The Harvard Resume Format, Explained (and How to Build One)

Search for a resume template and one description keeps surfacing: the Harvard format. It refers to the style shown in the resume and cover letter guidance published by Harvard University’s careers service, which circulates widely as a PDF and gets copied into thousands of blog posts.

Two things are worth saying at the start. First, this site has no connection to Harvard, and neither do most of the pages selling “the Harvard template”. Second, the format is not a secret and it is not proprietary in any useful sense — it is a well-executed version of ordinary good practice, which is precisely why it has lasted.

Here is what the style actually consists of, and where it is and is not the right choice.

What the format looks like

Strip away the branding and it is this:

• One column, running top to bottom. No sidebar, no panel, no two-column grid.
• No graphics at all. No photo, no icons, no skill bars, no logos, no shading.
• Black text on white. Emphasis comes from bold, capitals and spacing rather than from colour.
• Name at the top in a larger size, contact details on one line beneath it.
• Section headings in capitals, often with a horizontal rule underneath: EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, LEADERSHIP, SKILLS & INTERESTS.
• Education first — a university careers service is writing for students, so the degree leads.
• Entries built the same way: organisation on the left in bold, location on the right; role beneath in italic, dates on the right.
• Bullet points that start with a past-tense verb and end with a quantified outcome.
• One page, in a serif or plain sans typeface at 10 to 12 point.

That is the whole of it. Nothing there is unique to Harvard; it is a disciplined version of what any good careers adviser would tell you.

Why it works

It parses perfectly

A single column with no tables, no text boxes and standard headings is exactly what applicant tracking software is built to read. The right-aligned dates are the one thing to watch: if they are achieved with a table, you have reintroduced the problem. Achieve them with a right tab stop instead, which is what the original does. The eight formatting rules covers the rest.

It forces you to write properly

With no design to hide behind, the only thing carrying your application is the sentences. The verb-first, result-last bullet structure is a good discipline: it makes you finish the thought rather than describing a duty and stopping.

It is unfussy enough for any industry

A plain document is never wrong. A designed one can be, in law, medicine, finance, academia and the public sector.

Where it does not fit

The format was written for university students and recent graduates applying to consulting, banking, law and graduate schemes. That shows in three places.

Education sits first. Sensible when your degree is the most recent and most relevant thing about you. Wrong once you have five years of work: experience should lead, and education drops to a two-line block near the bottom.

It assumes one page. Reasonable for a student. Restrictive at fifteen years in, where a second page is normal and expected. See how long a resume should be.

It has a “Leadership & Activities” section. That is a campus concept. Mid-career, its equivalent is a professional achievements or projects section, or nothing.

None of this makes the format bad. It makes it a student format that adapts easily: move education down, allow a second page, replace the activities block, and you have an excellent general-purpose resume.

How to build one in half an hour

1. New document. Margins at 1.27–1.9 cm (0.5–0.75 inch). One typeface throughout, 11 point.
2. Name at the top, 16–18 point bold, centred or left aligned. Contact details on the line beneath at 10 point: email, phone, city, one link.
3. Set a right tab stop at the right margin. Every date and location will use it. Do not use a table.
4. Heading style: capitals, bold, 11–12 point, with a thin rule underneath and a blank line above.
5. Sections in order. Student: Education, Experience, Leadership, Skills. Working professional: Summary, Experience, Education, Skills.
6. Each entry: organisation bold on the left, location at the tab stop; role in italic on the next line, dates at the tab stop; then bullets.
7. Every bullet starts with a past-tense verb and, where you can, ends with a number.
8. Cut until it fits without dropping below 10 point or below 1.27 cm margins. If it still will not fit, cut more — do not shrink.

A word on paid “Harvard templates”

Plenty of sites sell a file under that name. The guidance it is modelled on is published free by the university that wrote it, and the style itself is not something anyone owns. If you are paying for a resume template, pay for something the format alone does not give you — wording for your specific job title, bullet points drafted at your level of experience, files that open in more than one program — not for a layout you can build with a tab stop.

That is what the templates here are: single column and graphics-free in the same way, but written for one job title rather than for students in general, with bullets drafted at 1, 2, 5 and 10+ years. Accountant, software engineer, social worker and 495 others, browsable by industry or career level. What is included lists exactly what each package contains.

Common questions

Is the Harvard resume format an official standard?

No. It is the house style of one university’s careers guidance, which became widely copied because it is clear and it works. No employer requires it.

Is it good for someone mid-career?

With two changes, yes: move education below experience, and allow a second page. The single-column, graphics-free discipline is good at any stage.

Does it work with applicant tracking systems?

Very well, provided the right-aligned dates are made with a tab stop rather than a table. Single column and standard headings are exactly what parsers expect.

Do I have to keep it to one page?

Only while you are a student or early in your career. Beyond about eight years, a second page is normal and trying to avoid it usually means shrinking type or cutting evidence.

Can I add colour to it?

You can, and nothing will break. It simply stops being that format. A single accent colour on headings is safe in most industries; law, medicine and the public sector are the usual exceptions.

• Filed under
• Resume formatting
• Students
• Templates