.md · resume
Markdown resume: write once, send anywhere.
Your resume as plain text: version-controlled, diffable, easy to tailor per application, and rendered to a typeset PDF only at the end. Below are two templates to start from. Copy one, make it yours, then paste it into the converter for the PDF.
Classic
Chronological, detail-forward. The shape recruiters expect for engineering and most salaried roles.
# Jordan Reyes Backend engineer · Amsterdam · jordan.reyes@example.com · github.com/jreyes Seven years building payment and logistics systems. I like boring technology, honest postmortems, and deleting code. ## Experience **Senior Backend Engineer · Freightline** · 2022 to now - Own the settlement pipeline: 40M EUR/month across 11 carriers - Cut reconciliation failures from 3.1% to 0.4% by replacing a nightly batch with event-driven matching - Mentor two engineers; run the team's incident reviews **Backend Engineer · Paylane** · 2019 to 2022 - Built the SEPA direct-debit flow used by 60k merchants - Led the Postgres 11 to 15 migration, zero downtime - On-call rotation, then wrote the runbooks that made it bearable **Junior Developer · Studio Vier** · 2017 to 2019 - Client work: booking systems, dashboards, one regrettable CMS ## Education **BSc Computer Science · University of Twente** · 2013 to 2017 ## Skills Go, Python, PostgreSQL, Kafka, Kubernetes, Terraform. Dutch (native), English (fluent), German (working).
Compact
One page, achievement-first. For portfolios, design, and anyone whose work speaks in outcomes.
# Sam Okafor Product designer · London · sam@example.com · samokafor.example.com ## Selected work **Design Lead · Foldaway** · 2023 to now Took the mobile checkout from a 61% to an 82% completion rate. Team of 3. **Product Designer · Northbeam Health** · 2020 to 2023 Shipped the clinician dashboard used in 40 NHS trusts. Accessibility to WCAG 2.2 AA, and the audit trail to prove it. **Freelance** · 2017 to 2020 Brand and product work for 20+ early-stage teams. ## Strengths - Research-led: 200+ user interviews run personally - Prototypes in code: React, enough TypeScript to be dangerous - Design systems: built two from scratch, killed one on purpose ## Education BA Graphic Design · Camberwell College of Arts · 2014 to 2017
From .md to interview
Getting the PDF
Paste your finished resume into the converter on the homepage and press Download PDF. That's the whole workflow. The default theme is free, prints on one or two pages, and looks like a document someone typeset on purpose.
There is also a dedicated Resume theme in the theme row: tighter spacing, a crisp sans, built to hold a career on a single page. It is one of the Pro themes, so previewing it is free and exporting it is paid. Try your resume in it before deciding; the preview is the real render.
A note on applicant tracking systems, since everyone asks: what ATS parsers hate is layout tricks, text in tables, two-column designs, headshots. A PDF rendered from Markdown has none of those. Standard headings, real text, nothing embedded. Keep the section names conventional and you are in good shape.
Questions
Is Markdown a good format for a resume?
For anyone comfortable in a text editor, yes. One plain-text source you can version-control, diff before an application, and feed to an LLM for tailoring, then render to PDF when it is time to send. The format keeps you honest too: no two-column layouts to fight, just content.
How do I turn a Markdown resume into a PDF?
Paste it into the topdf.md converter and press Download PDF. The default theme is free and prints clean. The Resume theme, a tighter single-page layout in a crisp sans, is a Pro theme: you can preview it free and unlock export if you want that exact look.
Will a Markdown resume get past ATS screening?
A PDF rendered from Markdown is about as parser-friendly as a resume gets: real text, standard section headings, no text boxes, columns, or graphics for the parser to choke on. These templates use conventional headings (Experience, Education, Skills) for exactly that reason.
Are these templates free to use?
Yes, copy and adapt them freely, no attribution, no signup. Converting to PDF with the default theme is free too. The only paid thing on this site is the Pro theme pack and document controls.