The Resume Template: The Neurospicy Answer to Job Applications

A practical, neurodivergent-friendly guide to building a smarter, easier resume process.

Photo by Resume Genius on Unsplash

Written By Sesilie Shea Karrick

A step-by-step guide to building a resume system that saves time, energy, and sanity.

Why You Need a Resume Template

If you are searching for a job in this market, you deserve an award. If you are searching for a job and you are neurodivergent, you deserve a parade. In this job market, competition is fierce. If you are applying for a remote role, the competition only grows.

With that much competition, first impressions matter.

A good resume won’t get you hired, but it will get your foot in the door.

Let’s be honest: constantly formatting resumes is worse than stepping on a Lego with bare feet. The problem is there isn’t any way to avoid all this formatting when one resume won’t just cut it. To stand out, job seekers need to customize their resumes for each role they are applying for. Usually, it’s when we are updating our resumes that the formatting just goes haywire.

If you are updating your resume and accidentally save after a misadventure with formatting, you could lose all the hard work you put into creating a resume — if that was your only copy.

Now, if you are methodical and organized by saving multiple versions of your resume, I salute you. I am decidedly not methodical or organized.

I am an autistic writer who has lost many files due to forgetting to save them or a button mishap. Luckily, you can learn from my mistakes. There is a simple answer to all your resume woes — creating a resume template.

By saving your resume as a Microsoft Word template, you create a base template you can use when creating a resume for every job application. That’s the good news. The great news is I am going to tell you how it’s done.

This guide will walk you through:

• Using free Microsoft Word Resume Templates to create your resume.
• Saving your resume as a Microsoft Word Template.
• Using your resume template to customize your resume to the job you are applying for.
• Exporting your resume as a PDF file ready to be uploaded to your job application.

Part One: Saving Your Resume as a Template

Step One: Choose a resume template for your resume.

You could write your resume from scratch, but a template does all the heavy lifting. The template comes already formatted. Staring at a blank page, trying to find the right words to describe why you would make a great hire is already harder than remembering where I laid my phone down last. Don’t make it harder on yourself. Leave the formatting to the professionals.

Pro Tip: Microsoft Word offers free ATS-friendly resume templates that can be easily downloaded and edited. Don’t fall for those resume hustlers who promise their template will get you the job. As long as the template is ATS-friendly with no frills, it will get the job done. Never pay for what you can get for free.

Step Two: Click the link below.

If you are on board with the free resume template plan, I have provided the link below. There is no need to waste time scouring the internet when I can just get you where you need to go with a single click.

Step Three: Choose a template. Click on the template.

It doesn’t matter which template you choose as long as you choose a template. With my resume, I chose the third template on the screenshot below. Why? I liked the purple shading behind the titles and headings.

Screenshot of Microsoft Word’s resume template selection interface. Microsoft Word is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

Step Four: This next screen has a preview of the template you chose. You have two options: customize the template in Word or download it.

I recommend downloading the template. Why? If you choose customizing in Word, you will have to log in to your Microsoft account and edit the document online. There is nothing wrong with following this process — except I can’t remember my password to save my life.

If you, like me, struggle with remembering passwords, downloading the file allows you to bypass the whole reset-my-password process we all love so much. Once you download the file, it will automatically open in the Microsoft Word Desktop application.

Why fight your executive dysfunction when you can avoid it altogether?

Step Five: Click download.

Screenshot displaying the preview of a selected resume template in Microsoft Word. Microsoft Word is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

Step Six: Open Finder.

Screenshot showing the Finder application icon on macOS. Finder and macOS are trademarks of Apple Inc.

Step Seven: Click on your Downloads folder in Finder.

Pro Tip: Pin your Downloads folder and any other folder you frequently save documents to the favorites bar in Finder. As an autistic who can never remember where the actual folders are in Finder, having the folders pinned to the sidebar has saved me time and sanity.

Screenshot of the Downloads folder in macOS Finder. Finder and macOS are trademarks of Apple Inc.

Step Eight: Open the downloaded file.

Screenshot showing the downloaded resume template file in macOS Finder. Finder and macOS are trademarks of Apple Inc.

Step Nine: Replace the filler information with your professional credentials like Experience, Education, and Skills.

