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Readwell Get Readwell

Resume + cover letter kit · Word, PDF, plain text

A resume that reads well. To people and to software.

Readwell is a calm, one-column resume and matching cover letter, built from real Word styles so applicant tracking systems can pull out your text in the right order. It comes with an honest guide: what helps, what doesn't, and no magic promises.

See the files Run the copy-paste test
  • A4 + US Letter
  • Google Docs ready
  • Tagged PDFs
  • 1 or 2 pages
  • Cover letter
  • Pay what you want
The one-page Readwell resume for a fictional operations data analyst, Morgan Ellery
Name Contact Experience Education

Sample page. The labels illustrate sections being found in order.

The files

Four documents, one calm look.

These are the actual pages from the kit, rendered from the PDFs. Switch documents and paper sizes; the Word files look the same and stay fully editable.

One-page resume, page 1

One-page resume

For up to about 8 years of experience. Summary, skills, experience, a project and education, in the same order recruiters scan.

Margins
18 mm sides
Body text
10 pt IBM Plex Sans
Layout
One column
Formats
.docx · PDF · .txt
Open the sample PDF

The copy-paste test

What comes out when software reads the page.

A quick way to see roughly what a parser gets: select everything in the PDF and paste it as plain text. Columns, icons and skill bars are where things usually go sideways.

A typical two-column layout

Illustration 
Jordan Avery                    EXPERIENCEProduct Designer                Senior Designer, Northwind StudioCONTACT                         2022 – Presentjordan@email.example            Led the redesign of the checkout(555) 010-0199                  flow and cut drop-off bySKILLS ●●●●○                    EDUCATIONWireframes ●●●●●  Research ●●●○○ reduced support tickets 18%LANGUAGES                       B.A. Visual Communication[icon] [icon] [icon]            Designer, Oakline Agency 2019

A made-up example of a row-by-row read: sidebar and main column interleave, rating dots and icons carry no words.

Readwell one-page PDF

Real output 
Morgan ElleryOperations Data Analyst Portland, OR | (503) 555-0142 | morgan.ellery@email.example | morganellery.example/portfolio SUMMARYOperations data analyst with 4 years of experience turning warehouse and delivery data into weeklydecisions. I build SQL and Python reporting that teams actually use, and I like training people to answer theirown questions with data. Looking for an analyst role in supply chain or logistics. SKILLSAnalysis: SQL (PostgreSQL), Python (pandas), Excel (pivot tables, Power Query), forecasting, A/B test basicsReporting: Tableau, Looker Studio, Google Sheets, dashboard design, data documentationOperations: Inventory planning, carrier cost analysis, process mapping, SLA tracking EXPERIENCEOperations Data AnalystLarkspur Logistics, Portland, OR Mar 2023 – Present • Built a daily late-shipment report in SQL and Tableau that 6 regional leads review each morning; on-timedelivery rose from 91% to 96% over 9 months.• Automated the weekly carrier cost reconciliation in Python, cutting it from 6 hours to 40 minutes.• Analyzed 120,000 pick events with the warehouse team to redesign pick-zone labels; average pick timefell 14%.• Ran 12 lunch-and-learn sessions that taught 30+ coordinators to use self-serve dashboards. Junior Data AnalystBramble & Finch Outfitters, Remote Jun 2021 – Feb 2023 • Maintained inventory forecasts for 1,800 SKUs across 3 warehouses; stockouts on top sellers fell 22%year over year.• Merged sales data from 2 e-commerce systems into one reporting table used by finance and buying.• Documented 15 recurring reports so anyone on the team could run them during vacations. PROJECTSCity Bike-Share Demand Dashboard

The first lines pdftotext extracts from the A4 sample PDF in this kit, unedited.

Why the layout parses well

Boring in all the right places.

Every design choice in Readwell is about keeping your words in order and in plain sight. The look comes from type, spacing and one accent colour, not from boxes and graphics.

Illustration: a two-column page with tangled lines next to a one-column page with neat, straight lines

  • One column, top to bottom

    Text comes out in the order you read it. Two-column and sidebar layouts can be read straight across, mixing lines from different sections.

