IT crowd. Use it for IT resumes, web developer resumes, and .NET developer resumes.

Pro Tip: Tailor your resume! Just because you’re choosing a simple resume format does not mean you should be lazy. Hiring managers hate generic resumes, so always personalize it to this one specific job. 

2

Concept

Like the Cascade resume layout before, our Concept offers a left-hand sidebar in an accent color of your choice. However, this one is reserved only for dates, perfect for writing reverse-chronological resumes.

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In the main area of this basic CV template, you have plenty of room to go top-down, from the resume summary or career objective at the top, to more trivial details, such as hobbies and interests, at the bottom. 

Whichever basic resume format you go with, the Concept template is ready and waiting for you to use in our state-of-the-art resume builder.

This simple CV template is particularly great for food service resumes, culinary resumes, and bartender resumes.

Pro Tip: There are three main resume formats to choose from: chronological, functional, and hybrid. Choose the layout that will work best to show your professional experience.

3

Crisp

If you’re looking for a clean resume template, Crisp is just about synonymous. Starting off as a full-width header on top, it splits itself into two columns for the rest of the document. 

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Hard skills and soft skills are granted a unique bubble rating system which easily identifies to the recruiter your ability levels. Over on the right side, there is plenty of space to talk up longer-form text, such as your resume work experience. 

Though it counts as one of the best basic resume templates, it’s still an elegant resume that gets the job done!

Crisp is a favorite amongst administrative leaders, so use it for account manager resumes, office manager resumes, and executive assistant resumes.

Pro Tip: Choose the ideal resume font. Use 10–12pt font size in the main body of your resume and cover letter, and go up 2–4pts for section titles.

4

Cubic

If you’re looking for a versatile and easy resume template for job hunting, Cubic’s your best bet. Cubic is a basic CV template which comes in an elegant, three-tone design. The top uses the accent color of your choice for just your name and professional title or branding statement. 

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Below the header, the resume is split into two columns. The right sidebar is in a darker gray, subtly separating its contents from those on the left, which are longer sentences and texts, such as your academic experience on a resume. 

Cubic is a hit with managers, so choose this one for store manager resumes, bar manager resumes, and sales manager resumes.

Pro Tip: If you need help writing the actual resume, it’s simple, too. Head on over to our resume examples, where we have HUNDREDS of sample resumes from different professions to choose from as a resume download. 

5

Diamond

Diamond is a simple resume template with just one column, but it uses its space efficiently. In the classic resume header on top, you’re given plenty of room and an alternate color for your name, job title, and contact information to stand out.

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Below, you have a full-width area for the rest of your resume sections in a more traditional resume format. And, each job entry and skill you list gets its own diamond-shaped bullet point for a unified theme. 

It’s a very easy resume template—one of our most basic templates, actually—but not at all simplistic!

Employees in the service fields often choose this simple resume layout, so pick it for help desk resumes, customer service resumes, and IT technician resumes.

Pro Tip: How long should a resume be? Make your resume format download one page if you have little experience, but two pages is fine. Don’t go longer than that unless you’re writing a graduate school CV for PhD programs.

6

Enfold

Enfold is like a mirror image of our Cascade download resume format. As a classy resume template with a simple format, this one offers clearly-defined section borders to let the hiring manager find the particular area they want with relative ease.

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The address on a resume goes in the top right, ensuring that the employer’s gaze doesn’t get distracted from the important information in the main column. A professional resume bar graph system is used here, as well, to effectively document your various abilities.

Marketers adore this resume design, so it’s ideal for marketing resumes, social media resumes, and digital marketer resumes.

Pro Tip: If you’re on the lookout for free resume templates, be careful. Free resume templates are often not optimized for playing nicely with HR programs like the ATS, which is software meant to parse your resume for keywords.

7

Iconic

There are a lot of icons in this simple CV design, but it’s also iconic as it combines that old-school resume feel from the 90s with modern resume features (those aforementioned icons among them).

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It’s a simple resume format of only one column, and it uses the ample white space to help direct the recruiter’s eye to where they’re searching. Iconic is an easy-to-download resume template, as well.

This professional template for resumes and cover letters is neat and tidy, but it can get long—I suggest using this one when you have a resume with little work experience. 

