Resume and CV format in Singapore (2026)

"Source" links the official, job-board, university or recruiter page we read. "Varies" means sources disagree; the sections below say how. "Common practice" is a convention, not a rule.

They are the reason Singapore resumes are leaner than those in much of Asia. The Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices tell employers not to ask on application forms for age, date of birth, gender, race, religion or marital status, and to refrain from asking for irrelevant information "when requesting for resumes". They also say employers should not ask for a photograph or National Service liability, because these generally should not affect whether you are suitable. (TAFEP)

A law is on the way. The Workplace Fairness Act 2025 was passed in January 2025 and protects age, nationality, sex, marital status, pregnancy, caregiving responsibilities, race, religion, language, disability and mental health conditions in decisions including hiring. (Ministry of Manpower (MOM)) It is not in force yet: Singapore Statutes Online shows it as uncommenced, and the Ministry of Manpower aims for it to take effect at the end of 2027. (Singapore Statutes Online) (Ministry of Manpower (MOM)) It will not cover employers below a prescribed size, currently 25 employees. (Singapore Statutes Online)

For you, the practical result is the same now as after 2027: leave these details off. MyCareersFuture's own career articles warn that age, NRIC, race, religion, marital status "or even address" may create bias against you. (MyCareersFuture) (MyCareersFuture)

No. Since 1 September 2019 the PDPC's advisory guidelines say organisations are generally not allowed to collect NRIC numbers unless the law requires it or they need to verify your identity to a high degree of fidelity. Its worked example is a job application: "There is no requirement under the law to ask for NRIC numbers for the purpose of job applications," although an employer may collect it once it hires you. (Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC)) TAFEP's 2026 guidance to employers says the NRIC number and date of birth should generally be collected only at the point of the job offer. (TAFEP)

The official and university advice is to leave it off. NUS's career advisers write: "In Singapore, profile pictures are generally not required. Only include if the company specifically requires for one's resume to have a photo." (NUS Centre for Future-ready Graduates (CFG@FASS)) Randstad Singapore lists the photo among things to omit (Randstad Singapore), and the Tripartite Guidelines tell employers not to ask for one. (TAFEP)

Jobstreet Singapore is less firm. One article says "it is normal for resumés to have photos, but they are not required" (Jobstreet Singapore); its 2026 format guide calls them common for entry-level or government roles but advises adding one only if requested. (Jobstreet Singapore) Our reading: if the job ad doesn't ask for a photo, don't include one.

National Service. Jobstreet Singapore suggests listing NS in a separate experience or service section when it is relevant to the role (Jobstreet Singapore): a vocation, a rank or a leadership course can be real evidence for some jobs. You don't need to explain NS liability; the Tripartite Guidelines say employers shouldn't ask about it before an offer. (TAFEP)

Residency and work passes. Jobstreet advises adding work-rights information or visa status "only when it is relevant, requested or useful". (Jobstreet Singapore) It usually is when you are not a citizen or PR, because the employer may need a pass for you. Before applying for an Employment Pass or S Pass, an employer generally has to advertise the job on MyCareersFuture for at least 14 consecutive days and consider all candidates fairly (Ministry of Manpower (MOM)), and Employment Pass candidates must meet a qualifying salary and score 40 points under COMPASS. (Ministry of Manpower (MOM)) One line such as "Singapore PR" or "Employment Pass holder, current employer" under your contact details is enough.

Salary. Leave it off. NUS says expected salary is usually not required unless the job description asks, and Randstad warns that listing your salary can limit your negotiating power. (NUS Centre for Future-ready Graduates (CFG@FASS)) (Randstad Singapore) For jobs advertised under the Fair Consideration Framework, the salary range has to be visible in the ad, and the maximum can be at most twice the minimum (Ministry of Manpower (MOM)), which gives you a starting point when you are asked.

One page ideally, two at most, says NUS (NUS Centre for Future-ready Graduates (CFG@FASS)); MyCareersFuture says one or two pages, because long resumes may hurt your job prospects. (MyCareersFuture) Randstad suggests one page with less than five years of experience. (Randstad Singapore) Some recruiters are more relaxed for senior candidates: Michael Page Singapore suggests aiming for two to three pages. (Michael Page Singapore)

For references, NUS says referee contacts are usually not needed on the resume, and Jobstreet suggests a separate reference list only when the employer asks. (NUS Centre for Future-ready Graduates (CFG@FASS)) (Jobstreet Singapore) Michael Page calls it customary to include references or note that they are available on request. (Michael Page Singapore) Either way, ask your referees first.

