Resume format in the Philippines (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.

No, though many people still add one. Jobstreet Philippines describes the tradition honestly: "Here in the Philippines, a photo is an integral part of the resume," down to the 2 x 2 inch size, and then answers its own question with "The short answer is NO." (Jobstreet Philippines) Its 2025 CV guide is more nuanced: a photo is common for roles with customer interaction and less important for technical or remote positions. (Jobstreet Philippines) Kalibrr says to leave it out unless it has something to do with the job. (Kalibrr)

Employers that need your photo usually ask for it at a later stage. Ateneo de Manila, for example, lists a 2x2 ID picture under "Documents needed upon hiring", not under the application documents. (Ateneo de Manila University) Our suggestion: leave it off for BPO back-office, IT, finance and remote jobs; for front-desk, sales or hospitality jobs with local employers, a recent, plain headshot is fine.

Older Philippine resumes, and the biodata format, open with birth date, age, civil status, religion, height and weight. (Jobstreet Philippines) You don't need any of them for a private-sector job:

• Age and birth date. RA 10911 makes it unlawful for an employer to "Require the declaration of age or birth date during the application process", and its definition of employer includes the government. (Republic Act No. 10911 (LawPhil)) The law allows exceptions where age is a genuine requirement of the job. Jobstreet says the law has made age and birthday a non-requirement on a resume. (Jobstreet Philippines)
• Civil status, religion, gender, photo. Kalibrr's advice: unless they have anything to do with the job, leave them out. (Kalibrr) The Data Privacy Act treats marital status, age and religion as sensitive personal information. (National Privacy Commission)
• TIN, SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG numbers. The Data Privacy Act also counts numbers issued by government agencies, such as social security numbers, as sensitive personal information. (National Privacy Commission) Employers collect them after hiring: Ateneo lists proofs of all four under documents needed upon hiring (Ateneo de Manila University), and Jobstreet says your new company will give you a list of pre-employment requirements. (Jobstreet Philippines)
• Nationality. Jobstreet says it is mainly useful for government positions or overseas work. (Jobstreet Philippines)

First job? Under RA 11261, government offices may not charge first-time jobseekers for documents such as the NBI clearance, police clearance and TIN, which you will need after an offer. (Republic Act No. 11261 (LawPhil))

For a government job, a resume is not enough. Jobstreet calls the Personal Data Sheet (CS Form No. 212) "a must-complete document when applying to government jobs". (Jobstreet Philippines) The CSC's guide to the 2025 revision says a Work Experience Sheet is submitted with the PDS when you apply for a vacant position. (Civil Service Commission (CSC)) A Revised 2026 version of the form has since been adopted, so download the version the agency's posting names. (DepEd Schools Division of Dasmariñas)

The PDS asks for much of what a private-sector resume leaves out, including date of birth and civil status, and the CSC warns that misrepresentation can lead to administrative or criminal cases. (Civil Service Commission (CSC)) RA 10911 also covers the government as an employer (Republic Act No. 10911 (LawPhil)); we found no CSC document that addresses how the two fit together, so fill in the form the agency asks for. List every civil service eligibility with its rating and date, and any licence number: Career Service Professional covers first and second level positions, Subprofessional first level (clerical) only. (Civil Service Commission (CSC)) The PDS guide writes dates as dd/mm/yyyy. (Civil Service Commission (CSC))

Jobstreet tells fresh graduates to write a career objective, and to include relevant coursework and any honors they have earned (Jobstreet Philippines): write Latin honors on the degree line, for example "BS Accountancy, cum laude". Count your OJT: Jobstreet says to include internships, part-time jobs, volunteer work and university projects even when your formal experience is limited. (Jobstreet Philippines) If you passed a board exam, list the PRC licence. (Jobstreet Philippines)

Character references are optional on the resume (Jobstreet Philippines), but some employers ask for them as part of the application: Ateneo asks for two professional reference assessment forms. (Ateneo de Manila University) If you list references, ask the people first and give a work email or number they are happy to share.