This simple resume layout is perfect for actress resumes, model resumes, and music resumes.

Pro Tip: Thinking about using infographic resume templates? Think twice. Those images that make up infographic resumes can cause that ATS software we mentioned earlier to go haywire, rendering your resume as ineffective as if you sent nothing at all.

8

Influx

Influx is a basic CV template which resembles a great resume outline, making it one of the most professional resume templates we offer. Using this layout, employers easily see your employment history, academic background, skills, and achievements all in one go. 

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The header section is a neat colored bar holding your name, contact details, and personal URLs separate from the important resume content below. And, to really make the hiring manager sit up in excitement—the simple cover letter template is a perfect match to this resume layout. 

If it’s a manual labor job you’re looking for, this basic CV style is awesome for forklift driver resumes, warehouse worker resumes, and dog walker resumes.

Pro Tip: What to include on a resume? Check out that link to get ideas for various resume sections to add to really make yours unique, such as volunteer experience or proud achievements.

9

Initials

Initials is a clean, easy resume template with a simple design that somehow manages to fit gigabytes of information into a small footprint. 

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Circles are the name of the game on this minimalistic CV template, with filled-in bubbles documenting your hard and soft skills, circular icons to detail your personal information, and the big namesake circle with the initials of your name to stand out to recruiters.

Initials is one of our most basic resume samples, but it retains enough unique traits to still help you stand out among other candidates.

The Initials resume template is good for HR generalist resumes, recruiter resumes, and HR assistant resumes.

Pro Tip: In most resume headers, skip social media links except for your LinkedIn profile URL. However, you can break this rule if it’s crucial to the job, such as Behance for graphic designers, for example.

When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building a professional resume template here for free.

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When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and tell you exactly how to make it better.

10

Modern

We’ve got lots of modern resume templates, but this one takes the crown. The colored bars on the top left and bottom right respectfully call out to the hiring manager while not being obnoxious about it. 

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Split up into two columns, the main resume body area gets neat little ribbon arrows which point out each section title, perfect for the often way-too-quick glance the employer gives the first time around. 

Your resume writing within gets framed in a style that’s sure to make a great first impression at your next job interview! 

The Modern resume design is popular for people in healthcare and medicine. Use this layout for healthcare resumes, CNA resumes, and physician assistant resumes.

Pro Tip: Need help tweaking the resume content? Check out our resume tips and resume dos and don’ts to help you write the best resume possible.

11

Muse

Our Muse is a clean resume design which offers two and a half columns. The left one is perfect for short information, the right side is ideal for longer texts, and the mini middle column is reserved specifically for dates, offering the employer an easy-to-understand timeline of your vocational history.

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Just look at that functional resume sample above. Shaded-in squares are used in your skills and foreign language expertise sections to show the HR manager exactly where you stand. If you need to fit everything onto a one-page resume, this easy resume template gives you the space to do so.

A shortened section for your resume summary or objective ensures that it doesn’t get lost in your CV. It’s the perfect resume for anyone looking for the best resume templates out there which are clean, basic, and minimal in design.

People who work with data enjoy building their resumes with the Muse design. Choose this resume layout for data scientist resumes, data analyst resumes, and management consultant resumes.

Pro Tip: Sometimes the hardest part of a resume is just getting started. Read our post on how to start a CV to get you past that initial writer’s block. 

12

Newcast

Newcast is a simple CV template that is minimalist in design and arrangement. As a single-column resume layout, you decide what needs to get prioritized, be it your work history, educational background, or resume certifications. 

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Laid out in an orderly fashion, Newcast makes sure the hiring manager locates the section they need quickly with its bold headings and adjacent box icons. A matching application letter template is included with this design, and choose from dozens of color combinations to truly make a unique CV. 

One of our most simple resume templates, but effective nonetheless!

Newcast is a favorite in the medical field, as well. Select this one for dental hygienist resumes, nursing resumes, and medical resumes.

Pro Tip: Keywords on a resume are a crucial part of tailoring it to the job. Use the job ad’s requirements section to find the best words to use on your resume.

13

Simple

The Simple CV format is as unblemished as they come, a minimalist design that casts you in the best light. The header of this simple resume sample starts out as a full-width affair, giving plenty of real estate for your professional profile statement.