The job portals we checked on 24 October 2026:

• MyCareersFuture: the government job portal, developed by the Skills and Workforce Development Agency (formed on 1 July 2026 from Workforce Singapore and SkillsFuture Singapore) with GovTech. Anyone can browse, but applying needs Singpass and is open to citizens and PRs; you upload your resume to your profile. (MyCareersFuture) (Skills and Workforce Development Agency (SWDA))
• Careers@Gov: public service jobs. It sends you to each agency's own application portal; you don't need to send documents when you apply unless the agency asks, and non-Singaporeans can apply. (Careers@Gov (Ask Gov))
• Jobstreet Singapore: run by SEEK; profile, resume upload and job applications.
• LinkedIn Jobs: job listings across Singapore; recruiters also search profiles.
• Indeed Singapore: a job search engine that collects listings from many sites.
• Glints: internships, graduate jobs and early-career roles.
• NodeFlair: tech jobs, with salary data and company reviews.
• FastJobs: non-executive jobs.

JobsDB no longer runs a Singapore site: jobsdb.com.sg redirected to Jobstreet Singapore when we checked. (JobsDB Singapore (jobsdb.com.sg))

1. Header. Full name; +65 mobile; email; LinkedIn or portfolio. Add your residency or pass status in one line if relevant. No NRIC, photo, date of birth or full address.
2. Summary. Two or three lines: the role you want, your years of experience, and the evidence that you can do it.
3. Work experience. Latest job first: title, company, month and year. Three to five bullets, each with what you did and what changed because of it.
4. Education. Degree or diploma, institution and year; honours class or GPA if it helps. Fresh graduates can put this first, with relevant modules, internships and final-year projects.
5. National Service. Its own short section, if what you did is relevant to the role.
6. Skills and certifications. Tools, systems and certifications from the job ad, in plain text.
7. Languages. English plus any other language you can work in, with a level.

A fictional data analyst. Names, employers and numbers are made up; the layout is the point. No NRIC, photo, date of birth or address.

TAN WEI MING
+65 9123 4567 | weiming.tan@example.com | linkedin.com/in/example
Singapore Citizen

SUMMARY
Data analyst with 4 years in retail banking. Builds dashboards in Power BI and
SQL models that branch teams use to plan staffing and campaigns.

WORK EXPERIENCE
Data Analyst, Example Bank Ltd                                  Mar 2024 – Present
- Built the weekly branch-performance dashboard used by 40 branch managers
- Cut report preparation from 2 days to 3 hours by automating SQL extracts

Business Analyst, Example Retail Pte Ltd                        Jul 2022 – Feb 2024
- Analysed loyalty-card data to plan 6 seasonal campaigns

EDUCATION
Bachelor of Science (Statistics), Example University, Singapore, 2022

NATIONAL SERVICE
Signals Specialist, Singapore Armed Forces                      2016 – 2018

SKILLS
SQL, Python (pandas), Power BI, Excel | Languages: English, Mandarin

1. NRIC number in the header. The PDPC says the law does not require it for job applications. Give it after an offer, if the employer needs it.
2. Photo, age, race, religion or marital status. Habits from other markets. The Tripartite Guidelines tell employers not to ask, and MyCareersFuture's articles say these details may create bias.
3. Leaving out your pass status when you need one. If you are not a citizen or PR, say what pass you hold or would need, so the employer can plan for it.
4. Three or four pages for a junior role. NUS says ideally one page; save the long version for senior roles where a recruiter asks for detail.
5. Expected salary on the resume. Randstad warns it can limit your negotiating power. Give a range when asked.
6. Tables and two-column layouts. NUS advises against tables and multiple columns, which online forms can read out of order.
7. A resume that doesn't match your MyCareersFuture profile. Employers see both. Keep job titles and dates the same.

Resumity's 7 resume templates are free, single-column, and export to PDF and DOCX. For this market we would start with:

• Meridian: plain black and grey, a single column, no photo: close to what NUS describes.
• FAANGPath: minimal, with skills above experience, for tech, data and engineering roles.
• Catalyst: experience first and no summary block, for experienced hires who want their latest role read first.

The PDF export is A4, and our sample PDFs are under 300 KB, well inside MyCareersFuture's 2MB limit. All seven templates are single-column layouts with no photo slot.

What we have tested: the text in PDFs exported from each template comes back intact when read by three open-source extractors (pdf.js, pdftotext and pypdf). We have not tested them in any employer's applicant tracking system. See how we test our templates.