Basic JSON Resume Template

Getting Started with a Basic JSON Resume

The simplest JSON Resume file includes four core sections: basics, work, education, and skills. This template gives you a clean starting point without overwhelming you with optional fields.

Minimal Structure

{
  "$schema": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsonresume/resume-schema/v1.0.0/schema.json",
  "basics": {
    "name": "Jane Smith",
    "label": "Software Developer",
    "email": "jane@example.com",
    "phone": "(555) 123-4567",
    "summary": "Experienced developer with 5 years of web development expertise.",
    "location": {
      "city": "San Francisco",
      "region": "CA",
      "countryCode": "US"
    }
  },
  "work": [],
  "education": [],
  "skills": []
}

What Each Section Contains

• basics — Your name, title, contact details, summary, and location. This is the only required section.
• work — An array of employment entries with company, position, dates, and highlights.
• education — An array of educational entries with institution, degree, and dates.
• skills — An array of skill groups, each with a name, level, and list of keywords.

Tips for Your First Resume

Start with the basics section and fill in your contact information. Then add one work entry and one education entry to see the structure. You can always add more sections later — the JSON Resume schema supports volunteer, awards, certificates, publications, languages, interests, references, and projects.

Keep your summary concise (2-3 sentences) and focus on your most relevant experience. The JSON Resume format is designed to be both human-readable and machine-parseable, so clarity matters more than length.