Jake's Resume Template: Complete Guide (2026)

If you've spent any time on r/EngineeringResumes, r/cscareerquestions, or any tech career forum, you've almost certainly seen Jake's Resume. It's the single most recommended resume template in the software engineering world — and for good reason.

This guide covers everything: where the template came from, how each section works, how to customize it for your experience level, and the mistakes that quietly hurt otherwise strong resumes.

What Is Jake's Resume?

Jake's Resume is a LaTeX resume template created by Jake Gutierrez, originally hosted on Overleaf and GitHub. It was designed to be clean, ATS-friendly, and information-dense — prioritizing content over decoration.

The template quickly became the de facto standard for CS students and software engineers because it solves the three biggest resume problems at once: it passes ATS parsers cleanly, it fits a lot of content into one page, and it looks professional without trying too hard.

Why It Became the Standard

Before Jake's Resume, CS students typically chose between two bad options: bloated Word templates with columns and icons that broke ATS parsing, or bare-bones academic CVs that wasted space. Jake's template hit the sweet spot.

• Single-column layout that every ATS can parse correctly
• Dense but readable — fits substantial content into one page without feeling cramped
• Clean section hierarchy: Education, Experience, Projects, Skills
• No photos, no icons, no colors — just content
• LaTeX-quality typography that looks sharper than Word output

The template spread virally through university career centers, Reddit communities, and peer recommendations. Today it's the most forked resume template on GitHub.

The Template Structure: Section by Section

Jake's Resume follows a specific hierarchy. Understanding each section — and what belongs in it — is crucial for making the template work for you.

Header

The header is minimal by design: your name (larger, bold), then a single line with phone number, email, LinkedIn, and GitHub. No address, no headshot, no fancy formatting.

Education

Education comes first in the original template, which makes sense for students and recent grads. It includes your university name, degree, graduation date, and optionally your GPA and relevant coursework.

• Include GPA if it's 3.0+ (or your university's equivalent). Below that, leave it off — the absence won't hurt you
• List relevant coursework only if you lack work experience to fill the page. Once you have two or more engineering roles, coursework becomes redundant
• If you have a minor or concentration relevant to the role, include it on the same line as your degree

For experienced engineers (3+ years), move Education to the bottom. Your work experience matters far more than where you went to school.

Experience

This is the section that makes or breaks your resume. Each experience entry should include: company name, your title, location, and dates — followed by 3-5 bullet points describing what you did and the impact you had.

The most common mistake engineers make is writing bullets that describe responsibilities instead of accomplishments. Hiring managers already know what a Software Engineer does. They want to know what you specifically achieved.

Every bullet should follow the pattern: [Action verb] + [What you built/did] + [Technology/approach] + [Measurable impact]. Not every bullet needs a number, but the specificity of detail is what builds credibility.

Projects

Projects are where students and career changers prove they can build things. Each project entry includes the project name, technologies used, dates, and 2-4 bullets describing what you built.

• Name projects descriptively — "Real-time Chat App" is better than "Project 3" or "CS 161 Final"
• Include a link to the GitHub repo or live demo when possible
• Focus on technical decisions: why you chose a specific technology, what problems you solved, what you learned
• If the project has users or measurable outcomes (stars, downloads, users), mention it

For experienced engineers, Projects is optional. If you have three strong work experience entries, you may not need it. But if you're transitioning to a new specialization (e.g., moving from backend to ML), a side project demonstrates initiative and skill.

Technical Skills

The Skills section in Jake's Resume is a compact, categorized list. The original template uses three categories: Languages, Frameworks, and Developer Tools. You can adapt these to your stack.

Common Mistakes That Quietly Hurt Your Resume

The template itself is excellent, but how you fill it determines whether your resume gets callbacks. Here are the most common mistakes we see when reviewing resumes built with Jake's template.

Customizing for Your Experience Level

Students and New Grads (0-1 years)

As a student, your biggest challenge is filling the page with meaningful content. Here's the priority order for your sections:

1. Education — put it first, include GPA and relevant coursework
2. Projects — this is your main proof of ability. Include 2-3 strong projects with detailed bullets
3. Experience — internships, TA positions, research assistantships all count. Even part-time technical work is worth including
4. Skills — keep it honest. Only list what you can discuss in an interview

Early Career Engineers (1-3 years)

With one or two roles under your belt, shift the focus to Experience. Move Education below Experience, and keep Projects only if they add something your work experience doesn't cover. Your bullets should increasingly show scope and impact — not just tasks completed.

Senior Engineers (4+ years)

At this level, your resume should emphasize leadership, system design, and measurable business impact. Drop the Projects section unless you have a notable open-source contribution. Your Education section should be minimal — just degree, school, and year. Every bullet should demonstrate either technical depth or cross-team influence.

Jake's Resume Without LaTeX

The original template requires LaTeX — which means either learning LaTeX syntax or fighting with Overleaf's compilation errors. For most people, this is unnecessary friction.

Today, you can build Jake's Resume online with a visual editor that produces the exact same output. No LaTeX knowledge needed, no compilation errors, and you get live preview as you type.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Jake's Resume ATS-friendly?

Yes. The single-column, text-based layout with standard section headings is exactly what ATS parsers are designed to read. There are no tables, columns, or graphics that could confuse automated systems. This is one of the main reasons it became so popular.

Can I use Jake's Resume for non-CS roles?

Absolutely. While the template is most popular in CS and software engineering, its clean format works well for any technical role: data science, DevOps, product management, and even technical consulting. Just adjust the section emphasis — PM roles might lead with Experience over Projects, for example.

Should I use the original LaTeX version or a builder?

If you're comfortable with LaTeX and enjoy the control it provides, the original Overleaf template is great. But if you want to focus on content over formatting — and avoid compilation errors — a builder gives you the same output with significantly less friction.

How long should my resume be?

One page. This is nearly universal advice for software engineering roles with less than 10 years of experience. Jake's template is designed for one page — if your content is overflowing, the solution is to edit ruthlessly, not to add a second page.

What to Do Next

Now that you understand the template inside and out, it's time to build yours. You can start with a blank template and fill in each section using the guidance above, or import your existing resume to get a head start.

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