Resume builder

Fill in a form and download your resume as a PDF, with an ATS-friendly plain layout among the four templates. Nothing you type is uploaded.

How to Build my resume

1
Fill in your details
Type your name, job title and contacts, then add positions, qualifications, skills and languages. Every field is optional except your name and job title.
2
Pick a template
Classic, compact, two columns or ATS plain. Change the accent colour, the text size and the page format, and watch the preview redraw as you type.
3
Download your PDF
The PDF is written in your browser and named after your surname. A plain-text copy comes with it for pasting into application forms.

Which template gets read by the robots

Most large employers run applications through an ATS, software that reads your PDF before a person does. Columns, tables, graphics and text set in colour are exactly what those parsers mangle: a two-column resume often comes out with your job titles interleaved with your skills, and a name printed inside a header frame frequently comes out blank. The ats-plain template exists for that path. It has one column, no rules, no colour and no photo, section headings in capitals and skills separated by commas instead of bullets, so the text layer reads top to bottom in exactly the order you wrote it. The plain-text copy you download alongside the PDF is generated from the same content in the same order, so what a parser sees and what you paste into the form are the same words. Use classic, compact or two columns when a human opens the file: a recruiter's inbox, your own site, a printed copy at an interview.

How long a resume should be

Two pages is the working answer for most careers, and one page is right early on. This builder will lay out up to four pages and warns you as soon as it goes past that, because past four pages the reader stops reading rather than starts skimming. If yours runs long, the compact template gives you the same content on fewer pages: smaller page margins, tighter leading and a smaller gap between sections. Dropping the oldest positions and cutting each description to its two strongest lines is usually worth more than any layout change.

Nothing you type leaves this tab

Every field is read straight from the form, and the PDF is assembled in your browser by JavaScript. No text, no dates and no photo are uploaded to any server. The draft is saved in this browser only, under the key pulsarkit.draft.resume-builder, for 30 days, and the Clear the saved draft button wipes it immediately.

Frequently asked questions

What makes the ATS template better for recruitment software?

It has one column, no colour, no graphics and no photo. Parsers read the text layer in the order it was written, so headings, dates and job titles arrive in the right order instead of being interleaved from two columns. The plain-text file you get alongside the PDF contains the same content in the same order.

How many pages should my resume be?

One page early in a career, two pages for most people. This builder lays out up to four and warns you when a resume goes past that, because recruiters usually read two.

Is anything I type sent to a server?

No. The form is read in the browser and the PDF is written there too. Nothing is uploaded anywhere: not your name, not your phone number, not your photo.

Where is my draft stored, and how do I erase it?

In this browser's local storage, under the key pulsarkit.draft.resume-builder, for 30 days. The Clear the saved draft button erases it at once, and clearing site data in your browser does the same.

Can I get a .docx file instead?

Not directly. Download the PDF and run it through PDF to Word, which is offered as the next step. Some employers ask for .docx explicitly, so it is worth keeping both.

Should I put a photo on my resume?

It depends on where you are applying. Photos are normal in much of continental Europe and unusual, sometimes actively discouraged, in the UK, the US and Canada. The photo switch is off by default and is not available at all in the ATS template.

Does it work on a phone?

Yes. The form, the preview and the PDF all work on a phone browser; the file is saved to your downloads like any other. A large photo is scaled down before it goes into the PDF so that phones do not run out of memory.