  • Real text, nothing hidden

    No text boxes, icons, charts or skill bars carry information. Every fact is a line of text a parser can pick up.

  • Contact details in the body

    Name, phone, email and link sit in the first lines of the page, not in the Word header or footer, which some systems skip.

  • Standard headings

    Summary, Skills, Experience, Education. They are real Heading styles, so they also show in the Google Docs outline and help screen readers.

  • One pattern per job

    Title and dates on one line, employer and city on the next, dates written as "Mar 2023 – Present". Easy to scan, easy to split.

  • Real bullets, no tables

    Bullets use the built-in list feature with a standard bullet character. Tables are used for nothing.

The honest part

No template can promise you'll "beat the ATS".

There are many applicant tracking systems, each employer sets theirs up differently, and in most of them a recruiter still makes the call. Scores you see on job sites are calculated in different ways.

What a clean layout can do is remove avoidable problems, so your experience is what gets judged. We tested the files with LibreOffice and pdftotext, not with any specific ATS product, and we say so in the guide.

The guide

Three pages that skip the myths.

Plain advice on keywords, bullets and testing your own file, plus how to edit Readwell in Word, Google Docs or LibreOffice without breaking it.

  1. 01What an ATS actually does
  2. 02Why the Readwell layout parses well
  3. 03What we checked
  4. 04Test your own resume in 2 minutes
  5. 05Keywords, honestly
  6. 06Bullets that hold up
  7. 07Editing in Word, Google Docs or LibreOffice

Start bullets with a verb, then the result:

  • Built
  • Automated
  • Reduced
  • Launched
  • Analyzed
  • Mentored
  • Negotiated
  • Simplified

Before you send: checklist

0 / 11

Illustration: a laptop showing a one-column document, a cover letter envelope and a checklist clipboard

What's inside

Everything for one application, twice over.

  • Word (.docx), A4 and US Letter

    One-page and two-page resume, a blank template, cover letter and references page. Opens in Microsoft Word, Google Docs and LibreOffice.

  • PDF, A4 and US Letter

    Tagged, text-based PDFs with embedded fonts, exported from the same files.

  • Plain-text versions

    Ready to paste into "paste your resume" boxes on job sites.

  • The honest ATS guide

    Three pages: what an ATS does, why this layout parses well, how to test your own file, keywords and bullets, a checklist and action verbs. Word and PDF.

  • Fonts and license

    IBM Plex Sans (Open Font License) so the files look the same on your computer. Personal and client use.

Pay what you want

From €0

Suggested €5. Every tip helps us make more templates.

Get Readwell

Questions

Will this get my resume past every ATS?

No, and nobody can honestly promise that. There are many different systems, each employer configures theirs differently, and people still make the decisions. Readwell removes the layout problems that commonly trip up text extraction, so your content is what gets judged. The guide shows you how to test your own file.

How did you check the layout?

We exported every file as a tagged PDF with LibreOffice and extracted the text with a standard tool (pdftotext). The text came out in reading order with dates, bullets and special characters intact. That is a check of the files, not a test of any specific ATS product.

Does it work in Google Docs?

Yes. Upload the .docx to Google Drive and open it with Google Docs. The headings and bullets are built-in styles, so they carry over. If IBM Plex Sans isn't available, pick it from the Google Docs font list or use any plain font you like.

A4 or US Letter?

Both are included. US Letter is standard in the US and Canada; A4 almost everywhere else. Use whichever the job is based in.

Should I add a photo?

The template doesn't include one. Many US, UK and Canadian employers prefer resumes without photos, and software can't read an image anyway. Where a photo is expected, follow local norms.

Is the sample person real?

No. Every name, company, school, number and contact detail is fictional. Replace it all with your own true details.

Why is it pay what you want?

Because a clean, honest resume shouldn't be a luxury when you're job hunting. Pay €0 if money is tight; if it helps you land something, a few euros helps us keep making templates.