Masthead: executive resume template with a bled band
A solid accent band bleeds to three paper edges with your name reversed out of it in a display serif, then the page goes quiet.
Masthead is built around one gesture. A solid band of colour bleeds off the top and both sides of the first page, with your name reversed out of it in a large display serif and your headline beneath. After the band the page is calm: your contact details run in a strip on plain paper, and the body splits into a narrow column for lists and a wide one for your experience, with no fill behind either.
- Audience
- Directors · Heads of · Senior hires
- Colour schemes
- Navy, Maroon, Teal, Olive, Ink
- Photo slot
- Yes
- Paper
- A4 and US Letter
It is for directors, heads of function and senior hires who are being introduced to a board, a client or a search firm, where the first page has to look like it belongs to a senior person. The band takes on whichever colour scheme you choose, from navy to maroon or olive. There is an optional round photo inside the band. Masthead is not meant for portals, and it costs nothing to download.
Pick Masthead if…
- You are being introduced to a board, a client or a search firm.
- You want one strong graphic gesture and nothing else on the page.
- Your title carries as much weight as your bullets.
- You want the header in a colour that suits your sector or your company's brand.
Where Masthead is fragile
- Your name sits in reversed type on a solid band, which some parsers cannot read or place correctly.
- A photo, if you add one, sits inside the coloured band beside your name, where no parser can use it.
- Lists such as Skills and Certifications go in a narrow column beside the main one, and software may interleave the two columns instead of reading each in turn.
- Your contact details sit on plain paper below the band, in dark type. They are the one part of the header any system reads easily.
How much fits on one page
The band appears once, at the top of page one, and after it almost all of the space is usable. Masthead holds about five roles on a page. The band runs to the paper edges and needs borderless printing to look right; most office printers leave a white margin around it, so the PDF on screen is the version that looks best. Keep the headline under your name to one line, such as your title and the type of company. The band grows with its contents, and a two-line headline makes it noticeably deeper.
When to use something else
The reversed name, the photo in the band and the narrow list column all count against Masthead in a parser. A senior candidate who still has to upload through a portal should use Split, which has the same density in an ATS-safe single column. If you want more presence and no columns, Sovereign sets a dark cover block over one wide column.
Masthead works well for these roles
Senior leadership roles in finance, healthcare and engineering, where your title and record are introduced before you are.
Questions about Masthead
- Does the band repeat on every page of a Masthead resume?
- No. It is a first-page masthead, as on a newspaper. From page two the two body columns continue on plain paper, which keeps a two-page senior resume from feeling heavy.
- Which colour should I pick for Masthead's band?
- Navy is the default and the safest for finance, banking and consulting. Maroon and olive feel more traditional, teal more modern, and ink turns the band near-black for the most formal result. The band, the headings and the bullets all follow the scheme, so one choice sets the tone for the whole page.
- Can I use Masthead without a photo?
- Yes, and many senior candidates do. Without a photo the band closes up around your name and headline, and the type carries the whole design.