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Down below, this basic resume template gets divided into two columns. On the left is a sidebar meant for short texts, such as your skills section, language abilities, and personal info. On the right is the main section meant for longer texts, such as your education, job descriptions, and other important information.

If you’re looking for a professional-yet-simple resume template to play nice with finicky applicant tracking systems, this one’s for you. 

Perfect for no-experience positions, new jobs, and education professions, such as elementary teacher resumes, college grad resumes, and high school student resumes!

Pro Tip: Keywords are important on a resume, but so are action words and powerful verbs. Use these throughout your CV to add some oomph to the otherwise bland wording. 

14

Primo

If perfection exists, then it’s Primo. That simple resume template is free of distractions and lays out your achievements skillfully enough to throw other big fish out of a template pool.

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The template is divided into two columns to leave you with enough room for longer paragraphs full of achievements and shorter sections for your skillset details. The timeline design is ideal for chronological resumes, creating a natural environment for career progression. 

The Primo template suits copywriter resumes, event coordinator resumes, and interior designer resumes, among others. 

Pro Tip: Take care of the right balance between your resume's content and white space. You can achieve that by spacing out your resume sections and setting correct margins of 1 inch. 

15

Minimo

When experience speaks for itself, you don’t need much to add. However, you need a simple resume template that’ll gather all that information in one place. So, let’s speak of Minimo for a quick second.

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The above resume format in a one-column style handles employment history gracefully. Together with a summary of qualifications, they take center stage. Props go to the skills section too, highlighted by a simple graphical representation.

Use this template to write a clerical resume or federal resume.

Pro Tip: Knowing the difference between job responsibilities and professional accomplishments is key to writing a resume that stands out. 

16

Nanica

Nanica is a one-column basic resume template that focuses on the brightest highlights of your career. One section at a time, it reveals your most significant strengths that the employer won’t be able to resist.

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The neat layout allows you to display how you’ve been climbing the career ladder and highlight your skillset. And despite the structure being traditional, it’s actually how you guide the recruiter’s gaze through every step you took to be where you are today.

The Nanica template is for you if you’re working in Information Technology. Use it if you’re writing an IT project manager resume or software engineer resume.

Pro Tip: How far back should your resume go? 10 to 15 years. The further back you go, the less information you should include. Employers are interested in your recent developments most of all. 

17

Valera

Unique typography combined with a classic resume structure make Valera one of a kind and you an unmatched catch. Your name pops, and recruiters would want to know what hides underneath those unusual headings.

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One-column resume layout favors less experienced candidates. So if you’re writing your first resume, Valera is your guy. You don’t have to stretch your paragraphs the essay-way. All it takes is a subtle skill rating, and you’re good to go.

Are you writing a resume for an internship? Perfect! Valera was made with you in mind.

Pro Tip: Did you know that recruiters may not even see your resume before it gets rejected? In fact, the Applicant Tracking Software reads it first and, based on the keyword ranking, decides if you could be the right fit. That's why it's important to start with a resume template that’s ATS-friendly. 

18

Vibes

Last but not least—Vibes. Vibes is one of our easy and minimalist resume templates. It keeps the document neat and uncluttered by prioritizing headings with a single color and taking advantage of the white space within.

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A bar graph lets the recruiter easily visualize your skill levels and proficiency in foreign languages. Icons in neat little squares make each heading title pop without expending much effort at all.

Vibes is a good resume format for any position, from college graduate resumes to electrical engineering resumes.

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

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See more cover letter templates and start writing.

Key Takeaway

Basic resume templates and simple cover letter formats don’t mean that you need to sacrifice important elements. 

With the 14 clean CV templates you saw above, you can have minimalist design while still having all the bells and whistles. 

But— 

Follow these rules when choosing a simple resume template:

• Use white space to really keep your resume layout tidy and uncluttered.
• Avoid simple resume templates which are free to download, as they often aren’t optimized for ATS software programs.
• Steer clear of using a basic resume template for Microsoft Word or Google Docs. Choose a PDF version in most cases to allow it to render correctly anywhere.
• Know how to write a simple resume, because a minimal resume template still deserves maximum writing effort!

Do you have any questions on our simple CV templates? Need help deciding which clean resume template is right for your situation? Let’s chat below in the comments, and thanks for reading!