Margin: side-label resume template
Section labels sit in the left margin, content in a single right-hand column. Scans fast, still linear.
Margin moves each section label out of the text column and into a narrow track on the left. The result reads like a well-kept register: label on the left, content on the right, from top to bottom. Labels are small capitals in the scheme colour, and nothing else sits in that track. It is built for operations, IT support, QA and site roles, where a recruiter has to find Certifications or Tools in a few seconds.
- Audience
- Operations · Analytics · Ops leads
- Colour schemes
- Navy, Ink, Teal
- Photo slot
- No
- Paper
- A4 and US Letter
The content column takes about three quarters of the usual text width. Short, factual bullets look sharp in that measure, while long sentences wrap more often, so Margin rewards writing that gets to the point. Licences and certificates with renewal dates, common in IT support and site safety work, fit neatly as one-line bullets in a section of their own. You can fill it in and download the PDF free, with no login.
Pick Margin if…
- A recruiter will skim you in fifteen seconds and needs signposts to land on.
- You have many short sections such as tools, certifications, languages and licences.
- You like the look of a two-column resume but want your history to stay in one stream of text.
- Your bullets are brief and factual.
How the side labels behave
- The left track holds the section heading and nothing else. In the PDF each heading is written before the content beside it, so software reading the file in order meets 'Skills' and then your skills.
- Roles, dates and bullets all run in the one right-hand column. There is no second column of content for a parser to interleave with the first.
- Nothing is drawn on the page apart from small square bullets. The label track and the space between sections do all the separating.
- Dates sit at the right edge of each role's first line, so a reviewer can run an eye down one edge to check for gaps.
How much fits on one page
The content column is narrower than the paper allows, so long bullets push Margin onto a second page sooner than they would elsewhere. With tight one-line bullets it holds around five roles. When a line wraps by a word or two, shorten that bullet before you change anything else; the layout looks best when most lines end before the right margin.
When to use something else
If your bullets regularly run past two lines, the narrow column works against you and the right edge turns ragged. Plainline puts the same single stream of text across the full width. If you have only a few long sections, say a summary and two big roles, the label track is mostly empty paper, and Ledger uses that width better.
Margin works well for these roles
Support, testing, site and administration roles, which tend to list tools, certificates and shift-level detail.
Questions about Margin
- Is Margin a two-column resume?
- It looks like one, but only the headings sit on the left. Everything you wrote about your work stays in a single column on the right, which is why Margin is in the ATS-safe set. Sidebar layouts such as Verso are different: they move whole sections into a second column.
- Can I move Certifications above Experience in Margin?
- Yes. Sections move up and down in the editor and each label travels with its section. Leading with certifications is common for IT support and QA roles, where a certificate is often the first filter a recruiter applies.
- Does Margin print well in black and white?
- Yes. The labels are coloured text, with no filled boxes behind them, so a mono printer or a photocopier turns them into dark grey capitals and the structure survives. The Ink scheme gives the darkest result.