How to Create a Minimalist Resume (With Tips and Examples)

By Indeed Editorial Team

Published June 10, 2022

The Indeed Editorial Team comprises a diverse and talented team of writers, researchers and subject matter experts equipped with Indeed's data and insights to deliver useful tips to help guide your career journey.

Having a strong resume is the first step to achieving your career goals. A minimalist resume is a great way to deliver all the key information in a simple and professional manner. Understanding how to write this type of resume can help you be more successful in your job search. In this article, we look at how to create a minimalist resume, offer some tips for making one, and provide you with a template and example of one.

How to create a minimalist resume

Here are some steps you can follow to create a minimalist resume:

1. Put your contact information at the start

Opening your resume with your contact information is the best practice to use. This is because it allows for you to make your information easily accessible for the hiring team. If they're wanting to contact you to set up an interview or offer you a job, it's best to make the information easy to find, rather than force them to go searching for it. You can include information such as your name, the city you live in, your phone number, and your e-mail. If they ask for it, you can also include a link to a professional social media page.

2. Create an objective statement

An objective statement is one or two sentences that quickly highlight why you want the job and why you're qualified for it. This is a great tool to use when you're trying to keep your resume clean and in a minimalist style. It allows you to show the best version of yourself at the very start of the resume without being too wordy or cluttering the opening. Having a short and simple objective statement can help the hiring team identify easily if you're going to be a successful candidate.

3. Fill out your employment history

The employment history is the most important part of the resume. Potential employers typically look at your work history to determine if you have the necessary experience. When listing your work history, you may state your title, where you worked, and the start and end date of that job. Below that you can write out a sentence or two about what your main duties for that job were. This format can deliver the vital information while still maintaining a minimalist style.

4. List formal education

Many jobs may have educational requirements, so it's crucial that you highlight your formal education. Whether it's from university or a trade school, all formal education shows a dedication to learning and improving yourself, which many employers see as a positive trait in their staff.

When listing your education, you can clarify whether you got a diploma, degree, or certificate, where you went to school, and the start and end date of your education. While you can list more information about the courses you took, keeping this section to just the crucial information helps to reduce wasted space on the page.

5. List relevant skills and qualifications

You can also create a short list of relevant skills and qualifications. Making sure that the list pertains to the job you're applying for helps to keep the list short and specific. This increases the chances that the hiring team may read your full list of qualifications. Employers receive many applications and often do an initial skim to see who they may interview. Keeping your qualifications section short and relevant allows them to see your best skills and achievements more easily.

Tips for writing a resume

Listed below are some helpful tips for writing out a minimalist resume:

Keep it short and simple

To maintain a minimalist style, it's essential that you keep all the sections short and simple. While other resume styles might benefit from expanding on these sections, a minimalist style values summarization and prioritization. This not only helps you make a clearer, more straightforward resume, but it can also show employers that you're detail-oriented and organized. By keeping only the essential information and delivering it in a short and concise manner, you can increase your chances of an employer seeing your best qualifications.

Keep the resume clean and professional

Making sure that you have a clean and professional resume can help make the right impression on a potential employer. This means that the tone of the resume is professional, along with the formatting you use. Making sure to proofread your resume can help to ensure that it's clear of any errors. While this is important to increase your chances of having an effective resume, it also helps to show the employer that you pay attention to the details and that you're dedicated to professionalism.

Have consistent formatting throughout

To ensure your resume has a professional appearance, you may use the same format for the entire document. You can achieve this easily by using a pre-made template, or by taking the time to review and proofread your resume carefully. An organized resume formats all headers the same way and uses fonts consistently throughout the body of the document. If you're using a template, you can remove all leftover text that the template may have put in as a placeholder.

Make sure all the information is relevant

Since the format of this resume is minimalist, you want to make sure that all the information you're including is relevant to the job for which you're applying. This may mean customizing the resume to fit each job application. Having only relevant information allows for the employer to skim your resume and see all of your highlights. This can help improve your chances of getting called back for an interview. You can prioritize the most important information, like work history, by putting it at the top of the resume.

Related: What to Put in a Resume

Template of a minimalist resume

Here's a template you can use to create a resume in the minimalist style:

[Full name]
[City, province, or territory]
[Phone number]
[E-mail address]

Objective statement
[Include one or two sentences that highlight your passion for the job and your most relevant qualifications.]

Work history
[Job title]
[Company name, location, start date, and end date]

Task or responsibility
Task or responsibility
Task or responsibility

[Job title]
[Company name, location, start date, and end date]

Task or responsibility
Task or responsibility
Task or responsibility

Education
[Qualification]
[Institution, location, graduation date]

Skills and qualifications:

[Relevant skill]
[Name of qualification, where it's from, and when you received it]
[Relevant skill]
[Name of qualification, where it's from, and when you received it]

Example of minimalist style resume

Here's an example of a resume written in a minimalist style:

Tim Durry
Ottawa, Ontario
(613)-887-2725
tim.durry@email.com

Objective statement

Art and graphic design has been a cornerstone in my life since I was young. What started as a hobby has grown into me getting a diploma in Graphic Design from Elora College.

Work history

Graphic artist
Parker and Parker Advertisement Group, Toronto, Ontario, January 2020—present

Responsibilities

Creating compelling designs for ad campaigns
Creating logos for new clients
Continuing to update the designs of existing clients

Freelance graphic artist
Self-employed, Aug 2018—Jan 2020

Responsibilities:

Building client relationships
Creating proposals for clients
Designing logos and other graphics for businesses
Managing my time
Serving client needs

Education

Diploma in Graphic Design
Elora College, Ontario, 2018

Skills and Qualifications:

Nationally recognized graphic design certification
Detail-oriented
Skilled at time management