The US resume format in 2026: page size, length, and section order

US resume conventions are unusually strict, and the rules exist for legal as much as aesthetic reasons. Employers screen to avoid discrimination claims, which is why personal details that are normal in other markets are actively unwelcome here.

What to leave out

• Photos. Not expected, and a liability for the employer.
• Date of birth, age, marital status, nationality, religion, and health information.
• A full mailing address. City and state are enough; street addresses went out with fax machines.
• Salary history. Some states prohibit asking for it, and volunteering it anchors you low.
• "References available on request." It is assumed.
• Objective statements. Replace them with a summary of what you actually offer.

Paper and length

Use US Letter (8.5 × 11 in / 216 × 279 mm). If you apply to a UK or European employer, switch to A4 — the two are close but not identical, and a badly scaled A4 page printed on Letter looks wrong.

One page is the default for under about ten years of experience. Two pages is normal for senior individual contributors, managers and anyone with a substantial publication or patent record. Three pages is a warning sign in almost every case: the reviewer is now skimming, and your best material is competing with your least relevant material.

Section order that works

Recruiters read the top third of page one first. Spend it on evidence.

• Name, target-relevant headline, then one contact line: email, phone, city and state, LinkedIn.
• Summary: two to four lines, no first-person pronouns, no adjectives without proof.
• Experience: reverse chronological. Title, employer, location, dates. Three to six bullets for recent roles, fewer as you go back.
• Skills: a plain list of tools and competencies, grouped if you have many.
• Education: degree, institution, year. Drop the GPA once you have two years of experience.
• Projects, certifications, publications or volunteer work — only if they strengthen the case.

Formatting rules that survive contact with reality

• One font family, two weights. Ten to eleven point body text, larger for your name.
• Margins no smaller than half an inch. Smaller margins signal "I refused to cut anything".
• Dates on the right, consistently. "Mar 2021 – Present", not "3/21 – now".
• Bullets of one to two lines. If a bullet runs to four lines, it is two achievement bullets wearing a trench coat.
• No colour except, at most, a single accent used for section rules or your name.

The mistake almost everyone makes

The most common US resume problem is not formatting. It is describing duties instead of outcomes. "Responsible for weekly reporting for 22 stores" tells a hiring manager what your job description said. "Rebuilt weekly sales reporting for 22 stores, cutting the cycle from two days to four hours" tells them what changed because you were there.

You do not need dramatic numbers. Time saved, volume handled, error rate reduced, revenue protected, people trained — all of it is evidence. If you genuinely have no numbers, describe the scope and the change precisely. Precision is a substitute for arithmetic, not for honesty.