Jake's Resume Template — Why It Took Over the Internet

If you have ever searched for a resume template on Reddit, GitHub, or Overleaf, you have almost certainly seen Jake's Resume. It is a single-column, no-frills LaTeX template that has become the default starting point for engineers, computer science students, and anyone who wants a clean resume without the noise.

Where It Came From

The template was created by Jake Ryan, a software engineer who open-sourced it on GitHub and Overleaf around 2018. It was designed as a simple, ATS-friendly alternative to the overly designed templates that dominate sites like Canva and Google Docs.

It spread through Reddit's r/cscareerquestions and r/resumes communities, where it quickly became the most recommended template. When someone posts "what template should I use?" the top answer is almost always Jake's Resume or something directly based on it.

What It Looks Like

The template is deliberately plain:

• Single column — no sidebars, no multi-column layouts
• Clear section headings — Education, Experience, Projects, Technical Skills
• Compact spacing — fits a lot of content on one page without feeling cramped
• No colors, no icons, no graphics — pure text with minimal horizontal rules
• LaTeX-typeset — clean typography with consistent spacing

It looks like a document, not a design project. That is the point.

Why It Works

Jake's Resume works because it gets out of the way:

• ATS-friendly — no columns, tables, or graphics that break parsing. Every ATS on the market can read it correctly.
• Recruiter-friendly — the layout is instantly familiar. Recruiters know where to look for job titles, dates, and bullet points without hunting.
• Content-first — there is nothing to distract from what you actually did. The template forces you to lead with substance.
• One page by default — the compact spacing makes it easy to fit a full early-career or mid-career resume on a single page.

The Downsides

It is not perfect:

• It requires LaTeX. If you are not already comfortable with LaTeX, the learning curve is steep. Overleaf makes this easier, but it is still a markup language, not a word processor.
• Everyone uses it. In tech hiring, recruiters see this exact template dozens of times a day. It does not stand out visually — though that matters less than people think.
• It is optimized for tech. The default sections (Projects, Technical Skills) are geared toward software engineering. Other industries may need different section structures.
• Customization is limited. Changing fonts, spacing, or layout in LaTeX is not intuitive. Small tweaks can break the formatting in unexpected ways.

The Harvard Template

The other template you will see recommended constantly is the Harvard Office of Career Services resume template. It follows a similar philosophy — single column, clean headings, no graphics — but comes as a Word document and is aimed at a broader professional audience.

Both templates succeed for the same reason: they prioritize readability and ATS compatibility over visual flair.

Should You Use It?

If you are in tech and want a resume that works, Jake's Resume is a solid choice. It is battle-tested, ATS-safe, and gets you 90% of the way there with zero design decisions.

But you do not need LaTeX to get the same result. The principles behind Jake's Resume — clean layout, single column, clear headings, no distractions — can be applied in any tool.