Folks, this is the hardest part. I wish I could help you fill out your resume until it sparkles, but honestly, I could barely write mine. My advice — just write the thing. Once you finish, reward yourself with something that either has too much sugar, is pure grease, or is just plain bad for you.

Screenshot of a resume being edited in Microsoft Word. Microsoft Word is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

Step Ten: Click on File and choose Save As A Template.

Screenshot of the ‘Save As’ dialog in Microsoft Word, illustrating how to save a document as a template. Microsoft Word is a trademark of Microsoft corporation

Step Eleven: Save the file as a template.

Pro Tip: Use a clear file name like “My Resume Template” so you can find it easily later. I have many Word templates for many different types of documents. Practical naming saves me from having to open multiple templates to find the one I need.

Screenshot of the ‘Save’ dialog in Microsoft Word, illustrating how to save a document as a template. Microsoft Word is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

Part Two: Customize Resume for Job Applications

Step One: Open Microsoft Word. Click New.

Screenshot of the Microsoft Word opening screen. Microsoft Word is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

Step Two: Select the template you created in Part One. Click Create.

Screenshot of the Microsoft Word opening screen. Microsoft Word is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

Step Three: Customize your resume to highlight the skills and experience needed for the job you are applying for.

In this tough job market, you need to align your resume with the role you are seeking. There are a few simple tricks you can use to accomplish this:

• If you have a professional summary, tweak it so that it matches the role you are applying for. For example, if I were applying for a content writer role, I wouldn’t want my professional summary to highlight my customer service experience. I would want it to advertise my experience creating useful content.
• The job description is a great aid. Use language from the job description to update your resume. For example: If the job description says one of the requirements is “great written and oral communication,” make sure you have listed “written and oral communication” either in your professional experience or skills section.
• Make sure you are highlighting your achievements instead of your job duties. This is something I have always struggled with. Tooting my own horn felt like bragging and made me uncomfortable. However, if you don’t tell the hiring team what you have accomplished, how will they know?

Part Three: Export as PDF

Step One: Click File. Select Save As.

Screenshot demonstrating how to export a resume as a PDF in Microsoft Word. Microsoft Word is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

Step Two: Locate File Format. Click the arrow button. Choose PDF.

Hiring managers prefer PDFs to Word files. I have a theory about why that is. Hiring managers and recruiters, like the rest of us, are human. All it takes is the push of one wrong button, and they have accidentally deleted a section of your resume. I can understand wanting job seekers to use a format that not only is more polished and easier to open but also prevents key-smashing mistakes.

Screenshot demonstrating how to export a resume as a PDF in Microsoft Word. Microsoft Word is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

Screenshot demonstrating how to export a resume as a PDF in Microsoft Word. Microsoft Word is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

Step Three: Locate where the file is being saved. Click on the down arrow button.

Screenshot demonstrating how to export a resume as a PDF in Microsoft Word. Microsoft Word is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

Step Four: Click on the folder location where you want the file to be saved.

Pro Tip: Create a folder for your resumes. My neurospicy brain can never remember where I have saved a file. My solution is to create a folder for all my resumes and pin it to the Favorites sidebar in Finder. Executive dysfunction — 0. Me — 1.

Screenshot demonstrating how to export a resume as a PDF in Microsoft Word. Microsoft Word is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

Step Five: Click in the Save As box.

Screenshot demonstrating how to export a resume as a PDF in Microsoft Word. Microsoft Word is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

Step Six: Change the file name. Do not use the default file name.

Pro Tip: Proper file names should include your name (first and last), the position you are applying for, and the name of the company. For example: In the screenshot above, I have the name Andree Rocher, the position Data Scientist, and the company Skynet. This is a good practice because it lets the recruiter find your name and what role you are applying for in their company.

Step Seven: Click Export. The PDF of your resume will be saved in the file location you selected.

Screenshot demonstrating how to export a resume as a PDF in Microsoft Word. Microsoft Word is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

Step Eight: Apply.

Wrapping Up

Congratulations! You have just completed drafting your resume, saving it as a template, and exporting your resume as a PDF. By turning your resume into a template, you have made job applications easier for yourself. From now on, when you want to apply for a job, all you have to do is update your template. No more starting from scratch. No more unfortunate formatting issues — just a straightforward updating and uploading process for each application.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: All product names, logos, and brands are property of their respective owners. Screenshots are used for educational and instructional purposes only.