Resume format for 2026: what US and Canadian employers expect

A resume for the US or Canada is a short, selective case for one job. It is usually one page early in your career and up to two for experienced professionals, set on US Letter paper, and it leaves out personal details that are common elsewhere. Most applications pass through applicant tracking software before a person reads them, so the format has to work for both.

Which resume format to use

• Reverse chronological: experience in date order, newest first. It is what recruiters expect and what tracking software reads most reliably. Use it unless you have a strong reason not to.
• Functional: skills grouped by theme, with the job history kept to a minimum. Recruiters tend to distrust it because it hides dates, and parsing software handles it poorly.
• Hybrid: a short skills section at the top, then a normal chronological history. Useful for career changers.

For most people, reverse chronological with a short skills section is the right answer.

The sections, in order

1. Header: name, phone, email, city and state or province, LinkedIn profile, and a portfolio or GitHub link if relevant.
2. Summary: two to four lines on your role, experience and strongest results.
3. Experience: job title, employer, city, dates, and three to six bullets for recent roles.
4. Education: degree, school and year. Add your GPA only if it is recent and strong.
5. Skills: tools, languages and methods named in the job posting.
6. Optional: certifications, projects, volunteering and languages.

Length

One page if you have less than about ten years of experience. Two pages if you are more senior and every line is relevant. Canadian recruiters are generally comfortable with two pages for experienced candidates. Only academic and some medical CVs run longer.

Paper size and layout

Use US Letter, 8.5 by 11 inches, in both countries. A resume set up on A4 prints with odd margins and can spill onto an extra page. Margins of half an inch to one inch, one or two fonts and clear section headings keep it readable.

What to leave off

US and Canadian employers avoid information that could expose them to discrimination claims, so these stay off the page:

• A photo.
• Date of birth or age.
• Marital status and family details.
• Religion.
• Nationality. If you need sponsorship, state your work authorization instead.
• A full street address. City and state or province are enough.
• Social Security or Social Insurance numbers.
• “References available upon request”.

Work authorization

Citizens and permanent residents do not need to mention it. If you are on a visa or permit, one short line prevents confusion, for example “F-1 OPT, authorized to work through June 2027” in the US or “Open work permit, valid until 2027” in Canada. Many application forms ask directly, so keep your answers consistent.

Bullets that get read

Start each bullet with an action verb, say what you did and show the result with a number where you honestly can. Recruiters skim, and figures are what stop the skim.

• Weak: “Responsible for social media accounts.”
• Better: “Grew Instagram followers from 4,000 to 19,000 in a year with a weekly video series.”
• Weak: “Handled customer complaints.”
• Better: “Resolved 60+ customer tickets a day with a 94% satisfaction score.”

Keeping it ATS-friendly

Tracking software reads text, not pictures. Use real text for everything, standard headings like “Experience” and “Education”, one date format and no text boxes, tables or skill bars. Send a PDF unless the posting asks for Word, and check that you can select and copy the text.

US and Canada: the differences that matter

• Spelling: American spelling in the US. Canadian spelling keeps colour and centre but usually uses -ize endings, such as organize.
• Language: English and French together are an asset in Canada, especially for federal government roles and in Quebec and New Brunswick.
• Word choice: resume is the standard term in both countries. CV usually means an academic document, although French-speaking employers say CV for both.
• Newcomers to Canada: show Canadian equivalents for foreign degrees where you have them, and your progress on licensing in regulated professions.

Resume checklist for 2026

1. Reverse chronological, on US Letter.
2. One page, or two if you are experienced.
3. No photo, age, marital status or ID numbers.
4. Results with numbers in most bullets.
5. Skills matched to the posting.
6. A work authorization line only if you need one.
7. A text-based PDF, named with your name and the role.