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Preview of the Sidebar Photo resume template, filled with fictional sample details
Preview with sample details (Product manager). Your own content replaces all of it.
Pro Professional category Left sidebar

Sidebar Photo resume template

A light blue-grey sidebar with a round photo, icon-led contact details, dot-rated skills and an awards list.

Access: You can open, fill in and preview it without paying. Downloading the PDF needs the Pro plan (₹99 for 30 days) or higher. See plans.

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LayoutLeft sidebar
Photo areaYes — can be left empty
Skills shown asRating dots
SuitsEarly career (0–3 years), mid-career
Suggested lengthOne page.
Download formatPDF (image-based; text is not selectable)

Who Sidebar Photo suits

  • Roles and regions where a photo is expected or welcome
  • Product, project and business roles with a handful of awards or recognitions to show
  • Applications sent directly to a person rather than uploaded to a portal

What works well

  • A dedicated Awards block in the sidebar gives recognitions their own space without crowding experience.
  • The name is set in large capitals at the top of the main column, so the page is easy to identify in a pile.

What to watch out for

  • Skills use five-dot ratings. Self-rating invites the question "compared with whom?"; many readers ignore them.
  • A photo is not expected for most jobs in India, the US, the UK, Canada or Australia. If the employer has not asked for one, consider a template without a photo area.
  • Two columns: keep a text-based copy for portals that read your file.

How this layout reads

A coloured sidebar holds contact details, skills and similar short items; the wider main column holds your summary and experience. It is visually organised, but the sidebar is narrow, so keep entries short — and remember that two columns are less predictable for software that extracts text.

Suggested section order

  1. Contact details and target role
  2. A three-line summary
  3. Work experience with results, most recent first
  4. Skills relevant to the role
  5. Education
  6. Certifications or training

You can hide any section you do not need in the builder.

Tips for this template

  • List only awards a reader would recognise or that you can explain in one sentence — "Employee of the Quarter, Q2 2025" rather than "Best performer".
  • Use a plain, well-lit, recent headshot; crop to head and shoulders.
  • Use the colour picker to change the accent colour; darker shades print more reliably.

When to choose a different template

  • Choose Clean Professional if you are applying through job portals or do not want a photo (Free).
  • Choose Teal Modern if you want a sidebar layout without dot ratings (Pro).

Before you start

  1. Write or paste your content into a separate document first — the builder does not save your entries if you close the tab.
  2. Open the template, fill in each section and check the live preview beside the form.
  3. Download the PDF. If you are uploading to a job portal that reads your file, also prepare a text-based version (see formatting a resume software can read).

Questions about this template

Is Sidebar Photo free?

You can open, fill in and preview it without paying. Downloading the PDF needs the Pro plan (₹99 for 30 days) or higher.

Does the downloaded PDF have selectable text?

No. The PDF download from our builder is image-based: it reproduces the design exactly, but the text cannot be selected or copied. That is fine for emailing a person or printing. For job portals that read the text out of your upload, keep a text-based copy of your resume as well, or type your details into the portal's form.

Is my resume saved if I close the page?

No. The builder works in your browser and does not save your entries to an account. Keep your text in a separate document and download the PDF before you close the tab.

Do I have to add a photo?

No. The photo area is part of this design, but you can leave it empty. For most jobs in India, the US, the UK, Canada and Australia a photo is not expected; if you will not use one, a template designed without a photo area usually looks better.

Guides to read with this template

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Ready to try Sidebar Photo?

You can open, fill in and preview it without paying. Downloading the PDF needs the Pro plan (₹99 for 30 days) or higher.

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