Resume template · Updated October 2026
One page resume template with a sample that fits
Short answer
Henrietta keeps a one-page resume orderly: summary, work experience, then education straight after it, with skills in a three-column grid at the foot of the page. The fictional sample is a staff accountant three years out of college whose whole record fits on one A4 page. When a draft runs over, cut and merge lines first; a page that fits because the words were chosen reads better than one squeezed by narrow margins.
Download the one page sample
Hannah is a fictional staff accountant. 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 an one page resume
Henrietta prints education immediately after experience, so an early-career accountant's degree sits in the middle of the page instead of trailing at the bottom, and the skills follow education as three side-by-side columns. In black and grey with a left-aligned name, it has the conventional business look that suits accounting, finance and other traditional offices.
Second choice: FAANGPath. FAANGPath is just as plain, centres the header and prints skills before experience; it suits someone whose software and systems are the stronger part of a short record.
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. Two sentences, around 35 words. On a single page the summary competes with bullets for space, so give it only what the jobs cannot show, such as the sample's progress through the CPA exam.
- Work Experience. Two jobs with four or five bullets each, most of them one line long. Lead with the work your next employer will hand you on day one (month-end close, reconciliations), then one improvement per job to show you do more than the routine.
- Education. Henrietta places this right after experience, which helps a recent degree. Degree, school and year, plus a GPA only if it is strong and you graduated in the last few years.
- Skills. Three groups become three unlabelled columns. Keep each to four or five items so the columns end at a similar depth, and put the accounting skills first because 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.
Hannah Okafor
Staff Accountant
Minneapolis, MN | hannah.okafor@example.com | (612) 555-0119 | linkedin.com/in/sample-hannah-okafor
Staff accountant with three years of month-end close and reconciliation work for a manufacturer and a regional CPA firm. Has passed two of the four CPA exam sections and plans to finish in 2027.
Experience
Staff Accountant, Northfield Packaging Co., Minneapolis, MN (07/2024 to Present)
- Close the books monthly for two entities, posting about 150 journal entries.
- Reconcile 30 balance sheet accounts, including bank, prepaid and accrued liabilities.
- Built a fixed asset roll-forward in Excel that replaced a manual year-end count.
- Shortened the monthly close from eight working days to six by moving accrual schedules into a shared checklist.
- Prepare supporting schedules for the annual external audit.
Audit and Accounting Associate, Bergstrom & Lund CPAs, St. Paul, MN (06/2023 to 06/2024)
- Tested cash, receivables and payroll for small business and nonprofit audit clients.
- Kept the books and reconciled bank accounts monthly for 12 small business clients.
- Prepared quarterly sales and use tax filings for retail clients.
- Drafted adjusting entries for senior review at year end.
Education
Bachelor of Science, Accounting, Twin Rivers University (05/2023). GPA 3.6
Skills
Month-end close, Account reconciliations, Journal entries, Audit preparation, US GAAP, NetSuite, QuickBooks Online, Excel, Meeting close deadlines, Clear notes for reviewers
How to make the sample yours
Fix a small overflow line by line
If two or three lines spill onto page two, look for bullets whose last line holds only a word or two and tighten them. That wins space back faster than deleting a whole entry.
Merge or drop minor jobs
Once you have two full-time roles, a campus job or short internship can shrink to one line or go. Keep it only if it adds a skill the posting asks for.
Use the Margins tab last
The editor's Margins tab lets you narrow the PDF's margins (from 0 to 40 mm). Taking a few millimetres can fix a one-line overflow; going much further makes the page look crammed at the edges.
Swap the accounting detail for yours
A junior analyst, coordinator or technician can keep the same budget: two roles, nine bullets, one education line and three short skill groups.
Leave the extras for later
References, a full street address, hobbies and a list of courses can wait for the application form or the interview. None of them belongs on a page this tight.
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.
- staff accountant
- general ledger
- month-end close
- account reconciliations
- journal entries
- accruals
- fixed assets
- bank reconciliations
- audit schedules
- US GAAP
- NetSuite
- QuickBooks Online
- CPA candidate
Mistakes to avoid
- Shrinking the margins until text runs close to the edge of the paper. A crowded page reads as long even when it technically fits.
- Deleting dates or employer cities to save a line. Those are the details a reader checks first.
- Keeping a high school, a summer job and a full software inventory when two professional roles already fill the page.
- Letting a single stray line run onto a second page. Either cut back to one page or have enough material to make page two worth turning to.
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 | 9 of 9 |
| pdftotext (Xpdf) 4.00 | All found | 4 of 4 | 9 of 9 |
| pypdf 6.13.0 | All found | 4 of 4 | 9 of 9 |
Frequently asked questions
Who should keep their resume to one page?
Students, recent graduates and most people with under about ten years of experience, plus anyone whose earlier jobs add little to the role they want. The test is whether a second page would hold anything this reader needs.
How do I make my resume more compact?
Cut bullets that repeat a duty, merge short or old jobs into single lines, keep each skill group to a few items, and drop references and hobbies. Narrower margins help a little; tighter writing helps far more.
Is a one-page resume always better than two pages?
No. One page is better when your content fits without cramming. If you would have to delete relevant results to get there, a full second page serves you better.
What should I cut first to fit on one page?
In order: duties repeated across jobs, bullets about work more than ten years old, coursework, a weak soft-skills group, then whole minor jobs. Keep dates, titles and the bullets with numbers.
Does a one-page resume still need a summary?
Keep a two-sentence summary if it adds something the jobs do not show, such as exam progress or a change of target role. If it only repeats your job title, remove it and gain three lines.
Will applicant tracking systems read this Henrietta PDF?
The sample PDF read back with its contact details, all 4 section headings and all 9 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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