The job sites and government portals we checked on 24 October 2026:

• Jobstreet Philippines: run by SEEK; profile, resume upload and job applications, plus the career-advice articles cited here.
• Kalibrr: a Philippine job platform for local and overseas roles.
• LinkedIn Jobs: job listings across the Philippines; recruiters also search profiles.
• Bossjob: a Philippine hiring platform.
• OnlineJobs.ph: a marketplace where overseas employers hire Filipino virtual assistants and remote staff.
• PhilJobNet: DOLE's job and applicant matching system; only accredited employers can post vacancies. (Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE))
• DMW approved job orders: for overseas jobs: the Department of Migrant Workers' list of job orders from licensed recruitment agencies. (Department of Migrant Workers (DMW))

For government posts, check the agency's own vacancy notice and the CSC job portal, and prepare the PDS and Work Experience Sheet described above.

1. Header. Full name; city (e.g. Quezon City, Metro Manila); +63 mobile; email; LinkedIn. A 2x2 photo only if the job calls for one. No birth date, age, civil status or government numbers.
2. Objective or summary. Fresh graduates: a one- or two-line career objective naming the role. Experienced: two or three lines on your role, years and strongest results.
3. Work experience. Latest job first: position, company, city, MM/YYYY to MM/YYYY. Three to five bullets with numbers. For BPO roles, name the account type (voice, non-voice, healthcare, tech support) and your metrics.
4. Education. Degree, school, year, and Latin honors. Fresh graduates add relevant coursework, thesis or capstone, and OJT.
5. Licences and eligibility. PRC licence (with number if the employer asks), civil service eligibility, and certifications such as TESDA NC or vendor certificates.
6. Skills. Tools, systems and typing speed if the job ad asks for it. Plain text, no rating bars.
7. Languages. English and Filipino with a level, plus any regional language you can work in.
8. Character references. Two or three names with job titles and contact details, or "Available upon request". Ask them first.

A fictional fresh graduate applying for an entry-level accounting job in Makati. Names, schools and numbers are made up; the layout is the point. No photo, birth date or civil status.

ANGELA REYES
Quezon City, Metro Manila | +63 917 123 4567 | angela.reyes@example.com | linkedin.com/in/example

CAREER OBJECTIVE
Newly licensed CPA looking for a junior audit or accounting role where I can
use my OJT experience in bank reconciliations and month-end close.

EDUCATION
BS Accountancy, cum laude, Example University, Manila, 2026
Thesis: Cash-flow forecasting for small sari-sari store cooperatives

LICENCES
Certified Public Accountant (PRC), passed the board exam May 2026

EXPERIENCE
Accounting Intern (OJT), Example Holdings Inc., Makati       02/2026 – 04/2026
- Prepared 30 bank reconciliations a month for 4 company accounts
- Helped the team close the books 1 day earlier by tracking missing receipts

SKILLS
Excel (pivot tables, XLOOKUP), QuickBooks, SAP Business One (basic)

LANGUAGES
English (Fluent) | Filipino (Native) | Cebuano (Conversational)

1. A biodata instead of a resume. Birth date, height, weight and religion at the top use the space employers read first. Save that format for a government form that asks for it.
2. Government numbers on the resume. TIN, SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG numbers are sensitive personal information under the Data Privacy Act. Give them after you are hired.
3. A selfie or casual photo. If you add a photo, use a recent, plain 2x2 headshot. No photo is better than a cropped group picture.
4. An objective that could fit anyone. "To be part of a reputable company" says nothing. Name the role and one strength.
5. Leaving out OJT and projects. For a fresh graduate they are the experience section. Say what you did and what changed because of it.
6. Mixing date styles. Use MM/YYYY or month and year everywhere, not both.
7. The resume and the PDS disagree. For government jobs, check that dates, positions and eligibility match exactly. The CSC warns that misrepresentation on the PDS can lead to administrative or criminal cases.

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

• Henrietta: education before skills, which suits fresh graduates with honors and a board exam to show.
• Meridian: plain black and grey, safe for BPO, banking and government-linked employers.
• Daniel: softer section headings for creative, marketing and design roles.

The PDF export is A4; if an employer asks for printed copies on another size, open the DOCX in Word and change the paper size before you print. None of the seven templates has a photo slot, so add a 2x2 photo in the DOCX if a job calls for one.

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.