Resume template · Updated October 2026
Classic resume template in a traditional business layout
Short answer
Henrietta is Resumity's classic template: a left-aligned name, black and grey type, hairline rules under capital headings, and the traditional section order with education straight after experience. It suits law, accounting, banking and other settings where a conventional page is the norm. The fictional sample is a litigation paralegal with seven years at two firms.
Download the classic sample
Evelyn is a fictional senior litigation paralegal. Replace every detail with your own before you send it.
The files are made in your browser by Resumity's own exporters, from this sample. The builder opens it as your own resume: click any line to replace it. Free plan, no watermark.
Why Henrietta suits a classic resume
Henrietta is a classic business layout: left-aligned name, uppercase headings over a full-width hairline rule, black and grey only, and the familiar order of summary, experience, education, then skills. For a law firm reader nothing on it looks new or unusual, which is exactly what a traditional resume is for.
Second choice: Meridian. Meridian is just as colourless but centres the name and prints skills above experience; choose it if your software skills matter more than your firm history.
What goes in each section, in Henrietta's order
Henrietta prints its sections in a fixed order, the same in the PDF and the Word file. Here is that order for this sample, and what to put in each section.
- Professional Summary. Open the way a cover memo would: practice area, years, and the work you handle without supervision. Two or three sentences in a measured tone.
- Work Experience. Firm, title, city and dates, then bullets that name document types and volumes: discovery responses, trial binders, 40,000 documents. In traditional fields, precision reads as competence.
- Education. Henrietta prints education right after experience, in the middle of the page where firms expect it. List the paralegal certificate and the degree as separate entries, most recent first.
- Skills. Each skill group becomes one column of a three-column grid, without its label. Make the first group your practice skills and the second your software, since the left column is read first.
The sample resume as text
The same content as the files above, so you can copy a line or compare it with your own.
Evelyn Hartwell
Senior Litigation Paralegal
Hartford, CT | evelyn.hartwell@example.com | (860) 555-0172
Litigation paralegal with seven years at mid-sized civil defense firms. Manages discovery on complex matters, prepares trial binders and keeps the filing calendar for four attorneys.
Experience
Senior Litigation Paralegal, Whitcomb & Ashford LLP, Hartford, CT (09/2021 to Present)
- Coordinate document discovery across an active docket of about 25 civil defense matters.
- Draft discovery responses, deposition notices and subpoenas for attorney review.
- Prepared trial binders and exhibit lists for two jury trials in 2025.
- Keep the court deadline calendar for four attorneys, with no missed filings since joining.
Paralegal, Greene Baxter Associates, New Haven, CT (05/2018 to 08/2021)
- Summarized deposition transcripts and medical records for personal injury defense.
- E-filed pleadings and motions in state and federal courts.
- Organized a review database of 40,000 documents for a commercial contract dispute.
Education
Certificate, Paralegal Studies, Connecticut River Community College (04/2018)
Bachelor of Arts, Political Science, Thames Valley College (05/2017)
Skills
Civil litigation, Discovery management, Legal research, Deposition summaries, Court e-filing, Westlaw, Relativity, Clio, Microsoft Word (tables of authorities), Deadline management, Discretion
How to make the sample yours
Name the practice area in the headline
Litigation, corporate, real estate or family law: say which under your name, because a corporate team and a litigation team look for different experience.
Swap the documents for your own
A real estate paralegal would name closing packages, title reviews and recordings; a corporate paralegal, entity filings and minute books. Keep the habit of naming documents.
Keep the tone conservative
No exclamation marks, no first person, no superlatives. In a traditional resume, volumes and outcomes carry the persuasion.
Order education entries by date
The most recent qualification goes first. Here the certificate came after the degree, so it sits on top.
Write out courts and systems
Say "state and federal courts", or name the courts where you file most, and give review platforms their full product names.
Keywords to keep where they are true
Terms this kind of resume is usually searched for. Use the posting's exact wording, and only for work you have done.
- litigation support
- discovery
- document review
- trial preparation
- deposition summaries
- legal research
- e-filing
- Westlaw
- Relativity
- docket management
- subpoenas
- case management
Mistakes to avoid
- Reaching for a colourful template to stand out at a traditional firm. Careful content does that better than a coloured header.
- Vague duties such as "assisted attorneys with cases". Say which documents you prepared and for how many matters.
- Client names or case details that are not public. Describe matters by type, never by party.
- Inconsistent punctuation or dates between entries. In a conservative layout, small inconsistencies are the first thing a careful reader notices.
How the sample PDF reads in text extractors
We exported this sample with Resumity's PDF exporter in Chrome on 2026-10-29 and read the file back with three open-source text extractors. This shows whether software that turns a PDF into text can recover it; it is not a test of any commercial applicant tracking system. How we test templates.
| Extractor | Name, email, phone | Headings | Bullets intact |
|---|---|---|---|
| pdf.js 4.10.38 | All found | 4 of 4 | 7 of 7 |
| pdftotext (Xpdf) 4.00 | All found | 4 of 4 | 7 of 7 |
| pypdf 6.13.0 | All found | 4 of 4 | 7 of 7 |
Frequently asked questions
What is a classic resume format?
One column, the conventional heading order (summary, experience, education, skills), jobs newest first, and dark type with little or no colour. Its main strength is that readers know exactly where to look.
Is a traditional resume outdated?
No. Its predictable shape makes it quick to read in any field. "Traditional" describes the layout, not the writing: the bullets should still be specific and current.
Should a classic resume have an objective?
A short summary works better. It says what role you are after and what you bring, in the same space an objective would take.
Where does education go on a traditional resume?
After experience once you have a few years of work. Henrietta prints it there automatically, just before skills; the order is fixed by the template.
Can a classic resume include a skills section?
Yes. Henrietta places it after education as a three-column grid, so it supports the work history rather than leading the page.
Will applicant tracking systems read this Henrietta PDF?
The sample PDF read back with its contact details, all 4 section headings and all 7 bullets intact in three open-source text extractors (pdf.js, pdftotext and pypdf). Commercial systems such as Workday, Greenhouse or Taleo were not tested, and each employer configures its own.
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